Looking to shake up your holiday playlist and sprinkle in some new Christmas tunes like a fresh layer of snow?
This season already has a host of all-new, all-original holiday tracks to choose from, some with a classic sound and others giving seasonal songs a modern twist.
Some just might stick around for years to come.
Jennifer Hudson’s first Christmas album, “The Gift of Love” features 10 covers of holiday standards and four originals, including a collaboration with Common called “Almost Christmas.”
But the two standout tracks highlight Hudson’s powerful vocals: “Santa for Someone,” which she performed on her show last month, and the soaring “Make It To Christmas.”
The song is about making it through a rough year to find a much-needed break from it all at Christmas:
Australian soul/funk outfit The Bamboos’ new EP, “Hot Christmas,” offers up two completely fresh and original holiday tracks.
“I’m never going to make an Xmas track without putting some sleigh bells in the mix, and you should see some of my yuletide knitwear,” bandleader Lance Ferguson writes in the liner notes. “But for everyone who celebrates Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere it’s something that falls right in the middle of Summer, flying in the face of much of that iconic festive imagery.”
He managed to hit that sweet spot covering summer and Christmas, all while keeping the band’s great soul sound in “Wrapt in a Beau.”
Hat tip to the stellar Hip Christmas blog for spotting this one:
The B-side, an instrumental track called “The Bells Of Holly Hill,” is also well worth a listen.
Hip Christmas also found another instant classic with the soulful “Always Christmas Eve” by Los Angeles-based Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers:
Taking it down a few notches, indie/folk artist Sara Noelle’s “Little Dove” is an ethereal tune inspired by an actual bird outside the singer’s window:
Icelandic singer/songwriter Arny Margret’s haunting new tune might be called “Happy New Year,” but don’t let the title fool you.
It’s anything but happy.
“This one is about Christmas and New Year. New Year’s Eve has never been the best time of year for me, I’ve always felt like it’s a sad and dark time,” she said, according to the If It’s Too Loud blog. “There’s probably a lot of people out there that can connect to that.”
Kelly Clarkson has a way of cranking out Christmas tunes that sound like they’ve been around forever, and her new track is no exception.
“You For Christmas” is a new original tune off this year’s reissue of her 2021 Christmas album, “When Christmas Comes Around…”
Hallmark Christmas movie fans may have caught the peppy new track “Santa’s Makin’ Moves” by indie artist Kat Quinn at the end of “Jingle Bell Run.”
Thanks to the always reliable Christmas A Go Go! website for spotting this one:
Christmas A Go Go! has also been keeping an exhaustive list of songs making the case that the 1988 Bruce Willis film “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.
It’s a surprisingly robust category, and there are some new entries this year ― including “Die Hard Christmas” by Canadian rockers Art of Dying:
California rapper Saweetie has a two-track holiday EP out, including “Big Santa,” which contains a holiday wish list that might rival the one in “Santa Baby.”
But she’s looking for more than just high-ticket items from her “Big Santa” as the lyrics take a turn toward the R-rated with some terrific holiday innuendo … even if she promises to “keep it classy.”
Jack Antonoff has been working on a Christmas song for Bleachers for at least two years now, and it takes the opposite approach of most holiday songs.
“Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call” is not one of togetherness or yearning, but a declaration of independence from someone who hasn’t been a welcome presence.
“So this for anyone who has come to realize someone’s been chipping away at the them and does not intend to stop,” Antonoff wrote on Instagram, adding that this is from personal experience. “So to anyone trying to drag you down, this is my best shot at closing the door to be more intact this xmas.”
Enigmatic masked country musician Orville Peck has dropped a holiday track with a cowboy sound and rich vocals that starts with a single guitar but builds up to a nicely layered arrangement as Peck wishes someone “Happy Trails” ahead:
Sunturns, a “Christmas super group” made of up members of Norway’s indie music scene, is out with its third album of original holiday tunes, aptly titled “Christmas III.”
“The name Sunturns refers to the original meaning of Christmas in the North, namely the winter solstice and the ‘turning’ of the sun,” their label, Fika Recordings, points out. “Instead of getting shorter and shorter, the days start to get longer. Big hurray, but spring is still a long time away.”
Check out “First Winter,” which was spotted by the Christmas Underground music blog:
“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon hasn’t been shy about singing with his celebrity guests over the years. For his latest effort, which includes some previously released tunes, he’s recruited Dolly Parton, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Meghan Trainor and more for some holiday collabs.
But one of the album’s standout tracks isn’t from one of his “Tonight Show” guests.
It’s Fallon with his house band, “The Roots,” doing an original track called “Hey Rudy,” complete with a festive lyrical callback to the Run-DMC classic, “Christmas In Hollis.”
Singer/songwriter/pianist Ben Folds is out this year with his first holiday offering, “Sleigher,” featuring seven original tracks and three covers.
The standout might be “We Could Have This,” co-written by and featuring actor/singer Lindsey Kraft:
Yacht rock is enjoying a moment in the spotlight thanks to a new HBO documentary.
If that has you wondering what a yacht-rock Christmas might sound like, then Yächtley Crëw has you covered. The tribute act ― which was included in the documentary ― is out with a holiday EP that includes four covers and an original track “Home For Christmas” that’s as smooth as… well… the sailing should be in yacht-friendly seas:
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Country singer/songwriter Brandon Davis’ “December” takes a more traditional approach. Davis sings of the family’s holiday over the years, from burned dinners to power outages, before taking a turn to mark the religious side of Christmas: