George Michael just broke a major streaming record, three years after his death

Three years on from his death, George Michael has broken a major streaming record in the UK. Wham! track “Last Christmas” rocketed up the during Christmas week, claiming the number three slot – behind Ellie Goulding’s ‘River’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’.

However, while it didn’t claim the top spot in the overall singles charts, the Official Charts Company revealed that ‘Last Christmas’ still managed to break a unique record.

The song received a massive 17.1 million plays on streaming services in the UK during Christmas week, shattering the record for “the biggest week of streams for a song in the UK.” It overtakes Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings, which racked up 16.9 million plays in a week in January 2019.

The song is always popular at Christmas, but may have gained a boost from the success of romantic comedy adaptation Last Christmas, which was released in November.

George Michael passed away on Christmas Day in 2016, and was found by his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz.