Starting around Labor Day, the e-mail blasts start coming in. At a time when it is harder than ever to write a new holiday classic, or even get attention with a new version of a standard, artists in multiple formats release a steady stream of new holiday music.
This year, we’re taking a look at the holiday backstories of some of those new releases. We’ll be adding on to this roundup each week as new songs are featured in Ross on Radio. Of course, we’ve also created a playlist where you can hear new holiday music.
Ali & Theo, “Do You Hear What I Hear? (2024)” – The Canadian duo of Ali Slaight and Theo Tams first teamed up to record “Do You Hear What I Hear?” 15 years ago. Since then, they have become mainstays of holiday radio at home with annual releases that included last year’s version of “Little Saint Nick.” This year, the duo and producer Marty Martino update the song and cap off an 18-song Holiday Collection (15th Anniversary Edition).
Alma Faye Brooks, “Dreams Don’t Only Happen at Christmas” – She is a legend among disco era fans for her work on Casablanca, RCA, and Unidisc, including such classics as “Stop I Don’t Need No Sympathy.” Brooks evokes that era with a new holiday song in partnership with veteran producer John Luongo and her bandleader, Louis Toteda. Brooks also released a recent version of “Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye).”
Carpenters Legacy, “Christmastime with You” — Christmas AC radio has rediscovered the Carpenters in recent years. Sally Olson and Ned Mills perform as Karen and Richard Carpenter in the Las Vegas (and touring) review Carpenters Legacy. Now they’ve released “Christmastime with You,” an original in the spirit of the group’s classic ’70s holiday album (the focus of their holiday shows). Included here as a bonus: their Spanish-language version of “Superstar.”
CeCe Winans, “Joyful, Joyful: A Christmas Album” —The best-selling female gospel artist of all time, Winans has also become a powerful chart presence at Christian AC radio with “That’s My King” from her More Than This album. Two weeks ago, Winans released this new Christmas album, featuring the Motown-flavored lead single “It’s Christmas.” On Dec. 4, she launches a nearly sold-out Christmas tour.
For KING + COUNTRY, “Silent Night (Rewrapped)” — As AC radio heads into the Christmas format, Christian AC superstars Joel & Luke Smallbone are already top 15 there (as well as Christian AC), teaming with Michael W. Smith for a remake of his “Place in This World.” Now, they’ve reworked the holiday standard they first covered on 2020’s A Drummer Boy Christmas. A regular presence on the AC chart at holiday time now, FK+C also saw Joel Smallbone’s directorial debut, Unsung Hero, open at No. 2 at the box-office in April.
Harper Grace, “Santa Baby” – The Texas native faced a trial by social media at age 11 after a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” went awry. Seven years later, the American Idol alumnus returned to the same stadium for a more-successful rendering. She also travels to schools as an anti-bullying speaker. Grace has seven million career streams. She has performed on Today and opened for Onerepublic, Sara Evans, Martina McBride, and others. “Santa Baby” is the first of two holiday songs she’ll release this year.
Jackie Evancho, “At Least I Have Santa” – Last year, multi-platinum vocalist Evancho heralded her new pop/rock direction with this Christmas original, as well as her interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” In February, her “Behind My Eyes” became a top 20 Billboard AC hit. This fall, she’s on a 13-city tour with Echosmith. Oh, and she’s just released a cover of “Black Hole Sun.”
Kesha, “Holiday Road” – It was never a major radio hit, but in many ways Lindsey Buckingham’s song from National Lampoon’s Vacation is his most enduring solo single. Like “River,” it’s also one that some programmers have always hoped could be co-opted as a holiday song. This year, it’s the holiday offering from Kesha, following her chart return earlier this year with “Joyride.”
The Kings, “This Christmas (Celebrate in Harmony)” – 1980’s “This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ to Glide” remains a Ross on Radio readers’ favorite, and a staple of Canadian Classic Rock/Hits radio. Recently, its video passed 6,250,000 plays. “This Christmas (Celebrate in Harmony)” has a surprising, acoustic feel. They’ll finish 2024 on the Nov. 8 ’80s in the Sand festival in Cancun, followed by several Toronto shows later this month.
