Everyone knows the iconic, traditional Christmas songs sung by stars such as Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Brenda Lee, and Andy Williams, but what about new Christmas songs?
Many could say that most Christmas songs are overplayed even if the same song is sung by a different person.
You could get tired of the same old lyrics and sound so what about new original Christmas songs?
Is it possible for new tunes to catch on and make it to the radio? If people are so used to the normal traditional songs, could new originals be accepted?
Current music artists such as Ariana Grande and Katy Perry have succeeded at creating original Christmas hits.
Grande’s popular “Santa Tell Me” went to number 1 on Billboards Holiday chart as well as getting to number 39 on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40.
While the song received mostly positive reactions, some claimed that Grande was trying to create a holiday staple, but just fell short of Mariah Carey’s famous “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Perry has recently announced her Christmas music. Perry released her brand new Christmas single, “Cozy Little Christmas” exclusively on Amazon Music in early November. The song peaked at number 10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
Original Christmas songs created by Stevie Wonder and Elton John back in the day, easily caught on with listeners.
Now, they play on the radio just as the traditional songs do.
Certain songs that are being released today such as Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s “You Make It Feel Like Christmas,” has captured the ears of eager listeners.
The single has a major pop influence with the perfect amount of Blake Shelton’s country twang.
The song that was released in September of 2017, peaked at number four on the Digital Sales chart as well as number nine on the Adult Contemporary.
Monmouth senior and WMCX General Manager, Allison Nugent, said that some of her favorite originals are “Ho Ho Hopefully” by The Maine and “Yule Shoot Your Eye Out” by Fall Out Boy. Nugent highly recommends these and said, “I’d like to hear some from DNCE or Hop Along.”
The Maine’s Christmas album titled …And A Happy New Year, which featured the single, “Ho Ho Hopefully,” peaked at number 10 on the Billboard’s Independent Albums chart.
On whether or not traditional Christmas songs are overplayed, Nugent said, “No, they’re all great. I wish they played all year around.”
Associate professor and WMCX advisor, Aaron Furgason, Ph.D., likes, “The Killers “Don’t Shoot Me Santa” from 2011 and Carly Rae Jepsen’s cover of the classic Wham Christmas song, ‘Last Christmas.’”
The Killers’ Christmas single ranked 34 on the U.S. Singles Chart and 23 on the Canadian Hot 100.
The Queen of Pop Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Last Christmas” went to 43 on the Billboard U.S. Holiday Digital Songs chart.
Furgason also said, “Even Radiohead has a Christmas song, Winter Wonderland. I would argue all Christmas songs are overplayed because they begin airing now before Thanksgiving, so by Christmas I have reached Christmas music fatigue.”
Of course, we can’t forget Justin Bieber’s whole Christmas album, Mistletoe.
The title track, “Mistletoe,” went straight to number 2 on Billboard’s U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, 40 on the U.S. Mainstream Top 40, and number 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Other favorites from the album include Bieber’s rendition of the Christmas classic, “Drummer Boy,” and his collaboration with mentor, Usher, on “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire).”
Could it be that there is a need for new original Christmas songs because the traditional classics are aired so early in the year?
Even though Christmas music is played before Thanksgiving now, it’s great to have new originals to listen to.
Flipping around radio stations can be tiring and irritating while you’re waiting to hear something new or different.
While we will always have our classics thanks to Bing Crosby and our more recent classics thanks to Michael Bublé, it’s good to know that we have more options.
Be sure to keep an ear out for these more recent original Christmas songs next time you’re looking for something more and something new.
They all have the same Christmas feel, just with a sprinkle of something new.
PHOTOS COMPILED by Mark Marrone
