How Mariah Carey reacted to Brenda Lee rocking her No. 1 holiday slot
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!”
“Thank you so much for listening and rockin’ this holiday season! #65YearsLater #Hot100Charts #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 Nashville 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.”
Decades later, the “All Alone Am I” singer is still in love with the lyrics and melody.
“It was a rocking kind of a song. I just had a ball doing it,” Lee told The Post. “It took us probably two takes. It was in the summer, and Owen [Bradley, the producer] had it all decorated up like Christmas, and it was just precious.”
In 1990, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” also found a resurgence in popularity for being used on the soundtrack for “Home Alone,” starring Macaulay Culkin and Joe Pesci.
“It was a Christmas miracle,” Lee noted. “When I went to the movie, I knew right then that it was gonna be a standard.”
Earlier this month, Lee spoke to Billboard about her latest success and all who played a part in the track climbing the charts.
“I’m happy for everybody here that’s worked so hard to make this happen because in today’s world, everything moves so fast and furious,” she told the outlet.
“But I’m telling you this: My label has come to bat.”
Read the full article Here