Mariah Carey v Wham! – who should finally get their festive No 1?
All I Want for Christmas Is YouMariah Carey’s 1994 hit sounds as if it was blessed with the twinkling stardust that seems to be falling in its opening notes: after decorating her home with Christmas decorations in the height of summer, it was written in just 15 minutes. That’s perhaps a bit of myth-making – co-writer Walter Afanasieff has said the core melody and chords took an hour, and they actually carried on tinkering with it for a couple of weeks before recording it – but much like Father Christmas himself, it’s something you want to believe in.