ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!
Stream these singles (and more) here (Spotify Playlist)
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2021 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2021 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2020 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2019 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2018 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2017 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2016 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2015 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2014 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2013 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2017 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2016 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2015 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2014 here
Read about my top Christmas singles of 2013 here
This is the tenth (!) year that I have fastidiously catalogued all the new Christmas albums, EPs and singles that have caught my attention; providing me with seasonal new sounds to add to my ever growing playlist of holiday classics. While I clearly adore all the Christmas music I write about, I've picked some that have resonated with me just that little bit more this Yuletide. I can't quite bring myself to rank them so I am listing them alphabetically - and, quite honestly, given another frame of mind the number twenty song could easily be the number five tune. I have picked out a few favourites, however, so do read on and let me know your thoughts...
After delivering us an exquisite take on Grown Up Christmas List last year, Adetoun returned with Joyful Joyful. Produced by Steve Anderson, it is clear that there is a love and respect for the source material from both artists. The piano accompaniment shimmers in, like a breeze of snow on the most beautious hills, swathing Adetown's crystalline voice in twinkling majesty. Joyful joyful and triumphant triumphant.
This charming song definitely left me feeling merry and bright! There are some lovely bon mots about opening up happy memories alongside vividly poetic lyrics that paint a picture of the blissful winter wonderland BB sings about. Piano chords enhance the jingling bells while elegant strings in sweep in like snow over the ornate hill tops - its an aural hug for every time you want one.
A grandiose, enchanting ballad which, even though sung in Magnus' native Swedish tongue, translates just from the beauty of the piano accompaniment and his lush, expressive vocals. Written by Py Bäckman and Niklas Dackborn, the lyrics are evocative picture paintings of how we often imagine Christmas to be - snowy landscapes can often conjure up memories of a song that stirs emotions you may have forgotten are there.
This catchy song is an instant toe tapper with an effusive wall of sound instrumental that wouldn't sound out of place next to brilliant Yuletide songs like Mariah's All I Want For Christmas Is You, Darlene Love's All Alone on Christmas and/or Leona Lewis' One More Sleep. Jingling bells, an ebullient orchestral score and a percussion as propulsive as Santa's reindeers pulling the sleigh make this vibrant and glittering.
Oh the producer of Netflix festive flick, Falling For Christmas, had his own seasonal song on the soundtrack alongside Lindsey Lohan and Chord Overstreet; and it was just as likely to bring you comfort and joy. Painting deliciously lyrical brush strokes on a Christmas card canvas with his effusive singing, Mr Damian reminds us why he was always a triple threat - singer, actor, producer. This is a finger-clicking, sing-along bop that you'll be singing until new year.
This lovely song is all about the redemptive, transformative power of love - and the shimmering of jingle bells makes it feel particularly pertinent to the most wonderful time of the year (and all the more poignant for aren't emotions heightened during the holiday period). Sweeping strings and a heart-beat percussion swathe Hazell's warm tones in a lush score that only serves to enhance the magic and sparkle of the lyrics. It is a sound that manages to be both timeless and timely.
Christmas Day has a music box style keyboard accompaniment with this gorgeous, gentle shuffling percussive undercurrent that simmers under Foster's engaging vocal style. It is a lovely contemporary lullaby of a song with Foster conjuring up images as cosy as hot cocoa, as sparkling as any winter wonderland you might encounter. His descriptive, poetic lyrics and charming delivery make this one you can play over and over.
The sequel to last year's epic Underneath The Tree is Unwrap My Heart - is all about the longing for love (actually) because the songs teach us that winter wonderlands aren't made for one. Chiming bells and a finger click groove dance alongside lush piano chords. Kelli-leigh sings with a balance of hope and wistful longing. It has a hook as addictive as the most delicious mince pie and just as moreish.
Marie's voice is built for a song as passionate and touching as this one. She doesnt just sing it, but pours her heart into it. Every note, every riff, every run is accentuated by the emotion within her from losing her younger sister to cancer - and every note she seems to draw power from as a cathartic, healing experience. And isn't that what great pop music does - showers soothing glitter over the cracks in our lives and helps them get better with each subsequent listen? Lovely.
This is a sumptuous treat to add to your ever growing McMaster Christmas collection. Its a glorious mid-tempo ballad set to a gently shuffling percussion, elegant guitar and lilting female ad-libs that add to the romantic nature of the song. Jingling bells are as effective as the vivid lyrics in conjuring up images of a lush, winter wonderland whilst Luke sings with such heartfelt earnestness that its hard not to get lost in his voice.
Taken from the Sky movie, This Is Christmas, it is a rather charming ballad that will make you glad Mr Murs is back in the land of pop. It is both a timeless and timely approach to pop - a lush throwback to the Christmas songs that permeated the charts in the sixties, complete with shimmering bells and an almost echoey-effect that makes it sound like it is traversing the airwaves from a long lost Christmas Eve radio show.
