Last Christmas


"Last Christmas" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in December 1984, on a double A-side with "Everything She Wants". It was written and produced by George Michael, and has been covered by many artists since its original release.
The song reached No. 1 in Denmark, Slovenia, and Sweden and No. 2 in nine countries: Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, New Zealand and United Kingdom. Wham! donated all of their royalties to the Ethiopian famine. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted eighth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song. It was the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK until it was overtaken by "Fairytale of New York" in 2015.

Origin

"Last Christmas" had its beginnings in 1984, while George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley were visiting Michael’s parents. It was written by Michael in his childhood bedroom. Michael played Ridgeley the introduction and chorus melody to "Last Christmas", which Ridgeley later called "a moment of wonder".

Recording

The song was recorded in August 1984, at Advision Studios, London, England. George Michael wrote, performed, produced and played every single instrument on the track. With a Linn 9000 drum machine, a Roland Juno-60 synth and sleigh bells, they began recording the song in the summer. The only people in the studio were engineer Chris Porter and two assistants. According to Porter, lyrically "you've got the happiness of the rhythm track, but against that you've got the sadness of the unrequited love".

Chart performance

United Kingdom

Wham! already had two Number One songs in the 1984 UK Singles Chart and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas No. 1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year's other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third No. 1 in early December with "The Power of Love". However, the Band Aid single written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, produced the No. 1 single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", while Wham!'s offering peaked at No. 2 for much of the period. Wham! donated all "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" royalties to the Ethiopian famine.
In subsequent years, the song reached the middle echelons of the UK Singles Chart on a regular basis Also shows number of weeks spent in the UK Singles Chart top 100.
"Last Christmas" has sold over 1.90 million copies as of February 2020 and is the biggest-selling single in UK chart history not to reach No. 1 and it's in tenth place in the ranking of the best selling singles of all time in the United Kingdom. It was certified two times multi-platinum in December 2018.
In December 2019, it peaked at No. 1 on both the UK Official Vinyl Singles Chart and on the Official Video Streaming Chart. The following week, the song set a new UK chart record and was streamed 17.1 million times, the most number of plays in a week. It became the UK’s best-selling vinyl single release in 2019.

Other territories

In Germany, the song is the most successful Christmas single of all time, having spent 140 weeks on the German Singles Chart and attained a peak position of No. 2 on 27 December 2019. It has charted every year since 1997. In January 2008, the song fell from No. 4 to No. 64 there, also making it the biggest fall out of the top 10 on the singles chart.
The single was originally released in two different formats in Japan with different cover art, a 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl both with "Credit Card Baby" as their B-side. The former entered the top 20 of the Oricon Singles Chart peaking at No. 15, while the latter reached No. 47. The single was released in 1993 on CD single in the country and peaked at No. 17, selling nearly 40,000 copies that week. It was reissued in November 2001 and 2004 as a 2-track CD with the single edit and the "Pudding Mix".
As a result of the success, "Last Christmas" is the eighth best-selling single of all time in Japan released by a non-Japanese act, with total physical sales of 683,000 units.
In the Netherlands, the song never reached No. 1, peaking at No. 2 in January 1985. In the Dutch Singles Top 100, the song has now entered on 16 different occasions, including every year since 2006. Its highest position after 1984 was No. 4. In the Dutch Mega Top 50, the song re-appeared in 1997, 2000, 2007, 2008, and 2013.
"Last Christmas" was originally not commercially released in 1984 as a single in the United States and therefore did not enter the main charts. It was released for the first time as a physical single on a 2-track 12" vinyl through an exclusive Record Store Day release in November 2014.
The song has re-entered the Billboard Holiday Songs Chart on a regular basis with it peaking at No. 3 on 7 December 2019. As of 25 November 2016, total US sales of the digital track stand at 751,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it 10th on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in US SoundScan history. The song debuted at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart dated 7 January 2017, after George Michael died.
In December 2018, the song re-entered the Hot 100, reaching No. 25 in January 2019, and then a new peak of No. 11 in the first issue of 2020. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, it was certified double platinum in December 2019 and has sold 2 million digital units.
In December 2017, 28 December 2018 and December 2019 "Last Christmas" reached No. 1 in the Swedish singles chart.

