Study Reveals ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ as UK’s Least-Favourite Holiday Song

According to a new study, Mariah Carey‘s ubiquitous holiday tune «All I Want for Christmas Is You» has been identified as the United Kingdom’s least-liked Christmas song. The research, conducted by a music-related study panel, examined the UK’s Christmas musical preferences and found that nearly 20% of surveyed individuals expressed their desire to avoid hearing Carey’s seasonal classic.

Following Carey’s song, Justin Bieber‘s «Mistletoe» and Band Aid‘s «Do They Know It’s Christmas?» were also among the least-favored songs, with about 12% and 11.9% of participants, respectively, indicating their aversion to these tracks. Despite their association with the holiday spirit, these songs appear to divide public opinion.

Interestingly, the study highlighted that outside the festive season, Mariah Carey does not seem to dominate the musical landscape in the UK as one might presume. When asked to recall songs from a list of well-known ballads performed by Carey—which included «We Belong Together,» «Without You,» and «Vision of Love»—67% of respondents could not name a single track by her from the list.

Furthermore, only a small minority of just 2% were able to name all three songs correctly, indicating a disconnect between Carey’s identity as a Christmas icon and her broader musical repertoire in the UK.

The survey also found that nearly one in four Britons carry their festive cheer into January as a means to combat post-holiday blues, and about 5% continue to listen to Christmas music throughout the year. A representative from the study was quoted as saying, “It turns out that all Mariah Carey wants for Christmas is some more love from the UK – with the nation not only voting her Christmas hit as the worst, but not knowing any of her other songs!”

In detail, the list of least-favorite festive tunes includes the following songs in descending order of unpopularity after Carey’s: Bieber’s «Mistletoe,» Pogues & Kirsty MacColl’s «Fairytale of New York,» and Wizzard‘s «I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday,» among others.