George Michael Debuts on Hot 100 Songwriters Chart Thanks to ‘Last Christmas’
The late George Michael debuts at No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated Dec. 14), thanks to continued gains for his classic carol "Last Christmas."
The late George Michael debuts at No. 8 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 Songwriters chart (dated Dec. 14), thanks to continued gains for the classic Wham! carol “Last Christmas.”
The track, which Michael solely wrote and produced as half of Wham!, leaps from No. 46 to No. 27 on the latest Billboard Hot 100, edging closer to its No. 25 high established last holiday season. It zooms 49-25 on Streaming Songs, up 43% to 18.1 million U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 5, according to Nielsen Music.
The song was first released in 1984 (although it didn’t hit the Hot 100 until 2016) and has since been covered by acts ranging from the Glee Cast to Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and numerous others. Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016 at age 53.
The weekly Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot 100; plus, genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard‘s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
The late Johnny Marks tops Hot 100 Songwriters for a second consecutive week, thanks to a trio of seasonal standards on the Hot 100. Brenda Lee‘s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” surges 29-8, hitting a new high; Burl Ives‘ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” vaults 48-18; and Gene Autry‘s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” re-enters at No. 44.
Notably, Marks is the only credited writer on all three tracks, helping boost his position on Hot 100 Songwriters, as he does not need to share any chart credit.
Meanwhile, Finneas continues his reign on the Hot 100 Producers chart for a sixth total week in charge, thanks to three Hot 100 entries performed by Billie Eilish (his sister) that he solely produced. Eilish’s former No. 1, “Bad Guy,” leads at No. 21, followed by “Everything I Wanted” (No. 25) and “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” (No. 79).
Finneas and Eilish co-wrote all three songs, sparking their tie at No. 2 on Hot 100 Songwriters.
Check out this week’s full Hot 100 Producers and Hot 100 Songwriters charts, in addition to the full genre rankings.
More From Pro
