Set the festive mood at home or at any gathering this holiday season with music.
If there’s one way to tell when the Christmas season is near, it’s to listen to the music. From public spaces like malls to your favorite radio station, you’ll probably hear the familiar tunes signaling the start of the holiday.
If you’re looking to add more songs to your own playlist, here are some you may have missed!
Modern Christmas Classics
No Christmas playlist is complete without Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” It’s been out since 1994 but the song remains a mainstay during the holiday.
In 1984, iconic singers such as Bono, Phil Collins, and Boy George teamed up for “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The song was originally written and recorded to raise funds during a famine in Ethiopia.
Speaking of Christmas songs released in 1984, “Last Christmas” by Wham! has launched thousands of covers, but we’re going with the original this time. It has even inspired a game called “Whamageddon” where the goal is to not hear the song before Christmas day.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, boy bands and pop queens came out with their own holiday tunes. There’s *NSYNC’s catchy “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,” Backstreet Boys’ ballad “Christmas Time,” and Britney Spears’ festive bop “My Only Wish (This Year).”
Newer Holiday Hits
Of course this year’s Person of the Year has a couple of Christmas songs under her belt. In 2007, Taylor Swift released an extended play with four covers and two original songs (“Christmases When You Were Mine” and “Christmas Must Be Something More“).
More recently, in 2019, she released “Christmas Tree Farm” with a music video filled with footage filmed by her parents during the holidays.
Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” has also become a staple in Christmas playlists since its release in 2014. We also can’t miss out on Kelly Clarkson’s powerful vocals in “Underneath the Tree.” Then in 2021, Grande and Clarkson came together for a duet of “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me.”
In another recent Christmas duet, two of today’s biggest touring artists Ed Sheeran and Elton John sang “Merry Christmas” for a Christmas edition of Sheeran’s album.
For an intergenerational Christmas treat, veteran singer Norah Jones teamed up with the 24-year-old Laufey in “Better Than Snow.” The two performed the song live on the Today Show just a few weeks ago.
K-pop Groups Get Festive
Last year, V’s “Christmas Tree” was the most popular Christmas song on Spotify, based on the number of playlists it was added to. The BTS member even surpassed Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” on the platform.
If you’ve been on K-pop TikTok lately, you’ll know that EXO’s “First Snow” is going viral 10 years after its release. This is thanks to a new dance challenge started by a group of Korean teenagers.
But even before this trend, the song often climbs the charts during the holiday season as the people of South Korea listen to it whenever the first snow arrives.
For a newer song, NCT 127 just released the warm and playful winter special, “Be There For Me.” The music video features the members all bundled up while trying to auction off pieces of furniture.
Other original K-pop Christmas songs include Twice’s “Merry & Happy,” Loona’s “The Carol,” GOT7’s “Miracle,” Girls’ Generation TTS’ “Dear Santa,” and Stray Kids’ “Christmas EveL.”
Banner image by The Retro Store via Unsplash.
