Courtesy of Jose FelicianoFifty years after its original release, Jose Feliciano‘s classic bilingual Christmas song “Feliz Navidad” has reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
The tune jumped from #16 on the previous Hot 100 chart to #10 on the latest tally after a 15% increase in streams and a 34% spike in sales. The song’s previous highest-chart showing was #12, which happened during last year’s holiday season.
“Feliz Navidad” becomes Feliciano’s second career top 10 hit, following his 1968 cover of The Doors‘ “Light My Fire,” which peaked at #3 on the Hot 100.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of “Feliz Navidad,” the 75-year-old Puerto Rican singer/guitarist appeared last week on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and CBS Sunday Morning. He also will be presenting a special livestream event on December 20 at FelizNavidad50th.com starting at 7 p.m. ET, that will feature several guest performers, including one-time American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart.
Various ticket packages for the event are available for purchase at Growtix.com.
Meanwhile, last month, a star-studded new version of “Feliz Navidad” was released as a digital download and via streaming services. The track included vocal contributions from Feliciano, Gloria Gaynor, soul legend Sam Moore, Shaggy, Jon Secada, Jason Mraz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rachael Ray, Michael Bolton and members of Styx, among many others.
Regarding the new rendition of the tune, José said, “It’s hard to believe I’ve been singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ for 50 years. I am overwhelmed with the generosity of spirit and passion that all my friends have put into this track and I am grateful that this song continues to unify people around the world.”
By Matt Friedlander
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