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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

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"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas". The song has been recorded by many artists, but was a hit for Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra on September 18, 1951, and released on RCA Victor as 47-4314 (45 rpm) and 20-4314 (78 rpm). Bing Crosby recorded a version on October 1, 1951, which was also widely played.

"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"
Song by Bing Crosby
LanguageEnglish
Published1951 by Plymouth Music
GenreChristmas
Length2:45
Songwriter(s)Meredith Willson

History

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Background and writing

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A popular belief in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, holds that Willson wrote the song while staying in Yarmouth's Grand Hotel.[1] The song refers to a "tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well..."; the park being Frost Park, directly across the road from the Grand Hotel, which still operates in a newer building on the same site as the old hotel.[2] It also makes mention of the five and ten which was a store operating in Yarmouth at the time.

It is also possible that the "Grand Hotel" Willson mentions in the song was inspired by the Historic Park Inn Hotel in his hometown of Mason City, Iowa. The Park Inn Hotel is the last remaining hotel in the world designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and is situated in downtown Mason City overlooking Central Park.

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Meredith Willson incorporated the song into his 1963 Broadway musical Here's Love, where it is sung in counterpoint to the newly composed song "Pine Cones and Holly Berries".

Johnny Mathis recorded the song for his 1986 album Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis; this version gained popularity after its inclusion in the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Gradually, Mathis's recording began to receive wide radio airplay, and in later years this version became a Top 10 Christmas hit.

Perry Como version

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Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra released their cover of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" on September 18, 1951. Their edition became one of the most successful versions of the song, which is still widely played today, with over 382 million streams on Spotify as of May 1, 2024. The song was used in the 2004 film The Polar Express.

Weekly charts

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Chart (2008–2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 32
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 56
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[5] 47
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] 32
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[7] 44
France (SNEP)[8] 124
Germany (GfK)[9] 83
Global 200 (Billboard)[10] 22
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[11] 19
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[12] 7
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 44
Italy (FIMI)[14] 93
Latvia (LAIPA)[15] 20
Lithuania (AGATA)[16] 37
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 33
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[18] 63
Portugal (AFP)[19] 56
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[20] 41
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 45
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 39
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 47
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 12
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[25] 8
US Rolling Stone Top 100[26] 5

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[27] Gold 45,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Michael Bublé version

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"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"
Single by Michael Bublé
from the album Christmas
Released18 November 2012 (2012-11-18)
Recorded2011
Genre
Length3:27
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Meredith Willson
Michael Bublé singles chronology
"Georgia on My Mind"
(2012) 		"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"
(2012) 		"White Christmas"
(2012)
Music video
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" on YouTube

Canadian singer Michael Bublé's version was first released on October 24, 2011, as the first track of Bublé's Christmas album. However, it was then released as the album's second single on November 18, 2012, achieving greater success. In the UK, the song peaked at number 6 in 2022.

Weekly charts

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Chart (2011–2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[29] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[32] 9
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[33] 4
Croatia (Billboard)[34] 14
Croatia (HRT)[35] 18
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[36] 8
Denmark (Tracklisten)[37] 7
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[38] 5
France (SNEP)[39] 8
Germany (GfK)[40] 6
Global 200 (Billboard)[41] 6
Greece International (IFPI)[42] 6
Hungary (Single Top 40)[43] 6
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[44] 2
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[45] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[46] 7
Italy (FIMI)[47] 3
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[48] 16
Latvia (LAIPA)[49] 3
Lithuania (AGATA)[50] 5
Luxembourg (Billboard)[51] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[52] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[53] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[54] 2
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[55] 36
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[18] 10
Portugal (AFP)[56] 7
Romania (Billboard)[57] 22
Scotland (OCC)[58] 60
Singapore (RIAS)[59] 9
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[60] 75
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[61] 6
South Africa (RISA)[62] 23
South Korea (Circle)[63] 128
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[64] 27
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[65] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[66] 4
United Arab Emirates (IFPI)[67] 9
UK Singles (OCC)[68] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[69] 19
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[70] 2
US Christian Songs (Billboard)[71] 32
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[72] 8
US Rolling Stone Top 100[73] 19
Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100)[74] 90

Year-end charts

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Chart (2020) Position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[75] 100
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[76] 71
Chart (2021) Position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[77] 70
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[78] 83
Chart (2022) Position
Global 200 (Billboard)[79] 199
Hungary (Single Top 40)[80] 70
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[81] 85
Chart (2023) Position
Hungary (Single Top 40)[82] 50

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[83] 3× Platinum 270,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[84] Platinum 600,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[85] 2× Platinum 200,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[86] Platinum 30,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[87] Platinum 10,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[88] Platinum 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[89] 3× Platinum 1,800,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Meghan Trainor version

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In 2020, Meghan Trainor recorded a version of the song for her album A Very Trainor Christmas. This version peaked at number 27 on the Holiday Digital Songs chart.[90]

References

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  1. ^ Medel, Brian (2011-11-20). "Christmas looks a lot like Yarmouth in classic tune". The Chronicle Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2014-11-07.
  2. ^ Yarmouth, N.S. Landmarks - The Old Grand Hotel, archived from the original on 2010-12-11, retrieved 2014-11-07
  3. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. January 1, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters – It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  5. ^ "Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters – It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
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