Mariah Carey earns millions each year from 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' is the longest-running No. 1 single

In 2025, the 1994 track spent 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song has been a popular Christmas number since its release, but streaming has elevated it to a perennial chart-topper: Every time someone plays the song on a service like Spotify (something that’s likely to happen every holiday season), they’re effectively casting a vote for it to hit the chart.

Many iconic Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers

Jewish songwriters shaped the sound of Christmas, composing hits like “Let it Snow” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, wrote “White Christmas, which remains the bestselling single in music history.

US holiday retail sales reached $973B in 2024

In 2024, US holiday retail sales reached $973B—nearly one-fifth of annual sales. Many companies depend on this season to bolster revenues.

Mall Santas can make five-figures for just six weeks of work

The annual gig requires more dedication than most would expect. Mall Santas undergo training at Santa University, receive a bodyguard, and must stay in character.

Handel's 1741 'Messiah' saved him from financial ruin

The piece is widely recognized as a masterpiece and a perennial expression of highbrow culture during the holiday season. The biblically based, English text also broke from opera norms at the time, rewarding him for his risky innovations.

Artificial Christmas trees can range from about $85 to $1K or more

In 2022, 22.34 million real Christmas trees were purchased and sold at a median price of $80. Even so, from a price standpoint, a fake tree is usually the less expensive option in the long run, as they're reusable and can save time and maintenance.

Tiffany & Co. released a $200K Advent calendar in 2021

Tiffany & Co. has released ultra-luxury Advent calendars containing more than $100K worth of jewelry, including gold bracelets, diamond earrings, and platinum pendants. The 2021 edition cost $200K and featured daily drawers of high-end pieces.

Billie Holiday's influence on Amy Winehouse

Winehouse, who became popular in the 2000s, was known for her jazz style, which was indebted to the vocal technique Holiday had innovated decades earlier. In 2003, Winehouse paid homage to Holiday by covering "(There Is) No Greater Love," a standard that Holiday had recorded in 1947.

'The Life of a Showgirl' was Swift's 15th chart-topping album

That places her second on Billboard's all-time list, though streaming has significantly changed how "sales" are interpreted. Prior to the shift to digital music, Billboard's album chart relied solely on sales of physical units. Since 2014, the chart has also considered streams from services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

The average person celebrating Valentine's Day spends $189

That might include dinner, flowers, or something even more romantic. The most popular gift is candy, with 56% of people celebrating the holiday by purchasing sweets. That's about $2.5B in sales.

'Islands in the Stream' was another massive crossover hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

The country stars each earned their second pop No. 1 hits with the duet, eventually selling over 3 million units. In 1998, the Fugees’ Pras scored a hit with an interpolation of the song on his track “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are),” which was eventually certified platinum.

Elvis Presley wanted to record 'I Will Always Love You,' but Dolly Parton refused

After scoring a hit with her own recording of the song, Presley made plans to record his own version, but stipulated that Parton would need to grant him 50% of the publishing rights—perhaps the most valuable asset for a songwriter. Parton politely refused.

Winning a Grammy significantly impacts an artist's sales and streaming

2023 album of the year winner Harry Styles returned to the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, with "Harry's House." It's also not just the winners; Grammy performers also get a boost, like the 100% increase in Spotify streams that Bad Bunny's "Después de la Playa" saw after he sang it on the telecast.

Guns N' Roses' 'November Rain' is the most expensive music video ever

This list breaks down the priciest videos to ever hit MTV. The top spot is a 1991 video featuring an over-the-top narrative, cinematic shots, and luxurious costumes costing a whopping $11M.

One musician went to bed one night as a street sweeper and woke up a national celebrity

24-year-old Macario Martínez was making roughly $10 a day and working 8-hour shifts as a street sweeper in Mexico. The aspiring musician and composer went viral after posting a love song of his on TikTok. He has since quit his day job and has millions of listens on Spotify.

Super Bowl halftime shows reliably drive massive music sales spikes

Since Michael Jackson’s 1993 performance, halftime headliners have seen major increases in sales and streams—from Prince to Lady Gaga. Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 show was no exception, as it was the most-watched halftime performance on record.

Why Robyn's 'Dancing on My Own' became an anthem

Robyn's "Dancing on My Own," was a low-key hit when it was released in 2010, but it's become an anthem in the time since then, influencing artists like Lorde and Charli xcx and inspiring an iconic scene on HBO's "Girls." This article breaks down why that is, studying the song's beats per minute, which match humans' typical walking pace, and the queer experience reflected in its lyrics.

Explore Sears’ holiday Wish Book catalogs dating back to 1930

The Sears Wish Book was a holiday-themed version of its catalogs that helped people make Christmas gift wish lists and more from the 1930s until the early 2000s. See what they looked like with editions in this archive.

How Martha Stewart became the first self-made billionaire woman

Through her cooking shows, cookware, and media empire, Martha Stewart ascended to billionaire status in 1999, becoming America's first woman to achieve that number on her own. Despite a conviction in 2004 and time spent in prison, Stewart rebounded and continues to develop product lines and media, with an estimated net worth of $200M. Read more about her story here.

Taylor Swift helps drive fan engagement by filling her music with easter eggs

Taylor Swift is famous for incorporating Easter eggs—specifically, hidden messages and clues—in her music. Her music videos are often sprinkled with visual nods to her past, and fans pore over her lyrics for the cryptic messages they frequently contain.

Peloton pays artists more for music than most streaming platforms

Since the on-demand classes are technically live performances, Peloton has to pay both for the rights to the song itself and for the right to actually play the song. As a result, Peloton pays more money than many other streaming platforms to use artists' music, with some reports saying Apple Music reportedly pays 0.1 cents per stream and Peloton pays 3.1 cents per stream.

See Christmas traditions from around the world

From Venezuelans roller-skating to church to the decoration of boats in Greece, Christmas traditions vary widely all around the world. See examples from 30 different countries, which highlight how a country’s history shapes its holiday traditions.

Girl Scout cookies are so successful because buying them feels like giving to charity

The program generates $800M a year not because the cookies are exceptional, but because the salesforce makes refusal feel like a moral failure.

The 'Wicked' movies turned an already-successful Broadway show into a behemoth

The production was already one of the most successful in Broadway history, but the release of the first movie kicked it into overdrive: It grossed 15% more in 2024, the year "Wicked: Part I" was released, than the previous year, bringing in more than $112M.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Biz Markie's "Alone Again" changed the laws for sampling

Before 1991, there was no established legal standard for the gray area of sampling. That changed when Gilbert O-Sullivan sued Biz Markie for using his song "Alone Again (Naturally)." After the case, labels were required to clear all samples, and artists were discouraged from creating sample-heavy music.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Poison ivy can cause rashes year-round since all parts of the plant contain urushiol, the oil that triggers our allergic response.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.