Jimmy Buffett’s version of “Mele Kalikimaka” returns to Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart, … [+]
Jimmy Buffett died last fall, but his fans are keeping his memory alive by constantly consuming the music he wrote, recorded, and released during his lifetime. One of the singer-songwriter’s biggest hits is back on one ranking this frame, and as it returns, the tune reaches a new peak, bringing the late star to a never-before-seen high.
“Mele Kalikimaka” is one of dozens of seasonal tunes that find space on the Billboard charts this week, as Americans can seemingly never get enough of Christmas cuts. The track isn’t one of the top performers in that genre, but it does manage to find its way back to the World Digital Song Sales list, becoming a top 10 hit all over again as it reappears.
This frame, Buffett’s cover of the tune, which is performed partially in the Hawaiian language, breaks back onto the World Digital Song Sales chart at No. 4. That’s not just a new peak for the title itself, but for the musician himself.
Buffett’s take on “Mele Kalikimaka” has now spent 21 weeks somewhere on the list of the bestselling songs in a language other than English (or Spanish) in the U.S., and it’s only just now reached its newly established peak. The cut debuted on the tally in 2018, though it’s actually much older than that.
“Mele Kalikimaka” was first made popular in 1950, when Bing Crosby unveiled the track alongside his backing group, the Andrews Sisters. Since then, it’s been reworked by dozens of artists, but Buffett’s stands out as different from the rest. He centered his cover around his typical laidback, island vibe, which suited the classic perfectly.
Buffett has collected only two hits on the World Digital Song Sales chart, and both are “Mele Kalikimaka,” though they’re different versions of the same composition. A duet of the track, credited to both Buffett and Jake Shimabukuro, debuted on the tally in December 2016. Shortly after it arrived, it climbed into the top 10, peaking at No. 10.
“Mele Kalikimaka” was featured on Buffett’s album Christmas Island, which he shared in October 1996. The set produced no proper singles, though in the decades since it first became available, fans have chosen which tunes they love the most, and turned some of them—namely this Hawaiian favorite—into charting hits.
