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Wham!’s Andrew Ridgeley Calls Countless ‘Last Christmas’ Covers ‘Testament to the Brilliance of the Song’

Wham!'s Andrew Ridgeley talks to the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast about the enduring legacy of the duo's music and the many covers of "Last Christmas."

’s “Last Christmas” has become a holiday standard over its 40 years in release — not just because of the extraordinary success of the original 1984 recording by the pop duo (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley), but also because of its numerous covers by the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, among others. “Last Christmas” has become a fixture on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the holiday season and recently reached a new peak of No. Ridgeley says it has been “extremely satisfying” to see the tune climb the Hot 100, and adds that Michael (who died in 2017) “would have been utterly delighted… and it would have meant a great deal to him.”

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