part of 17 year old Justin Bieber." The song, which includes subtle "Christmas flourishes" in the background arrangement, opens up with jingle bells before an instrumental of guitar and bongos come in. Reception Critical response RJ Cubarrubia of Billboard first complimented the song, saying that "the stripped-down sound allows the young superstar to showcase how much he and his voice have grown," and that the chorus sounds "warm and fuzzy." However he said "Bieber's breezy crooning and flat lyrics make 'Mistletoe' come off like an uninspiring, Jason Mraz-esque holiday track." Cubarrubia commended Bieber for attempting to inject his charisma in such a track, but said "he's still far from the classic Christmas pop of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You"." Although he said the song may feel a bit calculated, Bill Lamb of About.com complimented the song's "acoustic Jason Mraz vibe, the subtle seasonal touches, and adult sound. Lamb predicted the song to be a likely seasonal hit for Bieber and commented, "The subtle wintry holiday chimes in the backing track make it obvious this is a seasonal release, but it will not be jarring when included on a standard pop playlist." Jarett Wieselman of The Insider.com said the song "is pretty damn good" and went on to say "it's gonna be the biggest song of 2011." Wieselman said "You can't deny the appeal of America's tween dream du jour dropping a track where he asks the listeners to 'kiss me underneath the mistletoe.' Well played young man, well played." In 2021, Rolling Stone placed "Mistletoe" at number 17 on its list of the worst Christmas songs of all time. Commercial performance "Mistletoe" sold 164,000 copies in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it at No. 5 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart. As of January 1, 2012, Nielsen SoundScan estimated total sales of the digital track at 722,000 downloads, which is the most a Christmas/holiday digital song has ever sold in a calendar year. As of November 25, 2016, "Mistletoe" is fourth on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history, with total sales of 1,100,000 downloads. Music video and live performances The music video for "Mistletoe" was directed by Roman White. The video marked the second time Bieber had worked with White on a music video, the first being "One Less Lonely Girl" (2009). It was also shot