Jason Kelce on Dethroning Mariah Carey as 'Queen of Christmas': 'It's Just Really Special'

"We'll see if it holds up throughout the rest of Christmas," Jason joked about topping the holiday charts on his 'New Heights' podcast

Philadelphia Eagles Jason Kelce arrives for the NFL Honors show; Mariah Carey attends the 2024 Fresh Air Fund Spring Benefit
Jason Kelce; Mariah Carey. Photo:

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez; Michael Ostuni/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Jason Kelce is happy to steal Mariah Carey’s Christmas crown!

During the latest episode of his New Heights podcast released on Tuesday, Nov. 12, Jason, 37, shared his delight at topping the iTunes 100 Holiday chart alongside Stevie Nicks with their cover duet "Maybe This Christmas" —  beating Christmas queen Carey, 55.

When asked by his brother and co-host Travis Kelce how it felt, Jason replied jokingly, “You know, I've fought my whole life to be the queen of Christmas and the fact that we're finally there … it's just really special.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jason Kelce, Stevie Nicks
Kelce and Stevie Nicks have topped the iTunes Christmas chart with their holiday duet.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty; Theo Wargo/Getty

“I know we caught it in early November, we'll see if it holds up throughout the rest of Christmas,” Jason said of taking over the holiday top spot from Carey's iconic track “All I Want for Christmas Is You."

“We kind of caught it on the Christmas downslide, not too many people are listening to Christmas music so we jumped up in there.”

“I’ll take it where I can get it. It’s pretty amazing,” he added. 

The former Philadelphia Eagles center also reflected on his time working with Nicks, 76, on their holiday duet, calling the experience “incredible.”

“I mean, obviously I’m still in awe of the fact that that actually happened,” Jason said on the podcast, adding, “There's no percent chance that any song that I am in should be streaming No. 1 on any service, in any genre.”

Mariah Carey performs onstage during her "All I Want For Christmas Is You" tour
Mariah Carey in New York City in December 2019.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

“Yeah, well don't give yourself too much credit, Stevie Nicks,” Travis, 35, interjected.

“That's exactly right,” Jason agreed, laughing. “Good point!”

Jason and Nick’s chart-topping Christmas duet was released on Nov. 8 and features on Jason's annual Philadelphia-themed holiday album, A Philly Special Christmas Party, which arrives on Nov. 22. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The podcaster first teased a duet with Nicks in an Oct. 2 Instagram post, as he shared a photo of the pair in what appeared to be a recording studio.

Speaking about the collaboration on his podcast in October, Jason said, “ [It’s] pretty crazy to actually be on a track with Stevie Nicks. I mean, absolutely unreal. [She’s] probably the most legendary female singer, … [and so] the fact that I'm singing with her this legend, is pretty unreal."

“All I Want for Christmas Is You" remains the most popular Christmas song in the U.S. since its original release in November 1994. It topped the Billboard 100 for 13 weeks in 2019 and the Billboard Holiday 100 for a record 60 cumulative weeks from 2015 to 2023, per Billboard



Comments
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. PEOPLE does not endorse the opinions and views shared by readers in our comment sections.

Related Articles