What are this year's most popular Christmas songs?

Some music fans think Mariah Carey is the undisputed queen of Christmas, while others believe the title should go to Meredith Willson for his song "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is breaking down the tie in its top 25 most popular Christmas songs this year.

To establish this ranking, the American organization used the number of streams and radio listeners for songs with a copyright date after 2001. However, it only took into account songs written by its member songwriters.

Classics stay at the top

The most popular song that meets these criteria is none other than "Sleigh Ride," a Christmas song by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish from 1948. It is closely followed by the famous "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945) and the catchy "A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Johnny Marks (1962). The ASCAP rankings underscore just how good the Christmas season is for classics. All of the songs appearing in the organization's top 10 were composed between the 1940s and 1970s.

To the surprise of many, Mariah Carey and her iconic "All I Want for Christmas is You" (1994) only reached the 14th position on the ranking. Something that is all the more surprising as the hit is at the top of Billboard's chart of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. The accompanying video clip has more than 700 million views on YouTube.

ASCAP has also compiled the most popular Christmas songs written in the last two decades into a single chart. Kelly Clarkson reigns supreme with the songs "Underneath the Tree" (#1), "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)" (#6) and "Under the Mistletoe" (#10).

Check out the entire ACAP Top 25 Most Popular Christmas Songs of 2021 below:

1. "Sleigh Ride" by Leroy Anderson and Mitchell Parish (1948)

2. "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne (1945)

3. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Johnny Marks (1962)

4. "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" by Meredith Willson (1951)

5. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie (1934)

6. "Jingle Bell Rock" by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe (1958)

7. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Johnny Marks (1949)

8. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Johnny Marks (1958)

9. "Winter Wonderland" by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith (1934)

10. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin (1944)

11. "Last Christmas" by George Michael (1984)

12. "Frosty the Snowman" by Steve Nelson and Walter E. Rollins (1950)

13. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Edward Pola and George Wyle (1963)

14. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey (1994)

15. "The Christmas Song" by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells (1946)

16. "Jingle Bells" by James Lord Pierpont; Frank Sinatra version arranged by Gordon Jenkins (ASCAP, 1958)

17. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" by Noel Regney and Gloria Shain (1962)

18. "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin (1941)

19. "Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane)" by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (1947)

20. "Feliz Navidad" by José Feliciano (1970)

21. "Silver Bells" by Raymond Evans and Jay Livingston (1950)

22. "Santa Baby" by Joan Javits, Anthony Springer and Philip Springer (1953)

23. "Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season" by Kay Tompson and Irving Berlin (1942)

24. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Kim Gannon, Walter Kent and Buck Ram (1943)