If your Christmas wish list includes some relief from the same old songs on the radio, then your early gift is here in the form of some all-new and mostly original holiday tunes.
Some of them might age better than a fruitcake and find a permanent place in your annual holiday playlist ― including Sabrina Carpenter’s “fruitcake” EP.
The new offering from the former Disney Channel star contains five original tracks filled with tight harmonies, clever wordplay and tons of seasonal innuendo.
“A Nonsense Christmas” is getting the most play on YouTube ― no surprise, since it’s a spin Carpenter’s own “Nonsense,” a track that’s racked up 51 million views and counting.
But the entire EP is clever and fun, with plenty of naughty to go with the holiday nice, especially on “buy me presents,” which finds Carpenter crushing on Santa and his “dad bod”:
R&B star Brandy has a new album, “Christmas with Brandy,” that features an assortment of classic covers as well as six original holiday tracks that show off her trademark layered vocals.
“Christmas Party for Two” sets the mood for some holiday romance… or, as Brandy calls it in the song, “the season for pleasin’”:
If the “most wonderful time of the year” is a little less than wonderful for you, then indie pop artist Hayes Warner knows just how you’re feeling with “Worst Time of Year,” an anti-holiday anthem against fake cheer.
“I respect that people have love for the holiday season but wanted to recognize that there are people out there who struggle during this time of year,” Warner said in a release. “‘Worst Time of Year’ came about when I [was] finally honest with myself about my holiday feelings ― the forced cheer and the pressure to appear perfect.”
Another unexpected take on the holidays comes courtesy of the blog Christmas A Go Go, which spotted this peppy-sounding French-language track from Canadian artists Simon Kearney and Gabrielle Shonk.
Sounds can be deceiving, though: “Jusqu’à Noël,” or “Until Christmas,” is about a romance that’s ending… but they’re staying together through the holidays for appearances’ sake:
Singer-songwriter Gregory Porter dropped a new album featuring his take on six Christmas classics, including Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas” and Marvin Gaye’s “Purple Snowflakes.”
The two-time Grammy winner also has three original tracks, including “Everything’s Not Lost,” which paints a picture of a troubled world that’s looking to the holidays for hope:
“I’m always thinking of balance,” Porter said in a news release. “That has been instilled in me and it keeps coming up in a lot of my music. At your highest, at your greatest, at your most pleasant time, don’t forget about other people who are suffering.”
Country singer Jon Pardi’s new album contains covers of Christmas classics as well as a comedic spin on what might be waiting for Santa at the table.
He won’t get milk and cookies at the Pardi house. As Pardi sings in “Beer for Santa,” there’ll be a “koozie full of cheers” waiting instead:
Fifth Harmony may still be on hiatus, but Ally Brooke is out celebrating the holidays with her “Under the Tree” EP.
The disc contains four covers ― including a take on “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” with fellow 5Her Dinah Jane ― as well as the original title track:
Indie artist Upsahl’s “Snowglobe” has Christmas trees, glowing fires and cozy sweaters, but it sounds fresh and new despite those familiar holiday ingredients:
The blog Christmas Underground ― always an amazing resource for new indie holiday tracks ― spotted “Jingle Humming,” the latest seasonal effort from Philadelphia’s Wake Up and Smell the Sun:
New York singer-songwriter Odetta Hartman says her new track, “Christmas Together (Maybe This Year)” was inspired by a mix of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and Dolly Parton’s “Christmas Without You.”
Music icon Cher dropped her first new disc in a decade, and it’s filled with holiday classics and four originals ― including “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” which rocketed up the iTunes charts after she performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade:
Want to keep dancing? Then check out “No Silent Night” from the Lane Brothers, which is on their new “Candy Cane Lanes” EP:
Michael Bolton’s out with a new collection of his own. It’s mostly covers of holiday classics, but it also features an original new track, “Christmas Isn’t Christmas,” with country singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton:
Indie artist Geoff Palmer gives an old George Jones tune a complete makeover, transforming “Lonely Christmas Call” from country into a vintage-sounding rock track:
And finally: To paraphrase Bing Crosby from his iconic TV special with David Bowie, it’s been a long time since there’s been a “new anything” from the classic Christmas crooner, who died in 1977.
But the latest rerelease includes a few rare tracks, including “Christmas Star,” available for the first time via streaming: