A few years ago, Stereogum’s own Chris DeVille wrote a column about a crucial question: Where are the modern Christmas standards? Every year, Mariah Carey’s 1994 song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reliably returns to #1 on the Hot 100. It’s part of the flood of holiday music that dominates the Hot 100 for about six weeks every year. Most of the other songs Christmas songs that fill the chart predate “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” usually by a lot. This year, however, we have two different Christmas songs in the top 10, and it’s the first time this century that post-Mariah Christmas music has charted that high.

Most of the Christmas songs on this week’s Hot 100 are midcentury classics: Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,” Dean Martin’s “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” In that context, Wham!’s 40-year-old “Last Christmas,” currently the #3 song in America, feels positively cutting-edge. But Billboard reports that this week’s top 10 features two songs, Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath The Tree,” that came out in the 21st century — encouraging signs that it’s at least possible to make a new Christmas standard in this day and age.

To clarify, these two songs are not new. Both are more than a decade old. Ariana Grande released “Santa Tell Me,” this week’s #9 song, in 2014. Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath The Tree,” currently sitting at #10, came out in 2013; it’s now Clarkson’s first top-10 hit since 2016. Much like “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” both of those songs riff on the style of the Motown and Phil Spector Christmas songs of the ’60s. Also, both Grande and Clarkson remain hugely famous, which probably helps. (Grande’s got a new “Santa Tell Me” live video, which could boost its placement on next weeks’ charts.) Both “Santa Tell Me” and “Underneath The Tree” peaked at #11 last year.

This might not seem like a big deal, but it at least indicates that stale holiday playlists are getting shaken up a little bit. Before this, the most recent holiday song to crack the top 10 was Kenny G’s version of “Auld Lang Syne,” a #7 hit in 1999. It’s probably also good news for Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande’s 2022 duet “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me,” which has yet to get past #76.

The only non-Christmas song in this week’s top 10 is Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With A Smile,” still holding steady at #6.