Seventh grade was almost halfway done, my crush had no idea I was alive, and my Christmas list was stacked full of black and blue items because Backstreet Boys decided to go with a colorful title for their November 2000 release. Life was good, but it was made all that better after I picked up a random CD, ‘Platinum Christmas.’ It had a handful of artists I enjoyed, BSB included so I thought, why not? Now, I have to be honest – there ain’t a single song I remember on that record except for the one we’re here to talk about today, and that’s “My Only Wish (This Year)” by Britney Spears.
I know Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas due to her 1994 hit that continues to make her millions each year, but like…if we’re being real right now, I sort of love this Britney song an ounce more. Christmas music is always cheesy, right? It’s about bells jingling, halls decking, and a reindeer who most definitely had radiation poisoning. So “My Only Wish (This Year)” just hit that sweet spot between holiday cheese and bubblegum pop that I found utterly delightful. It’s been 22 years, and I don’t listen to this song often – if ever, but I just turned it on and I still know every single word and my delusional confidence is telling me that I could perform this if need be. I won’t put you through that, but I could.
Artists have always felt it necessary to bank on the holidays by releasing either a single or a whole-ass album and hey, can you blame them? Who wouldn’t want to try and strike gold like Mariah? I’d certainly try, but yes – N’SYNC gave us a wonderful album, Christina Aguilera made every Christmas classic clock in at around eight minutes due to her infatuation with vocal runs, and even Backstreet Boys have officially dropped a Christmas record. And none of the above are bad by any means but when it comes to the holidays and songs I just can’t get enough of – this Britney one stands above the rest, and I’m not even a huge Britney stan.
So more about this song, it’s a cute love song centered around the holidays. It does not break the mold in terms of content or even sound, but the way she puts that millennium pop spin on it, undeniable if you grew up obsessing over MTV’s ‘TRL’ and often debated which boy band was best. If you didn’t grow up in the ‘00s then perhaps you’d hear this and pass on by but I’d invite you to give it another listen and just embrace the cheesy pop goodness like it’s in a big ol’ tin alongside some caramel corn.
With this being my ultimate holiday song crush, you won’t see it later this week when I drop an episode diving into a handful of other songs, or even on the top 10 that follows. I just wanted to kick off this week with this choice and I hope that you not only enjoy “My Only Wish (This Year)” if you’ve never heard it but also enjoy the holiday season!
Crushgasm 
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