The guide to writing the happiest Christmas song was developed by musicologist Dr Joe Bennett, who analysed over 200 Christmas hits from Mariah Carey to Slade. The key attributes of the ultimate Christmas cracker include lyrical references to Santa, snow, home, peace and love, sleigh bells in the chorus, a major key and an average tempo of 115 beats per minute.
The song, Love’s Not Just For Christmas was written by British songwriter Steve Anderson, who in the past has written for the likes of Take That, Britney Spears, Westlife, Leona Lewis and Kylie Minogue – and singer-songwriter Harriet Green.
London Community Gospel Choir recorded the song, they have previously sung with artists including Madonna, Blur and George Michael. The song is now available on Spotify. The song will also be performed by local choirs at intu shopping centres around the country in the lead up to Christmas to inspire the nation to get festive.
Dr Joe Bennett said: “There is no simple formula for a successful song, and in practice songwriters combine their own experience, musical skills and personal creative preferences when writing. But we can infer listeners favoured song characteristics by analysing the most popular recordings – in this case, Christmas songs. In Love’s Not Just For Christmas, Steve and Harriet have done an amazing job, weaving together these musical elements into a really enjoyable, happy festive song that combines classic themes with their own original ideas.”
You can watch the video for Love’s Not Just for Christmas below:
The top ten most popular Christmas songs are below:
1. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
2. Last Christmas – Wham!
3. Fairytale of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl) – The Pogues
4. Merry Christmas Everyone – Shakin’ Stevens
5. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
6. Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
7. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Michael Bublė
8. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday – Wizzard
9. Step Into Christmas – Elton John
10. Wonderful Christmas time – Paul McCartney
