We have all the new Christmas releases for you out this week all in one place. Keep reading for more details on who has released what.
1. Ryland James Releases Video for ‘A Little Christmas’
Right in time for the holiday season, critically acclaimed Canadian breakout star Ryland James releases the official music video for his single, A Little Christmas.
A Little Christmas is the title track to the rising star’s first-ever holiday EP released earlier this month via 21 Entertainment / Republic Records and Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. The project has Ryland revisit and recharge four seasonal classics, uplifting them with his show-stopping range and a whole lot of holiday spirit. His 2019 smash rendition of Please Come Home For Christmas, which garnered over five million streams is also included on the five song EP.
2. Alanis Morissette – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter Alanis
3. Jen Lilley and Ben Lanning release ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’
“2020 is on the naughty list,” actress and singer/songwriter Jen Lilley proclaims as she and singer Bryan Lanning bring light-hearted humor to the difficult year that is 2020 in their rendition of the mega holiday hit “Baby, It’s Cold Outside;” made famous by the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter. The song is now available on all streaming platforms and can be heard HERE. Proceeds from music sales will go towards purchasing holiday gifts for 400 homeless children in Lilley’s hometown of Roanoke, VA. The song is available for purchase HERE.
4. Dream Nails Release ‘Lonely Star (Christmas Song)’
Dream Nails have released a modern-day classic of a Christmas song to round off a busy year for the punk witches. ‘Lonely Star (Christmas Song)’ features bassist Mimi Jasson jumping onto piano, with the band taking inspiration from the Christmas song books of Phil Spector and Weezer to write their own punk Christmas soundtrack, with a heart.
“This Christmas is going to be a bit different from the usual,” admits guitarist Anya Pearson, “so we wrote a Christmas song that sends strength and love to anyone finding this time of year particularly tough – especially those who are LGBT or struggling with acceptance and support at home. We see you, we’re here for you and we love you!!!”
5. Limhal releases ‘One Wish For Christmas’
As the holiday season begins to gear up, UK music icon LIMAHL has unpacked his Christmas song ‘London for Christmas’ that he released a few years ago and decided it was due for an update.
Retitled ‘One Wish For Christmas’ the new track revisits the perennial favourite and re-stages it with the current pandemic in mind.
Adding lush strings, orchestral arrangements, and new vocals and a tweak to the lyrics, ‘One Wish For Christmas’ takes on a whole new life this holiday season. “While lying awake one morning in bed, I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be a nice Christmas gift to get some more recognition for ‘London For Christmas’,” he recalls. “I started singing in my head ‘one gift for Christmas’ then ‘one gift’ became ‘one wish’ and then a little voice said, ‘That’s not a bad title’.” Immediately messaging his co-writers, Jon Nickoll and Ian Curnow, the three decided that an updated version of the song was needed, and they got to work
“I love Christmas and some of the great holiday songs like ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘The Christmas Song’ (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)’,” he smiles, and it had always been a long time goal to comprise his own holiday song.
6. Margo Price releases Christmastime cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River”
Margo Price welcomes the holidays with the release of “River,” a special rendition of one of her favourite Joni Mitchell songs. While Mitchell has been a life-long inspiration for Price, Margo first debuted her cover of “River” during the Village of Love benefit for Planned Parenthood this fall.
Now, accompanying herself on keys, she captures the wishful, wistful feelings behind the Christmastime classic, more prevalent than ever as we prepare to face the challenges of a winter like no other. With the song Margo sends fans a message of peace and love for the rest of the year, and the hope for 2021 to be everything 2020 wasn’t.
7. Shaggy unveils video for ‘Raggamuffin Christmas’
Shaggy unveils a new music video for ‘Raggamuffin Christmas’ featuring Junior Reid and Bounty Killer. The track is included on the reggae icon’s latest album, Christmas in the Islands, available on all digital platforms worldwide. Watch the new video, directed by Jay Will, here.
Multi-GRAMMY Award winner, Shaggy says, “Both Junior Reid and Bounty Killer are reggae and dancehall legends in their own right. For me to write and produce a song that embodies their unique style and charisma is an honor within itself. This song is about the experience of an inner-city Christmas – a story beautifully told by these two amazing artists.”
8. Goo Goo Dolls Debut Animated Music Video for “You Ain’t Getting Nothin’”
Goo Goo Dolls have unveiled a brand-new music video for their track “You Ain’t Getting Nothin’,” one of two brand new original songs from the band’s first-ever festive album It’s Christmas All Over (Warner Records). Directed by Juan M. Urbina of Venturia Animation Studios, the video pairs vibrant cartoon imagery with the song’s swing jazz sound, making for a retro visual that hearkens back to the classic animated Christmas movies of yesteryear. Buzzfeed premiered the video earlier today HERE saying “the music video for it is a great throwback to Chuck Jones–style cartoons, particularly the 1966 cartoon classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Which I’m kinda nerding out over.)”
Singer John Rzeznik said “This is our homage to the classic Christmas music and cartoons we all grew up watching. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take any chance I get to feel like a kid again for a little bit.”
9. Sophie Ellis-Bextor shares ‘My Favourite Things (Christmas Kitchen Disco Version)’
Following the release of her new album Songs from the Kitchen Disco: Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Greatest Hits, Sophie has shared a new version of one of the covers featured on the album with My Favourite Things (Christmas Kitchen Disco Version). She has also announced a special Christmas Kitchen Disco live on her Instagram on Friday 18th December.
Charting at #8 on the Official Albums Chart, Songs from the Kitchen Disco: Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Greatest Hits is Sophie’s highest charting album in six years and her fourth Top 10 album. The album is a collection of the songs that sound-tracked her popular lockdown kitchen disco performances, filmed live from her home with her family amidst a mixture of loveable fun and chaos, becoming a virtual escapism for the hundreds of thousands tuning in.
The album features Sophie’s biggest and best-known disco songs in one place for the first time ever, including 6 Top 10 hits, such as Murder On The Dancefloor and Take Me Home, plus the lead single Crying at the Discotheque and Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) 2020 (both recorded in Lockdown 1).
11. Chilly Gonzales releases ‘The Coldest Crimbo’ mixtape
A Very Chilly Christmas Special, a 75-minute program filmed in an empty. Parisian theatre featuring Jarvis Cocker, Feist and other guests is available 16 Dec in Europe and 23 Dec in the rest of the world.
Chilly Gonzales revisits the old carols and the new pop standards on his album “A Very Chilly Christmas”. But it wouldn’t be Christmas without friends and family, so Gonzo has assembled his gang to celebrate the holidays in his playful and intimate style.
In “A Very Chilly Christmas Special”, the old-school TV Christmas variety show gets a 2020 makeover: Santa Claus, like all of us, has had a challenging year, and has decided to go to therapy. Thankfully, Chilly Gonzales and his musical family are on hand to soundtrack the ups and downs of this peculiar year and convince Santa to go on.
“A Very Chilly Christmas Special” will help Santa and all of us finish this year on a high note.
A very chilly christmas special, with guests Feist, Jarvis Cocker and more, streams December 23. Details and tickets here.
