Is it possible to get to Christmas without hearing "Last Christmas"?

The Whamageddon is a collective elimination game based on trying to avoid listening to the famous – and now unbearable? – Christmas song Last Christmas by Wham!. The challenge concludes on December 25, and when a person is "hit," they can share it on social media using the hashtag #whamageddon. Started about a decade ago, the game originated in the UK and has recently become an international phenomenon. Today, it has an official website - akin to Fantasanremo - listing the rules of the challenge and even offering related merchandise. Last Christmas was released on December 3, 1984, by the pop duo Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael. Reaching the second position on the UK charts, the song – released simultaneously with Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid, in which Michael participated – gained great popularity over the years. Even today, four decades later, it remains one of the most well-known and replayed Christmas songs, alongside others like All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. Last Christmas was recorded in August – yes, August – 1984, when George Michael was 21, in a London studio decorated with Christmas decorations. The music video was shot at a ski resort in Switzerland in November. After filming, Michael went straight to record Do They Know It’s Christmas? with other well-known singers, including Bono and Sting. That Christmas, Michael found himself with two songs at the top of the charts, and since the proceeds from Do They Know It’s Christmas? went to charity, he decided to do the same for Last Christmas.

People's Reactions to Last Christmas

Last Christmas is so famous and overplayed during the holiday season that it has become annoying for many, to the point of wanting to avoid it as much as possible – and it is precisely on this aspect that Whamageddon is based. The phenomenon returned to the spotlight after a case involving a British DJ who, as part of his job selecting music during matches for Northampton Town – a League One football team, the third tier of English football – played Last Christmas between the first and second halves of a match. Thousands of people were present at the game. Speaking later to the BBC, the DJ said he played the song thinking of Whamageddon and that he thought it would be "funny to eliminate 7,000 people in one go." However, the gesture generated many criticisms and insults on social networks, which he said were still "kinder" than those received at the stadium. "I didn't think people took the challenge so seriously." "I think it's a shame that someone in my line of work can't play Wham! until the end of December," he added. "But it's a game, and everyone has to play along." The DJ publicly apologized: "It's clear that the gesture wasn't funny. [...] So I officially apologize to everyone whose Christmas I ruined."

Why We Can't Stand Christmas Songs

Various experts have tried to explain why Christmas music evokes negative emotions in some people. Not all Christmas songs are the same: certain harmonic structures and recurring sounds allow us to almost immediately recognize if we are listening to something belonging to the genre. It is due to these characteristics that Christmas songs, especially their choruses, become what is known in English as "earworms" – melodies that turn into mental earworms. Since Christmas songs are heard almost everywhere for about a month each year, it becomes challenging to ignore them, leading to discomfort. Any tune perceived as excessive or repetitive can indeed become borderline annoying for our brains, a Canadian psychologist interviewed on the topic emphasized to CBC. In some cases, these pieces can evoke a sense of nostalgia, which, while comforting on one hand, can transform into melancholy, bringing forth negative feelings – further intensified by the continuous exposure to the same sound source generating them. Christmas music, finally, can also be interpreted by our brains as a stimulus that somehow creates pressure and expectations – especially if linked to social conventions (such as perhaps having to give gifts) that are not entirely shared.