Is it possible to get to Christmas without hearing "Last Christmas"? Collective challenge Whamageddon has been trying to do so for ten years

What is Whamageddon?

The Whamageddon is an elimination-based collective game focused on trying to avoid listening to the famous (and by now unbearable?) Christmas song Last Christmas by Wham!. The challenge ends on December 25, and when someone gets “hit,” they can share it on social media with the hashtag #whamageddon. Started about a decade ago, the game – born in the United Kingdom – has only recently become an international phenomenon. Today it even has an official website – just like Fantasanremo – where the rules of the challenge are listed and where it is even possible to purchase related merchandising.

Last Christmas by Wham!: the story

Last Christmas was released on December 3, 1984, by the pop duo formed by Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael. Reaching second place on the UK charts, the song – which came out at the same time as Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid, in which Michael also took part – gained great popularity over the years: even today, four decades later, it remains one of the best-known and most replayed Christmas songs of all time, alongside others such as All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. Last Christmas was recorded in August – yes, in August – of 1984, when George Michael was 21, in a London studio decorated for the occasion with Christmas ornaments.

The music video was filmed in a ski resort in Switzerland, in November. Once shooting wrapped, Michael went straight to record Do They Know It’s Christmas?, together with other well-known artists including Bono and Sting. That Christmas, Michael found himself with two songs at the top of the charts, and since the proceeds of Do They Know It’s Christmas? went to charity, he decided to do the same with those of 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 where they try to avoid it whenever possible – and this is exactly what Whamageddon is based on. The phenomenon made headlines again after a case involving a British DJ, who selects music during matches for Northampton Town – a League One football team, the third tier of English football. Between the first and second half of a match, he played Last Christmas. Thousands of people were present at the stadium. Speaking later with the BBC, the DJ said he had played the track thinking specifically about Whamageddon, adding that, in his view, “it would have been funny to knock 7,000 people out of the game in one go.”

However, the gesture generated widespread criticism and insults on social media, which he said were still “kinder” than those he received at the stadium. “I didn’t think people took the challenge so seriously.” “I think it’s a shame that someone doing my job can’t play Wham! until the end of December,” he added, “but it’s a game, so everyone has to play along.” The DJ had to publicly apologize: “It’s clear the gesture wasn’t funny. [...] So I officially apologize to everyone whose Christmas I ruined.”

Why we can’t stand Christmas songs

Several experts have tried to explain why Christmas music triggers negative emotions in some people. Not all Christmas songs are the same: there are certain harmonic structures and recurring sounds that allow listeners to immediately recognize whether what they’re hearing belongs to the genre. It’s thanks to these characteristics that Christmas songs – and especially their choruses – become what in English are called “earworms”, melodies that turn into mental “tormentors.” Since Christmas songs are heard almost everywhere for about a month each year, they become hard to ignore, to the point of generating discomfort.

Any tune perceived as excessive or repetitive can indeed become borderline annoying for our brain, a Canadian psychologist explained to the news site CBC. This type of music can sometimes evoke a sense of nostalgia, which may be comforting on one hand, but can also turn into melancholy, prompting negative feelings – further intensified by continuous exposure to the same sound source that generates them. Finally, Christmas music can also be interpreted by our brain as a stimulus that triggers pressure and expectations – especially if tied to social conventions (such as gift-giving) that one may not fully share.