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I’ve been ribbing Mariah Carey for what I imagine to be her less-than-thrilled reaction to losing the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 chart. Billboard confirmed last week that the No. 2 song for the past 4 years, Brenda Lee’s 1958 classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” had taken the top place away from “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” And Mariah Carey has been seeing red ever since!! No, no, she’s been gracious in defeat. And I’m saying that of my own free will (and not from any concern for my personal safety). As a token of her goodwill, Ms. Carey sent Brenda Lee flowers and a handwritten note of congratulations:
Mariah Carey sent some happy holly-days flowers to singer Brenda Lee for her iconic tune “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The pop star, 54, gifted Lee, 78, a bouquet on Dec. 7 to congratulate her for hitting the milestone.
The “Losing You” crooner shared a photo of the sweet note and present on her Instagram Stories.
The card from Carey read: “Dearest Ms. Brenda, congratulations on your historic No. 1. Have a Merry Christmas. Love, Mariah.”
“Thank you for your sweet note, @mariahcarey! Wishing you the merriest Christmas, too!” Lee captioned the snapshot.
The beloved 1958 tune finally came out earlier this week, almost exactly 63 years after it hit the Hot 100, at No. 64, on Dec. 12, 1960.
For the past four years, the single has been No. 2 behind Carey’s 1994 smash “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” gave the holiday queen her 19th No. 1 single on Dec. 21, 2019.
That year, the song spent three weeks at the top spot, and returned to its throne every year — until now.
On Dec. 5, Lee joyfully celebrated the achievement, sharing on social media: “#RockinAroundtheChristmasTree is officially #1 on the @Billboard #HOT100 charts #ARockinChristmas,” she gushed.
Lee, who initially recorded the song when she was just 13, released an official music video for the song last month.
“It has just been a gift to me, written by a wonderful man named Johnny Marks, who was Jewish and didn’t even believe in Christmas,” the asheville native told The Post in 2021.
She continued: “He said he wrote it on the beach in New York [while watching] the pine trees swaying in the summer.”
Marks died in 1985. The songwriter was known for penning hits such as “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas.”
This was a lovely gesture from Mariah. A queenly act from the Queen of Christmas. Clearly I had the wrong idea in suggesting she would be acting like a diva over her loss. What’s really joyous is to see how much Brenda Lee is enjoying this moment. She is celebrating every inch of it — as she should! It’s a heartwarming story for her to be finding this success at a later stage in her life and career. It gives me hope, folks! As for Brenda noting that Johnny Marks, who was Jewish, penned three iconic Christmas tunes, that’s actually true of quite a lot of popular Xmas songs. “Walking In A Winter Wonderland,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “Let It Snow,” and “Santa Baby,” are all likewise written by Jewish artists, to name just a few. When it comes to songwriting, we’re all mishpacha!
Very classy, Ms. Mariah! Your thoughtful action is much appreciated during these fractious times when incivility seems to be reigning on all fronts.
It was sweet of Mariah Carey to send flowers and Congratulations to Brenda. True Christmas Queen. Surprised anyone would think her to be anything less than gracious. See her holding Barbra’s book in her Instagram? I don’t recall Mariah ever being a meanie.
Huh, I thought Mariah had been ruling the Christmas charts for longer than five years.
Of course she was gracious. Mariah may be a diva but she’s a professional first. Being gracious gets her good press.
Very sweet, gracious and festive! Love both songs!
not just songwriting… Barbra Streisand has a fantastic christmas album. it has a surprising number of religious type songs on it, all beautifully performed, but the jewel in the crown is her epic version of Jingle Bells. check it out!
it’s amazing to me how many artists have done christmas music. hip hop, punk, and of course all the mainstream folks. I especially enjoy the vintage cocktail lounge christmas stuff too.
Someone on tiktok pointed out that Barbara Lee was 13 when she recorded this, and the song has been going viral ever since. Cool that she’s having this moment.
That is a true Diva. Our Mariah has a big heart.
My local news ran a story about Brenda Lee. I found out she lived on my same street only five houses down from mine. This was in different decades. My friends have been teasing me because I use to have little mini concerts out on the sidewalk singing Mariah Carey!