What Olivia Rodrigo’s First Christmas Single Sets Up for the UK Christmas No. 1 Race

Olivia Rodrigo announced her first Christmas single on 2 November 2026. “take me home (4 christmas)” is a new original track, and it arrives ahead of the UK Christmas Number 1 contest, which Rodrigo has not entered before with a festive release.

The single was due out at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday, 5 November, which is early Friday, 6 November, in the UK. It comes out through Interscope Records; Music Week names the label as Polydor/Interscope.

How Rodrigo Announced the Single

Rodrigo made the announcement on Instagram. According to the Irish News, her caption said the song would be out that Thursday at 5 p.m. PT, which is 8 p.m. ET, and that the track could be pre-ordered now. Pre-orders for the vinyl and cassette were open through her official store.

The announcement came days after the release of a remix of “expectations” with Chappell Roan. Rodrigo is 23.

Reports differ on the release day. SPIN and Clash give Thursday, 5 November, at 5 p.m. PT. Official Charts and Music Week give Friday, 6 November.

SPIN notes that Christmas music is not entirely new to her. Rodrigo wrote a Christmas song called “The Bels” at the age of five and shared it with fans in 2022 as a holiday surprise through her online newsletter. “take me home (4 christmas)” is her first festive single.

Key dates
Rodrigo announced the single on Instagram on 2 November 2026. It was set for 5 p.m. PT on 5 November, which is 6 November in the UK. The UK Christmas Number 1 is revealed on 25 December.

Who Wrote and Produced the Song

Rodrigo wrote the song with Dan Nigro and Amy Allen. Official Charts, Music Week and SPIN each list the same three writers. Nigro produced it.

Official Charts describes the track as a brand-new original.

The single is released on Interscope Records. Music Week lists the label as Polydor/Interscope.

The Video With Cynthia Nixon and Ben Marshall

A music video was set to arrive on 6 November, according to Official Charts and Music Week. Rodrigo appears in it alongside Cynthia Nixon, known for Sex and the City, and Ben Marshall of Saturday Night Live. Clash reports that a full video has been shot.

An Instagram teaser connected to the release shows a group wearing Christmas crowns, each with a label, guessing who they are, according to the Irish News. The labels together spell out Rodrigo’s name.

In the teaser, according to the Irish News, Marshall asks, “Am I smaller than a breadbox?” Nixon can be heard asking a number of questions, including whether she is living, a president or in the arts.

Vinyl and Cassette Editions

A physical release launches alongside the song. It includes an exclusive 7-inch vinyl and a cassette, both available to pre-order on Rodrigo’s website, according to SPIN and Clash. Clash says the vinyl and cassette launch in time with the single.

Music Week describes the vinyl as a red seven-inch and says physical sales are being driven in the gifting season. It is available to pre-order from HMV in the UK and goes on sale in stores on Friday, 6 November. Official Charts also says the vinyl is available through HMV in the UK from 6 November.

SPIN says the seven-inch will also be sold through Target and arrive in stores on Friday. Clash says it reaches North American stores on 6 November and that UK and European outlets follow later. That differs from Music Week and Official Charts, which give 6 November for HMV in the UK.

The result is revealed on Christmas Day, Friday, 25 December, on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders.

Her Chart Record Going In

Her single “drop dead” became her fourth Official Number 1 single earlier in 2026, after “drivers license,” “good 4 u” and “vampire,” Official Charts reports. Her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, became her third consecutive Official Number 1 album in June 2026.

Music Week says that album finished top overall in the UK in the third quarter. It remains in the Top 3 after 20 weeks, with 366,277 units consumed to date, according to Official Charts figures cited by Music Week.

Her remix of “expectations” with Chappell Roan peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Official Charts lists the Rodrigo and Chappell Roan version at No. 4, with eight weeks on the chart.

According to the Irish News, her debut album, Sour, from 2021, climbed to the top of the UK charts and won Grammys for best pop vocal album and best new artist in 2022. Two years later, her second chart-topping album, Guts, followed.

In the US, SPIN reports that the “expectations” remix rose from No. 63 to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its first week and helped send the album back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The video for the remix co-stars David Byrne. Clash says the album has topped the charts in 17 countries.

Rodrigo is also on the sold-out Unraveled Tour, which has sold more than one million tickets worldwide, according to Music Week and SPIN. The Irish News notes that she and Roan performed together at Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival in August.

How the Christmas Number 1 Race Is Timed

Official Charts says the Christmas Number 1 contest begins on Friday, 18 December, with seven days of eligible sales and streams. The chart week closes at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, 24 December.

The result is revealed on Christmas Day, Friday, 25 December, on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders. The exact broadcast time has yet to be confirmed. The full Official Christmas Singles Chart Top 100 and the Official Christmas Albums Chart will be published on OfficialCharts.com.

The last Christmas Day reveal was in 2020, when LadBaby won with “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’.”

Music Week reports that, as a new song, Rodrigo’s single will have an advantage over catalogue tracks under UK chart rules in the race. It gives no further detail on those rules.

Official Charts frames the question as whether the single can become her fifth UK Number 1 and her first Christmas chart-topper. That outcome will not be known until the Christmas Day announcement.

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