“Stuck at 2” has been a regular theme on this Blog, with articles and lists about the songs and artists that made it to #2 in the UK chart but didn’t make it to #1. There are links to all of these pieces here, on the Trivia Menu.

In 2019 Mariah Carey made chart history when her seasonal recording “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was “Stuck at 2” for the fourth time. It happened on the song’s original release in 1994 and then in December 2017, December 2018 and December 2019. The songs that kept it off the top were: “Stay Another Day” by East 17 (1994), “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran (2017), “Sweet But Psycho” by Ava Max (2018) and “River” by Ellie Goulding (2019).

Yesterday’s chart has changed all that.  “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the current UK #1. “Last Christmas” by Wham! is at #2, so it is now the only song to be “Stuck at 2” on three separate occasions without going on to top the chart. “Last Christmas” is also the only song to reach #2 in three different decades: in December 1984, on its original release (“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid was #1) , in December 2017 (“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran kept it off the top, after keeping Mariah Carey from the top spot) and now in 2020.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” also reached #1 in the US last year, 25 years after its original release, so it is setting all sorts of chart records. I will now have to go back and amend my previous lists and pieces about this subject, but will wait until the end of the year. Maybe Wham! or The Pogues & Kirsty McColl will reach #1 after being “Stuck at 2” in previous Christmas charts. In the meantime, Mariah Carey has changed everything.