Released November 14, 2000 Genre Christmas
pop Label Jive | Recorded 2000 Length 4:15 | |
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Writer(s) Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz, Britney Spears | ||
"My Only Wish (This Year)" is a pop Christmas song performed by American recording artist Britney Spears. It was written by Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz and Spears. It was released originally in the Christmas compilation album Platinum Christmas. In it Spears asks Santa Claus to find her a lover during the holidays. The track received mixed reviews from music critics, however close to decade after release, reviewers felt the song could be considered a holiday classic. "My Only Wish (This Year)" has charted in various countries, mainly on Billboard's Holiday Songs in 2011 and 2012. On October 22, 2013, an audio-only video of the song was uploaded on Britney Spears' Vevo account.
Contents
Background and composition
On October 13, 2000, American publishing and media company Forbes reported that Spears had plans to record a song called "My Only Wish (This Year)" for a Christmas album titled Platinum Christmas. The song was included in the album, which was released on November 14, 2000. "My Only Wish (This Year)" was written by Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz and Spears and produced by Kierulf. It is a teen pop song in the key of C major over a vocal range spanning from G4 to A5. It runs in a fast shuffle rhythm, a rhythm pattern used mainly in jazz-influenced music. In the song, Spears laments her loneliness during the holidays and asks Santa Claus to bring her a lover, in lines such as "He's all I want, just for me/Underneath my Christmas tree". Since its release, the song has been included in more than eight Christmas music compilations, including Now That's What I Call Christmas! (2001), Super Christmas Hits (2006) and Christmas Top 100 (2009).
Critical reception
Michael Roberts of the Dallas Observer described the song as "an unobjectionable but generic retro bounce-fest". Lori Reese of Entertainment Weekly called it "festive". In her review of Now That's What I Call Christmas!, Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch commented, "Thankfully, only a small portion of disc two is devoted to tween magnets including Britney Spears ('My Only Wish [This Year]') and 'N Sync ('You Don't Have to Be Alone [On Christmas]')". Gabrielle Rice of Yahoo! called it one of Spears's best and most remembered songs, saying, however, that it only "made the Top 10 list because the lyrics [and] fast shuffle rhythm ... are just plain cute". A reviewer for Yahoo! Shopping thought that Spears "turns in the most sexually charged performance of a seasonal song since Eartha Kitt's 'Santa Baby'". In his review of classic Christmas songs, Sydney Morning Herald writer Richard Jinman said that this track and Mariah Carey's 1994 single "All I Want for Christmas Is You" were "ho-ho-horrible singles", and Adam Graham of The Detroit News also commented that the "sleigh bells and holiday cheer abound on this bouncy teen-pop ditty ... follows in the tradition" of Carey's single.
Sam Lansky of PopCrush included the song on his list of Top 10 Original Christmas Pop Songs, writing, "another millennial teen pop jam, Britney Spears' 'My Only Wish (This Year)' follows the time-honored tradition of asking Santa Claus for love", and finding it "a sweet throwback to the simpler days of [Britney]". Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered the song a "pop holiday classic." Steve Leggett noted the song as "a nice and bright backdrop for that Christmas party or dinner". MTV blogger Tamar Anitai praised it as "the absolute holy grail of 1990s pop Christmas songs".
Chart performance
"My Only Wish (This Year)" appeared in the Danish Singles Chart on December 26, 2008, as a result of digital downloads, debuting and peaking at number 34 before dropping off the chart in the following week. In the following year it came back at number 37. It charted in Slovakia, on December 28, 2009, at number 54. It made its first appearance on Billboard Holiday/Seasonal Digital Songs on November 27, 2010, peaking at number 49 as a result of digital downloads. On December 3, 2010, Nielsen SoundScan reported that there had so far been 162,000 paid digital downloads of the song in the United States. On December 8, 2011, "My Only Wish (This Year)" debuted at number 170 on South Korea's International Download Gaon Chart, following digital sales of 3,671 copies. On December 17, 2011 it sold other 13,670 copies. On the International Comprehensive Tracks component chart, it peaked at number 34.