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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.”
[From NY Post]
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!
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