Another soundtrack song, this time from Amazon Prime's Christmas At Yours... Or Mine. The instrumental is both joyful and triumphant, a shoulder shimmying prayer that will have a choir of angels singing Maisie's song in celestial agreement; the chorus will stick with you to new years and Maisie sings with such ebullient cheer that her request is one that would be very hard to deny. Makes you glad from head to mistletoe.
Love that Per is continuing the Roxette legacy so lovingly. This is as peppy as a sleigh ride. A giddy hand clap beat and buoyant keyboard riffs disguises an element of sadness in the lyrics (a fractured relationship) but Per's engaging vocal style gives you a sense that he means the good vibes he is sending to his ex-paramour. It helps you shrug off the woes of the world & lean into the bon vivance that seems much more prevalent at the most wonderful time of the year.
The only cover version on the list is here for good reason - it a stripped back lullaby works beautifully - with elegant guitar and a lilting female vocal, Tom adds his lush tonal quality to the well known lyrics to give the song a new perspective. There's an almost clippity clop to the percussive rhythms that make you feel you are on the laziest of sleigh rides, whilst Tom & his charming duet partner conjure up some holiday magic.
I'm absolutely down with rhyming "October is over" as the introduction to this tinsel-tastic song! Violin and vocal work in perfect symmetry; Bonnie gives such a vivacious vocal that it is hard not to be charmed & Lindsey's violin complements the lyrics to great effect. It feels like a festive pop bop ready to race up the charts (particularly here in the UK where out December charts are littered with joyous gems like this). A new future favourite oldie!
My Christmas Top 5:
- 5 ~ Phil Vassar ft Deana Carter, Coming Home For Christmas: I certainly fell hard for seasonal duets this year - and Coming Home for Christmas is a wondrous seasonal romp that acknowledges the stresses that life can bring but celebrates the comfort and familiarity that going home and being with loved ones (whoever they may be) can bring. A peppy percussive beat propel hammond organ and effusive guitar, a winter wonderland of sound that swathes Phil and Deana's sincere vocals. They sing with such gleeful hope that it is an entirely contagious sentiment you'll be singing right through until New Year's Day. References to classic movies, jingling bells and the gift of these two amazing singers duetting is the icing on this already delicious cake.
- 4 ~ Debbie Gibson & Joey McIntyre, Heartbreak Holiday: La Gib has always excelled at ballads and Joey is an expressive & emotive partner in this exploration of feelings. The radio remix differs from the album version. While the exquisite melodic melancholy they both deliver is still ever present, the more acoustic take emphasises the steady beat of the percussion. It creates the illusion of being on a sleigh ride where the two lovelorn vocalists are (separately) drinking in the sights of the city in a horse drawn carriage, ruminating on every memory this elicits. For the listener, it gives you opportunity to really savour the song (whilst picking up on every lyrical easter egg for long term fans). If the two aren't starring in a Christmas movie of the same name this time next year, I'll be most disappointed.
- 3 ~ Sarah Connor, Ring Out The Bells: Sarah certainly knows how to get the festive shenanigans going, as if the libations have started flowing as soon as those first notes jingle jangle into existence. Decadent scale-descending chiming bells do indeed ring out, giving this song a feeling of being both joyful and triumphant. Lyrics, much like Jolly Time of Year, celebrate the magic of the season alongside how that makes Sarah feel. Descriptive lyrics paint a picture that seemingly appears in your mind's eye as she sings with sparkling cheer. You'll be dancing (as if to Nat King Cole) to that deliciously layered chorus whilst the mistletotally festabulous video is one of the finest this holiday season.
- 2 ~ Ingrid Michaelson & A Great Big World, It's Almost Christmas: This is a gorgeous ballad that builds and crescendos as it builds towards its radiant finale. It is a wondrous, poetic description of all the wonders that the season holds as seen through the eyes of those who truly seek out the enchanting spell Christmas casts. It starts with glorious piano accompaniment and a lovely sincere vocal from the A Great Big World lads who delight in the story they are unfurling. Sweeping strings usher in Ingrid's solo moments which are equally as charming. She's an enraptured chanteuse whose mellifluous insights are so vivid you feel you can reach out and touch. What is so powerful is how this is delivered - there are no dramatic bursts of sound, rather it is the honesty in each note that makes it have such an impact.
- 1 ~ Mans Zelmerlow & Carola, Let's Sing (It's Christmas Time): This is a song so full of joy and hope that one man alone cannot contain the song (even one as immaculately attired as Måns is on the cover); thus, he teams up with Swedish pop music legend Carola to ring the bells of glad tidings. It is a song that seems fueled by its own infectious, giddy message - galloping forth like horses pulling the sleigh through a winter wonderland, building into an explosive anthem of a chorus. Both give ebullient solos but when their voices intertwine together it flies past seventh heaven to nestle on cloud nine. If you need an injection of love and positivity straight into your soul then play this song, play it loud and tell everyone you have ever met about it. Guaranteed to make you glad from head to mistletoe.
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