Tis The Seasons! Mariah Carey & Michael Jackson Mix Christmas & Halloween Hits Via Hot 100.

MJ’s “Thriller” claws back into the top 10 while Mariah and Wham! ring in the frosty season with chart-topping holiday classics.

November 12, 2025

byAnthony De La Cruz

Two yummy neat-o yuletides have crossed paths like passing trains in the night.

Mixing pumpkin pie, led by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Re-climbing 32–10 on the Hot 100, making the late King of Pop the first artist ever to rank in the top 10 in six distinct decades. (Originally released in 1982, “Thriller” continues to haunt and groove through every spooky season.)

While the hot chocolate and white frost is led by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Drawing 9.9 million official streams and 942,000 radio spins in the US of the Americas during the Oct. 31–Nov. 6 tracking week. (The perennial holiday smash first dropped in 1994 and still sleighs every year.)

🎶 Mariah vs. Michael – Hot 100 Holiday Showdown

Category	Mariah Carey	Michael Jackson
Hot 100 Re-entry (Oct 31–Nov 6, 2025)	#10 – “All I Want for Christmas Is You”	#10 – “Thriller”
Original Release Year	1994	1982
Top 10 in How Many Decades?	4 (1990s–2020s)	6 (1960s–2020s)
2025 US Streams (Tracking Week)	9.9 million	Not disclosed
Seasonal Crown	Queen of Christmas	King of Halloween

Notably, on Nov. 1, Carey made her yearly arrival—it’s officially time for the holiday sprightful season. (ICYMI: Mariah’s annual “It’s time!” video dropped right on cue.)

Below Carey’s pine tree is worth mentioning that none other than fellow vocal legend and forever pop culture figure, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” reenters the Hot 100. The tune, released in 1984, hit a new No. 3 best last holiday season for the duo of Andrew Ridgeley and the late George Michael. (The track’s synthy melancholy still hits like a snowflake to the heart.)

So this week’s Billboard Hot 100 charts is truly a magical mix bag of ’tis the season aura. A large combo of holiday music of scare and jingle.

Here’s a rare moment frozen in time: the only known recorded performance of Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson together—captured live at the “What More Can I Give” benefit concert in 2001. Held in the wake of 9/11, this emotional duet was part of the United We Stand event in Washington, D.C., where MJ’s humanitarian anthem took center stage.

Mariah’s powerhouse vocals blend with Michael’s signature soul in a one-time-only collaboration that still resonates with heart and hope. And you won’t believe the artists who joined them on stage—Debelah Morgan, Anastacia, Usher, Ricky Martin, and more—including MJ’s close circle at the time: Bryton James and Macaulay Culkin, who stood proudly among the ensemble.