Britney Spears’ Christmas Song Is Making Up For Lost Time

Britney Spears' "My Only Wish (This Year)" returns to the U.K. singles chart for the fifth year in a ... [+] row—and decades after it was first released. UNITED STATES - CIRCA 2000: Pop teen superstar Britney Spears performs in the first of four concerts at Jones Beach. (Photo by John Roca/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

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Britney Spears hasn't spent much of her career recording music meant to be played around the holidays. She was too busy delivering dance-pop smashes for many years, and lately, she's been more focused on living her life. Only one of her yuletide tracks is still popular to this day—and only a few weeks per year, at best—and it's become a hit once more.

"My Only Wish (This Year)" is back on the main singles chart in the United Kingdom this week. The tune breaks onto the list of the most-consumed songs in the nation at No. 75 as the holiday comes and goes.

Spears' tune lands on the list during the chart week dated January 2, 2025, but the current ranking reflects sales and streaming from the days before then, when British citizens were wrapped up in all things Christmas. The fact that the song only lands on the list exactly when it does is notable, though.

2025 now marks the fifth year in a row in which "My Only Wish (This Year)" has found space on the U.K. songs chart. The promotional single debuted on the list in late December 2021, when it opened at No. 97. It would only manage one frame on the ranking that year, and listeners in the nation have now made it a tradition to bring the cut back every season.

"My Only Wish (This Year)" reached its peak earlier this year, during its last stint on the chart during the 2023 holiday season. On the ranking dated January 4, 2024, Spears' tune rose to No. 59, before quickly disappearing as tastes changed again.

Spears released "My Only Wish (This Year)" in 2000, though it wasn't promoted at the time, despite the fact that she was already one of the most famous singers in the world by that point. The track was included on a compilation featuring pop superstars all doing their best to join in on the holiday fun, titled Platinum Christmas. As a result, the tune was not a hit until decades after it first became available.

In just a few days, it's likely that "My Only Wish (This Year)" will vanish once more, and it won't be alone. Dozens of Christmas singles will fall from the U.K.'s most competitive songs chart following the conclusion of another jolly period…but it looks like it will be back when the weather turns cold again.