by Isabella Fishbough
Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, I can guarantee you have heard a Christmas song or two. From songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” originally sung by Judy Garland, to “All I Want For Christmas” by Mariah Carey, holiday songs play non-stop on many radio stations during the winter season. Some artists even release Extended Plays, Long Playings, or whole albums filled with covers of Christmas classics or their own original song.
“Christmas Kisses EP” by Ariana Grande
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlR0MkrRklg
In this Christmas EP by Ariana Grande, we can hear a cover of “Santa Baby” featuring Elizabeth Gillies. She even has her own take on Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” As well as three songs written by Ms. Grande herself, which are titled “Love is Everything,” “Snow in California,” and “Santa Tell Me.” This EP dropped in 2014, and the year after that, Ariana released another holiday EP entitled “Christmas and Chill.”
“Love Me Like You (Christmas Mix)” by Little Mix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDENDxGYNDU
This Christmas Mix is a take on their single Love Me Like You, which was released in 2015, the second single from their Get Weird album. Little Mix are a girl group from the UK formed of four girls, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, and Jesy Nelson. The girls also have a cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” which came out in 2014. That cover includes the four girls belting it out as their crew members and backup dancers join in on the fun.
“Santa’s Coming For Us” by Sia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3EYjVPRClU
This single by Sia was released just this year, which is a sneak peak into her Christmas LP “Everyday is Christmas” that came out on November 30, 2017. The audio on youtube for the single was already past 1 million views in just the first week! The LP also includes songs such as “Candy Cane Lane”, “Snowman”’ and “Under the Mistletoe” which are all originals written by Sia herself and producer Greg Kurstin.
“I’ll be Home for Christmas” by In Real Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0GS0Lmlsrc
This single is by one of the newest boybands, In Real Life. The group of five came from ABC’s competition show Boy Band and have since released three singles. Two of these singles are for the holidays which are “Feel this Christmas” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas”. “Feel this Christmas” is an original song by the band which consists of Michael Conor, Chance Perez, Sergio Calderon Jr., Drew Ramos, and Brady Tutton.
“All I Want for Christmas is You” by Fifth Harmony
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vu4AN2bc-M
Fifth Harmony covered Mariah Carey’s famous holiday single back in 2014 for the “I’ll Be Home For Christmas EP” with singers such as Meghan Trainor, Ingrid Michaelson, and A Great Big World. This girl group sang this with now ex-member Camila Cabello as well as another song on the EP called “Noche de Paz.” The group of four girls, Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, and Dinah Jane, are still together and have announced their next Christmas song will be entitled “Can You See” for the new Christmas movie “The Star” which came out November 17, 2017.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Sam Smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnEqv8WcVq8
This song was originally by Judy Garland, and this cover by Sam Smith certainly does the song justice. The original came out in 1944, and Sam Smith’s cover came out in 2014 and the youtube video has over 12 million views. Sam Smith actually hates Christmas music, but told Mix 104.1 in Boston the reason he made the exception for this particular song. “I hate Christmas songs, it’s true,” Sam Smith had said. “But [‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’] is the only song I would ever attempt to sing, because of Judy Garland singing it, and Frank Sinatra singing it. To me, it sounds more like a classic jazz standard.”
“Merry Christmas” album by Mariah Carey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY
Back in 1994, Mariah Carey released her Christmas album with the hit single “All I Want for Christmas is You” which is still finding itself in the Billboard Top 100 twenty-two-years later when it nears the holiday season. Last year, Mariah announced a new animated movie that was coming out this year inspired by the hit single telling the story of her first love – a puppy. The new movie is titled after the song, and will include all new original Christmas songs by Mariah.
“A Very She & Him Christmas” album by She & Him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigfts-sJFg&index=3&list=PLEC2FCC95451E0F6E
This Christmas album by Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward came out in 2011 as an indie styled album for Christmas Time. The album has a total of twelve songs on it, all of which are covers by the duo. The album features songs like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, “Silver Bells”, and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” In 2016, the two released yet another Christmas album entitled “Christmas Party.”