Music video

The video to "Last Christmas" shows Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends to see friends at an unspecified ski resort cottage: the cable-car that can be seen in two shots is from Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where the video was filmed. It becomes clear early on that the character of Ridgeley's girlfriend was previously in a relationship with Michael and that the song is aimed at her. She can be spotted throughout the video by the fact that she is usually wearing red, but everyone else is wearing more muted colors.
There is a brief flashback to "Last Christmas", showing Michael's character presenting her with a jewelled brooch. In the present time, Ridgeley is wearing the brooch, suggesting that the girl gave the same gift to her new love after she and Michael parted ways. When the girl wears the brooch from Michael's character, it is "right side up", and when Ridgeley's character wears it, he wears it "upside down". On numerous occasions, Michael presents a thoughtful expression, suggesting his conflicting emotions. As Michael is decorating the christmas tree some decoration falls to the floor where Michael's ex-girlfriend is sitting and the ex-couple shares a few seconds of a knowing look at each other.
Her seeming indifference to Ridgeley's open displays of affection makes the viewer wonder if Ridgeley's heart is the next to be broken. At the end of the video, everyone leaves the cottage and when the group get out of the cable-car, they are all properly "paired off" with Michael and his new girlfriend looking happy.
The video also featured the duo's erstwhile backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, the boyfriend and future husband of Shirlie Holliman.
As of December 2019, the music video has received 500 million views on the official Wham! YouTube channel. The second official music video "Last Christmas " on Wham!’s official channel has 25 million views. The music video, original shot on movie film, was released on 13 December 2019 in 4K Ultra HD resolution and has over 15 million views. In order to achieve the exceptional clarity, the music video’s original film director Andy Morahan found the original 35mm rushes and worked closely with teams at Cinelab London and VFX artist Russ Shaw at Nice Biscuits post production to recreate the video using the higher-resolution film.

Mixes

The full original mix and vocal of "Last Christmas" has never been released in its entirety. In 1984 it was two edits of the song that were released: one on the regular 7" format and the other on the original Japanese 12" and promotional Spanish 7".
A remixed version with partly re-recorded and additional vocals was used for the regular 12" format and entitled the "Pudding Mix". When the single was re-released in 1985, an edited version of the Pudding Mix was used for the regular 7" and this version has been used on all subsequent re-releases.
It is the 1985 7" version that is now the most common to find on "various artists" compilation albums and the most widely known version.
The full Pudding Mix has been featured on several compilations. The edits of the original 1984 recording are less widely available, although the longer version was used in early 1985 in some countries on the second set of formats of the "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" double "A" sided single and has occasionally been used on "various artists" compilation albums. The shorter edit has not been released since and therefore has never appeared on the compact disc format.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Note: When released in 1984 "Last Christmas" and "Everything She Wants" were a double A-side. In some countries, the longer edit of "Last Christmas" from 1984 was used on side two of the second 12-inch.
The only difference between the 1988 and 1989 reissues is the text on the back of the record.

Appearances in other media

In the movie Last Christmas, the film prominently features the music of the late singer George Michael, including this song and a previously unreleased track.
The song was also featured in the video game Just Dance 2017 as duet between two dancers, one of whom is dressed as Santa Claus.

Plagiarism allegations

On behalf of the writers of the song "Can't Smile Without You", made popular by Barry Manilow, publishing company Dick James Music sued Michael for plagiarism in the mid-1980s, claiming that "Last Christmas" lifted its melody from the former. The case was dismissed when a musicologist presented 60-odd songs from the past century that had a comparable chord sequence and melody.

Cover versions

Whigfield version

In the UK, the following single planned after "Close to You" was "Big Time"; however, it was suggested that Whigfield should record a version of "Last Christmas" to go with the release of "Big Time", as a double A-side single. The single was also released as a double A-side single in Germany with "Close to You". In other countries, "Last Christmas" was released on its own with various remixes. The single reached number 21 in the UK, which was Whigfield's final release on Systematic Records. It also features on various Special Edition versions of her debut album Whigfield and also on Whigfield II. The EP was released on 10 November 1995 in Australia. A UK single was released on 3 December 1995.

Music video

The music video for "Last Christmas" was directed by Italian director Giacomo De Simone.

Official versions

  1. "Last Christmas"
  2. "Last Christmas"
  3. "Last Christmas"
  4. "Last Christmas"
  5. "Last Christmas"
  6. "Last Christmas"
  7. "Last Christmas"

    Charts

Billie Piper version

originally recorded a cover of the song as a B-side of her single "She Wants You". It was released as CD single in limited areas of Europe, and did not chart in any country. The single was also released as a promotional vinyl single in the UK, limited to 500 copies and therefore could not chart there.

Track listings

;European CD single
  1. "Last Christmas"
  2. "She Wants You"
  3. "She Wants You"
;UK promo vinyl
  1. "Last Christmas"
  2. "She Wants You"

    Jimmy Eat World version

"Last Christmas" was released as a single by Jimmy Eat World in 2001, following the band's breakthrough hit album Bleed American. The B-side was a cover of "Firestarter", by The Prodigy.

Track listing

Hilary Duff Version

"Last Christmas" was covered by Hilary Duff as part of her debut album, Santa Claus Lane.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
South Korea 68

Ashley Tisdale version

"Last Christmas" was recorded in 2006 for Warner Bros. Records by Ashley Tisdale. The song was released to US radios on 11 November 2006 and as a digital download on 21 November 2006. This song was the first single released by Ashley Tisdale in her deal with Warner Bros. Records and became her official first holiday single. Tisdale performed the single in 2007 on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and in 2009 in the Citadel Outlets of Los Angeles, California. The song was one of the B-sides on the European CD singles of Tisdale's first single "Be Good to Me" and Tisdale's second single "He Said She Said", from the album Headstrong. The song has been included on several compilation albums, including Disney Channel Holiday and A Very Special Christmas 7.

Track listings

;Digital download
  1. "Last Christmas" – 3:55

    Charts

Crazy Frog version

"Last Christmas" was covered in 2006 by Crazy Frog and released as a Christmas single. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and France, "Last Christmas" was released 12 months before in other countries.

Track listings

;CD single
  1. "Last Christmas"
  2. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
  3. "Last Christmas"
  4. "Nellie the Elephant"
  5. "Last Christmas"

    Charts

Cascada version

"Last Christmas" was recorded in 2007 by Cascada. It was released on iTunes in November 2007. The single had only a digital release but six days later, it was released on the single "What Hurts the Most" which was the first single from their second album.
In the UK, despite it being a B-side track, the song is regularly played throughout music channels during the festive season. The two official music videos got more than 60 million views on YouTube combined.
It was released as part of their Christmas album, It's Christmas Time.
;iTunes download
* Based on downloads alone, but did chart at number 10, as it was the B-side to "What Hurts the Most".

Alcazar version

The song was covered by Alcazar from Sweden as the sixth single to be released from their third studio album Disco Defenders, released in 2009. The single was only released digitally in Germany. It was included as a bonus track on the Swedish special edition version of Disco Defenders, released on 18 November 2009.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single.

Track listings

Digital download
  1. "Last Christmas"
  2. "One Two Three Four"

    Joe McElderry version

British singer Joe McElderry covered the song in 2011. This version was released as a single on 19 December 2011, an EP was also released digitally in Ireland on 4 November 2011, and in the UK on 7 November 2011. Joe McElderry's version is taken from his third studio album, Classic Christmas, released 28 November 2011. 7th Heaven Remix & Production have done a remix for the song.
A short music video was made using footage which was filmed for the Classic Christmass album advertising, it features McElderry outside in the snow, collecting logs and taking them to a large house preparing for a Christmas party, a similar video was made for McElderry's version of "O Come All Ye Faithful". The advert and both videos were directed by Steve Lucker.

Track listings

EP 1
  1. "Last Christmas" – 4:18
  2. "Adeste Fideles " – 3:07
  3. "Silent Night" – 3:28
7th Heaven Remixes
  1. "Last Christmas" – 6:54
  2. "Last Christmas" – 3:47

    Ariana Grande version

"Last Christmas" is a song by American singer Ariana Grande. The song serves as the lead single from Grande's Christmas Kisses. It was released on 19 November 2013 in the iTunes Store.

Composition

Grande's cover draws primarily from pop music, contemporary R&B, and Soul and also includes newly-written lyrics in place of some of the originals. The verses have been described as "bouncier" than the original melody.

Track listing

  1. "Last Christmas" – 3:24

    Charts

Carly Rae Jepsen version

"Last Christmas" was covered by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen in 2015 and was released to digital retailers on 20 November 2015 through 604 Records and Interscope Records and School Boy Records. Jepsen's rendition was praised by critics for combining stylistic elements similar to the original with modern production.

Track listing

Digital download – single
  1. "Last Christmas" – 3:32

    Critical reception

Bianca Gracie of Idolator described the song as "quintessential Carly" for highlighting Jepsen's unique vocals and synth production and wrote that her cover will "charm your... socks off." Nolan Feeney of Time echoed those sentiments, noting that "Last Christmas" is "the kind of brokenhearted yet warm and sweet song excels at." Jackson McHenry of Vulture applauded Jepsen for her straightforward approach to the song and avoiding the "vocal gymnastics" that bog down some Christmas covers.
A more critical review came from music blog Popcrush, who deemed the cover overproduced. "The slick production is a disservice to both Carly’s vocals and the original’s emotional heft," writes Samanth Vincenty.

Live performances

Jepsen performed the song live at the annual NBC television special Christmas in Rockefeller Center, which aired on 2 December 2015. She also performed the song on the episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden airing on 16 December 2015.

Charts

Other cover versions