More than twenty-two years after its release, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” finally debuts on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song, which has become a holiday classic, takes #50 on this week’s chart.
The Hot 100 debut comes in the wake of Wham! member George Michael’s Christmas Day passing.
News of the unfortunate death broke Sunday night, so it could not have majorly impacted this week’s chart position. The sales and streaming tracking weeks concluded on Thursday, so none of the iTunes/Apple Music/Spotify/YouTube gains counted toward this week’s chart.
There may, however, have been a small impact on the radio front. The radio tracking week ends on Sunday, so any unplanned Sunday night airplay counted toward the Hot 100.
While Wham!’s “Last Christmas” is the original version, it is actually the third to reach the Hot 100. The “Glee” cast version reached #63 in 2009, while Ariana Grande’s cover hit #96 in 2013.