Pop icon Kylie Minogue has clinched a historic and long-awaited victory, securing the coveted UK Christmas Number One single for 2025 with her track 'Xmas'. This marks not only her first festive chart-topper but also the first time an Amazon-commissioned song has ever claimed the year-end pinnacle.
A Festive Chart Battle and Historic Milestone
The Australian superstar's triumph halted a potential hat-trick for Wham!, whose perennial favourite 'Last Christmas' – last week's chart leader – was relegated to second place after two consecutive years at the summit. Kylie's win represents her eighth UK Number One single overall and her first in 22 years, since 2003's 'Slow'.
In an exclusive statement to the Official Charts Company, an elated Minogue said, "It's hard to put into words how special this feels. Being Christmas No 1 really is the most wonderful gift." This achievement cements her place in music history, as she becomes the first female artist to score UK Number One singles across four different decades.
The Amazon Music Strategy Behind the Success
The success of 'Xmas' is particularly notable given its distribution. The song was recorded as an exclusive track for Amazon Music and is not available on most major streaming platforms. This strategy is part of a concerted effort by the online retail giant, which has identified exclusive Christmas music as a key tool for attracting subscribers to its streaming service.
Alex Nutton of Amazon Music told Music Week, "A great Christmas track has the power to stand the test of time. When commissioning these songs, our goal is always to create a new holiday favourite that customers will return to year after year." The track also benefits from being played automatically on Amazon's Alexa devices when users request Christmas music, significantly boosting its chart performance.
While this is Amazon's first Christmas Number One, previous exclusives have come close: Tom Grennan reached No 3 in 2024, and Sam Ryder hit No 2 in 2023.
Charity Single and Chart Dominance
The race for the top spot also featured a strong showing from the charity single 'Lullaby' from the Together for Palestine campaign, which reached Number Five. The song, an adaptation of a Palestinian lullaby featuring artists like Nai Barghouti, Neneh Cherry, and Celeste, actually outsold 'Xmas' in pure sales but had fewer streams. Proceeds will support Palestinian causes via the Choose Love charity.
Predictably, the rest of the Top 10 was filled with festive classics. Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' and Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' took third and fourth places respectively, with entries from The Pogues, Kelly Clarkson, and Elton John also featuring. In total, a staggering 27 Christmas songs populated the entire singles chart.
Album Chart News: Pink Floyd Breaks a Record
In the album charts, a separate piece of history was made. Pink Floyd's 50th-anniversary reissue of 'Wish You Were Here' soared to Number One, breaking the record for the longest gap between an album's first and most recent chart-topping appearance. They surpassed The Beatles' 'Abbey Road', which had a 49-year, 252-day gap. This is Pink Floyd's second UK Number One album this year.
Kylie herself topped the album charts last week with a reissue of her 2015 festive record, 'Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped)', completing a remarkable double festive celebration for the beloved star.
