Merry Christmas, it's that time again!! I love Christmas, it's such a special time to be with friends and family. It's about good food and wine and sharing love and laughter. Plus it's great to give gifts, and not so bad to get them either!!! And then there's Christmas carols and songs. Some hate them, and others go absolutely crazy for them - I'm with the latter. I love a good Christmas song, sure, some are average at best, but there's a few releases every year that are actually pretty good. That's what this blog is about, I've gone through the list and listened to them all so you don't have to. I've found my top 5 Christmas songs of the year. And here they are:
First what just missed out, there were good tracks that just narrowly didn't make the list. There's the duet between powerhouses Idina Menzel and Michael Buble, "Let It Snow", a great cover of "Christmas Wrapping" by British girl group The Saturdays and US girl group Fifth Harmony's cover of the Mariah classic "All I Want For Christmas".
5 - Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man - Alaska, Courtney & Willam
Fifth spot was a hard one, as you could see from the competition above, but I had to put this in the list - even to just share the great film clip. This is a cover of a 1983 Weather Girl's song and is done by three of the best queens from RuPaul's Drag Race, including Australia's own Courtney Act. And it's a good thing Courtney's here, because the former Australian Idol contestant brings the vocal talent here. This camp song sounds like a Cher album track, and really, that's not a bad thing.
4 - Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande
Here's the only original song on the list, and it's by diva of the moment, Ariana Grande. This is a fun little track that's very pop, with an R&B edge. The instrumentation sounds has a great Christmas feel, and Grande's vocals are spot on. I'm sure she'd like it be a classic like Mariah's "All I Want For Christmas" but it doesn't quite reach those heights. Still, it's all kinds of fun!
3 - Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid 30
It's hard to overlook this from the list. This is the fourth time this has been recorded, I do love number 2 - the Stock, Aitken & Waterman version with Kylie, Jason and Bros! This time it's for Ebola and the lyrics have been altered, thank God they got rid of the very dumb line, "And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time", cause of course there won't be, ever, it's the southern hemisphere and it's summer! There's some highlights on this version, Sam Smith sounds great, so do Emeli Sandi and Ellie Goulding. Rita Ora oversings, but most artists sound good. Sure, it's lost some of the magic of the original, but is still a solid tune for a good cause.
2 - Winter Wonderland - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Okay, now we're talking about good songs. This has long been a Christmas favourite of mine (Jewel has an amazing cover), and this is a great version. Following on the success of their album together, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga team up for a pretty faultless cover. It's a little camp, it's a lot fun - I can't help but sing-a-long, as I did at work yesterday, very loudly. Great instrumentation and flawless vocals, an instant Christmas classic. Play it people!
1 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Sam Smith
Oh Sam Smith, what an amazing year you've had, and he tops it off with this incredible cover of a Christmas classic. I've heard a few Sam Smith covers this year, and he loves to slow done the melody and let his beautiful voice crone over the top. He's done it again, turning this usually fast ditty into a splendid ballad that gives you shivers. His voice does all kinds of things to me! This is beautiful, and will quickly become another Christmas classic and certainly a song I will return to every Christmas. Stuff for the heart!
What Christmas song are you loving this year? Tell me in the comments section below. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and remember that is is the season of love. Hold those closest to you closer, ring old friends and laugh. Laugh loudly!
And now to top it off, my favourite Christmas song of 2013, Leona Lewis's fantastic, "One More Sleep". Merry Christmas folks!
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