Christmas is right around the corner, meaning it’s time for our favourite part of the season – Christmas songs! So get that CD changed and sprinkle some Christmas magic into your life.
However, with so many Christmas albums out there which one should you choose? We at Source understand your musical pain more than you could possible imagine, so we’ve counted down (technically up) to the top 12 Christmas albums available to you this festive period…
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me Steps – Light Up the World. To be honest, I hope they kept the receipt. Instead of going for the usual well-known Christmas songs that we all know and love, Steps decided to sing all the songs that nobody really likes. Of course there are some exceptions. The first track on the album, which is also the best, is History is Made at Night which isn’t even Christmassy at all. In fact, it’s from the American TV show Smash about a musical portraying Marilyn Monroe’s life. The problem with any Christmas album is that it’s instantly compared to the thousands of Christmas albums that already exist. Although this is technically not specifically a Christmas album, with half the songs belonging to would could be ‘the ultimate covers’ album, it still features enough Christmas cheer to be included and it’s even snowing on the album cover so if that isn’t enough to convince you I don’t know what will. Overall, quite disappointing and not really worth a look but here they are performing the title track Light up the World on This Morning.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me Christina Perri’s A Very Merry Perri Christmas EP. Not so much an album as it only has six songs, however they all are Christmas songs so already she’s got one up against the pop quintet Steps. I love Christina Perri’s voice, however I find it only suits one particular genre of song: ballads. Therefore, this album is a bit depressing. For me, Christmas is about gathering all the family together and spending the festive period in great company. Whether it’s playing games, stuffing your faces with as much turkey as possible or perhaps having one too many glasses of eggnog, it helps to have some festive music in the background and unfortunately, as brilliant as Christina Perri is, her Christmas EP would slightly sadden the occasion. Nevertheless it’s still worth a look so why not watch Christina’s music video for Something About December:
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me Katherine Jenkins’ This Is Christmas. The beautiful Katherine has put together an okay selection of festive tunes. However, if you’re not into opera then pop it back on the shelf. An acquired taste for some but if you enjoy a more classical musical selection, and quite like a bit of opera, this album would be perfect for you. From the powerful O Holy Night to the fun and festive Santa Baby, Katherine covers quite a bit of Christmassy ground.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me John Travolta and Olivia Newton John’s This Christmas. Our favourite musical duo have reunited to record some Christmas cheer. From the classic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas with Cliff Richard to the brand new song I Think You Might Like It, John and Olivia certainly know how to make an album. As much as we all love a bit of You’re the One That I Want, this album is far from the musical stylings of Grease so it may not be what everyone is expecting. The great thing is that John and Olivia will be donating the profits of the album sales to charity. I say that’s worth a listen at least. Here’s the music video for I Think You Might Like It:
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me the Glee Christmas Album Volume 3. Whether you like Glee or not, you can’t argue that this album is full of festive cheer. Glee have also mixed in some Hanukkah tunes too for an all-inclusive look at the holiday season. Out of the three Christmas albums they have released, it’s definitely the best one, so who knows – next year, Glee, you might make it into the top five! Here’s Jingle Bell Rock, Glee style:
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe. Now, I know teenage girls around the world would love nothing more than to have Justin Bieber under the mistletoe, but I’m sorry to report that it’s just the title of his Christmas album. I’m not much of a Beliber, but I did like his young pop/slightly R&B shake-up of some classic Christmas songs. Drummer Boy featuring Busta Rhymes is particularly catchy, however this isn’t an album I could listen to on repeat. Overall, a good attempt to shake up the Christmas music market, but not to everyone’s taste.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me Lady Antebellum’s On This Winter’s Night. This album is a great collection of traditional Christmas carols mixed with the distinct country pop sound which earned the band their number one singles Need You Now and American Honey. This album is definitely one for the country lovers and makes for some very easy listening. It’s not the most happy and exciting collection of songs, but it doesn’t necessarily disappoint either. Here’s the video for Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas:
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Mariah Carey’s 1994 festive album, Merry Christmas. This has to be one of the greatest Christmas albums EVER. Mariah has an outstanding voice that perfectly works for every type of song from the ballad to the uptempo pop numbers. Of course, the album features the huge hit All I Want for Christmas Is You, the song that every artist tries to cover but fails, except one, but we’ll get to him later… The only reason the album is at this position is because it’s from 1994. It’s time for a revamp Mariah so if you’re reading, go back into the studio and mix it up a bit please. Thank you. With over 47 million views on YouTube, here that famous video:
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Rod Stewart’s Merry Christmas Baby. I know for a fact I’ll be listening to this on Christmas day, simply because my mum has asked for it, but that aside, it’s a pretty decent album. Rod has such a distinctive and husky voice that it gives everything he sings a sexy edge to it – weird considering he could be our granddad. He’s also teamed up with the likes of Mary J Blige and Ella Fitzgerald to give a bit of flair to his song selection. This is definitely an album to have on while unwrapping presents or cooking the Christmas dinner. Having said all those wonderful things, only a few things let the album down. A couple of the tracks are a little bit dull compared to the others, however it’s still a cracker of an album. Here is performing Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Blake Shelton’s Cheers, It’s Christmas. We’ve already had a look at country Christmas, but Blake takes it to a whole other cowboy level. Santa’s Got a Choo Choo Train is one of the best Christmas songs I’ve heard in a long time. Shelton duets with the fabulous Kelly Clarkson on the track There’s a New Kid in Town and it’s absolutely beautiful, well worth a listen. Full of old fashioned wild western fun and paired with Shelton’s smooth vocals and soulful harmonies, Cheer’s It’s Christmas is the perfect balance of how to enjoy Christmas, country style. Here’s some Jingle Bell Rock to get you into the festive spirit:
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me CeeLo’s Magic Moment from CeeLo Green. This is Christmas with a twist, sparkler and a colourful umbrella. If you want something completely different, full of festive fun and soulful voices, then this album is for you. Packed full of big gospel melodies and the incredible smooth vocal stylings of CeeLo himself, there’s not much else you could want from a Christmas album. The highlight of the album has to be CeeLo’s duet with The Muppets. Yes, you read it right, The Muppets. It’s a wintery breath of fresh air that you should definitely check out.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me the gorgeous Michael Buble’s album, Christmas. This is the ultimate Christmas album that everyone should have at the ready this festive season. The Deluxe Special Edition boasts 19 of your favourite Christmas songs and has the best version of All I Want for Christmas is You that I’ve heard since Mariah’s. Michael has gone all out to spread the Christmas cheer and has teamed up with Shania Twain and The Puppini Sisters to add a little sparkle to this incredible Christmas album. Top tracks include Cold December Night and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) which have earned a respectable 72 and 87 plays on my iTunes this month alone. For the perfect mix of Christmas chill-out music and up-beat party favourties, Michael has it covered. Now I couldn’t decide which festive tune I was going to insert here so I chose a bit of everything;
With so many amazingly festive albums to choose from we hope we’ve helped your impending Christmas dilemmas. Happy holidays!
