"December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)" is a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

commercially released by

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

on 14 December 2009. The track was originally announced during one of the last dates on Michael's

25 Live 25 Live (also known as the 25th-Anniversary Tour) was a concert tour by English singer/songwriter George Michael. The tour was the most commercially successful tour of 2006–2007 in Europe, grossing over $200 million, with positive reviews fr ...

tour. It was available for free on George Michael's official website on 25–26 December 2008. The track was written by George Michael and longtime writing partner David Austin. During the

Gerry Ryan Gerard Ryan (4 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented ''The Gerry Ryan Show'' on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until hou ...

show, David Austin confirmed that the song had originally been written with the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

in mind. After a few failed deadlines, the song was going to be given to

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

but George Michael decided to keep it for himself. The song features a sample from the

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

recording "

The Christmas Waltz "The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of " White Christmas", in 1957 for his album ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'', and i ...

". George Michael performed the song live on 13 December for the final of the 2009 series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. The day after the performance, physical copies of the song were sold out in one day, forcing George Michael's record label to print new copies. Many fans have commented on forums of their annoyance at not being able to buy a physical copy of the single, possibly also giving the song a lower chart position than its true potential. The song debuted at number fourteen on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Music video

The accompanying music video was Michael's second animated one, with 2002's "

Shoot the Dog "Shoot the Dog" is a song by British singer-songwriter George Michael, released as the second single from his fifth and final studio album, ''Patience'', though released a year and a half prior to the album. It was his last release for Polydor R ...

" being the first. The video featured Michael as a boy, and it shows his view of Christmas from a child's perspective; shown by the visualization of sunshine, lightbulbs, and motherly love.

Formats and track listings

CD single-EP / digital single-EP

# "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)" – 3:35 # "Jingle (A Musical Interlewd)" – 3:35 # "Edith & the Kingpin" (Live at

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although ''Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly re ...

) – 3:46 # "

Praying for Time "Praying for Time" is a song written and performed by British singer and songwriter George Michael, released on Epic Records in the United Kingdom and Columbia Records in the United States in 1990. It was the first single from his second studio ...

" (Live at Abbey Road) – 4:57 # "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)" (Video) – 3:56 * CD single only. The first commercial release was in 2009, with two releases following in 2010 and 2011, the latter being the first to be released on iTunes (which excluded the video). * The limited editions of the 2009 and 2010 CD releases included a Christmas card.December Song (Includes Christmas Card) [Limited Edition]: Amazon.co.uk: Music
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Charts

References

{{authority control Songs about dreams British Christmas songs 2009 singles George Michael songs Songs written by George Michael Songs written by David Austin (singer) Song recordings produced by George Michael 2008 songs Island Records singles