Move over, Mariah: Michael Bublé is becoming the king of Christmas music with nearly $16 million in holiday earnings

By Charles Passy

'Bublé has been a busy little elf,' music-industry experts note

Michael Bublé - who's coming for Mariah Carey's Christmas crown - performs onstage during the 2025 JUNO Awards at Rogers Arena on March 30 in Vancouver, B.C.

It's beginning to look a lot like Michael Bublé season.

The Canadian-born pop-jazz artist has come to dominate Christmas music over the past several years, thanks in large part to his multiplatinum-selling 2011 album, "Christmas." By some key measures, Bublé tops Mariah Carey, the singer who's long been hailed as the "Queen of Christmas" and has earned at least $60 million in streaming royalties over the years for her recording of "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

But consider these stats: So far this month, Bublé has generated 752 million streams for his recordings, including such holiday classics as "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "White Christmas," according to data provided exclusively to MarketWatch from New York-based music consulting firm CAD Management's IQ Research & Analytics Group.

Carey, meanwhile, has generated 692 million streams - not too shabby, of course, but still not measuring up to the Canadian crooner. By month's end, CAD Management estimates Bublé will be 9% ahead of Carey in terms of streams.

Those streams equate to cold, hard cash - and, yes, singers collect money from Spotify (SPOT) and the like. According to one analysis by the British-based Dark Horse SEO agency, Bublé stands to earn GBP11.8 million, which translates to $15.9 million, from his annual holiday streaming success.

Of course, composers also earn money when their music is heard via various formats, including streaming. And Carey benefits from the fact that she not only recorded "All I Want for Christmas Is You," but also co-wrote the song.

Still, what makes Bublé the new king of Christmas music, if such a title can be anointed?

Begin with the obvious fact: He's got the vocal chops. And he packages his music, especially his holiday fare, so that it has a smart, contemporary appeal.

Or so says Delilah, the popular radio host who considers Bublé a mainstay of her Christmas season programming.

"His stuff is beautiful," she told MarketWatch. "He can take a song that's been played to death, and his arrangements make it fresh but always true to the spirit of the song."

But just as important is the fact that Bublé doesn't put all his stock in just one holiday song, as Carey has more or less done with "All I Want for Christmas Is You." In effect, Bublé wins the holiday-music race by virtue of his entire seasonal catalog, with lighter and melancholic songs alike.

'Bublé has been a busy little elf.' Bill Werde, Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries, Syracuse University

That's critical in terms of how people listen to holiday music, said Bill Werde, director of Syracuse University's Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries. It's not about the song, but about the songs, as in plural, for most holiday revelers.

"More often than not, they're hitting play on a playlist or they're playing an album," Werde said.

Werde said Bublé's seasonal success goes beyond the depth of his Christmas catalog. It's also about how Bublé promotes himself during the holidays with media appearances galore, from podcast interviews to even a performance at the Vatican.

"Bublé has been a busy little elf," Werde said.

Pope Leo XIV shakes hands with Michael Bublé after a concert at the Vatican on Dec. 6.

It's a point seconded by Aaron Crisler, a Nashville, Tenn.-based entertainment publicist. "Michael has done an incredible job from a public-relations angle of endearing himself to his audience and gaining new fans," he said.

Not that everyone is necessarily a Bublé listener. Philip Springer, a legendary composer who co-wrote the holiday hit "Santa Baby," told MarketWatch he wasn't keen on how Bublé wanted to approach the song, tweaking it so that "Santa baby" becomes "Santa buddy."

Springer added that he prefers classic crooners, such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, to Bublé. "I was never a big fan," he said.

But others beg to differ. "I feel that he has a reverence for these old songs," said Diana Bernal, a Los Angeles resident who marks the holidays with Bublé in heavy rotation on her playlist.

Bublé couldn't be reached for immediate comment via his representatives, but he's talked about how he thinks holiday music should be celebrated, even months before the season starts.

"We should start listening to Christmas music in June," he said during a recent podcast interview.

Naturally, he admitted if we actually did so, it might not hurt his bottom line. "It would be great for my streaming revenue," he said.

-Charles Passy

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12-25-25 1051ET

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