Linda Imperial, “Christmas, You and Me” — Another Bay Area performer, Imperial is also an artist with a disco classic, in this case Loverde’s “Die Hard Lover,” as well as a performing history that ranges from Sylvester and the Weather Girls to Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Starship. (Her husband, David Freiberg, was an early member of QMS and, later, Jefferson Airplane as well as a current Starship member.) Also, hear “Christmas in the Tropics.”
Lindsey Stirling f/Sabrina Carpenter, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” – The violinist’s unique take on holiday standards has allowed her to get traction with songs that might seem saturated at AC radio. Last year, three of them were among the format’s most-played 200 holiday songs, including the No. 105 “Carol of the Bells,” “Joy to the World,” and “Sleigh Ride.” Her Snow Waltz 2024 tour begins Nov. 11 in Toronto. “Grinch” is a newly timely collaboration with Carpenter from her 2018 album “Warmer in the Winter.”
Liz Kennedy, “Lizzy’s Christmas Sleigh” — San Francisco-based singer-songwriter “Liz Kennedy’s artistic powers have only grown with time,” wrote No Depression. Kennedy’s music career began after years spent in casting and TV commercial production. “Lizzy’s Christmas Sleigh” is the true story of her six-year-old vision of a sleigh across the moon, something her family viewed with skepticism. But the video does feature real-life childhood footage.
Melissa Lindner, “Come on a Sleigh Ride” – Lindner is currently top 15 at AC radio with a surprising remake, Barry Manilow’s 1978 hit “Even Now.” Last year, Lindner went top 20 AC with her version of “White Christmas.” Her holiday songs have had more than 8.5 million total streams. This year, she returns with an early-’60s-flavored rocker, “Come on a Sleigh Ride.” A former collegiate tennis player, Lindner has racked up more than 37-million streams for her videos.
Owen Rivera, “I Fall in Love with Christmas” – Rivera was discovered by the National Association of Music Merchants at age 4 and became a regular performer at its annual gala. He had an endorsement deal with SoulTone Cymbals at age 5, followed by SJC Drums (age 8), Tycoon Percussion (age 9), and Ernie Ball (age 12). Last year, he released a cover of “Feliz Navidad.” This year he opts for a doo-wop-flavored original.
Sacha, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Four years ago she released an EP, The Best Thing, then was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2021 and won SiriusXM’s Top of the Country 2022. This year, Sony Music Canada took her first major label single, “Hey Mom I Made It” to No. 6 on the Country chart there. They’ve just released this unique take on a holiday standard in both the U.S. and Canada. Look for the new “Til I Don’t” in January.
Sara Evans, “Children Go,” “Blue Christmas” — The Country hitmaker begins her 21 Days of Christmas With Sara Evans tour on Dec. 5 in Tulsa, Okla. Earlier this year, she also released the candid new Diving in Deep With Sara Evans podcast, as well as “Pride,” a favorite ROR single of 2025. For her holiday release this year, the Melody Place artist enlisted son Avery as producer/guitarist, daughter Olivia on harmony, and brother Matt on bass.
Sarah Reeves, “Holly Jolly Christmas” – Singer/songwriter Reeves signed her first record deal at age 18. Since then, her music has been featured extensively in TV, film, and advertising, as well as a guest vocalist for DJs like R3HAB and Armin Van Buuren. Reeves has amassed more than 174 million global streams. Her current hit, “More Than Enough,” from the album Best Days, is top 10 at AC and top 20 at Hot AC.
Sia, “Snowman” – Despite the difficulty of breaking through with a new holiday song, “Snowman” will be hitting 1-billion Spotify streams around the time you read this, as part of 2.43 billion worldwide streams. It also has 337-million YouTube views and more than doubled in spins last year with nearly 14-million impressions. It’s also the soundtrack of roughly 1.5-million TikTok videos, trending even between the holidays.
Train, “This Christmas” – They continue to release strong, uptempo pop singles, including this year’s “Long Yellow Dress.” But last year, Train had radio’s most-played version of the Donny Hathaway holiday standard last year: No. 44 most-played (just ahead of the original) and No. 38 not counting overnights. The Train version has also generated nearly 3.5-million streams. The original “Shake Up Christmas” has 291-million global streams, and 118 million YouTube views.
Wyn Starks, “The Christmas Song” – Starks is currently top 15 at AC radio with “Happy Again.” Earlier this year, the former star of America’s Got Talent saw a resurgence of previous AC top 10 “Who I Am,” after Celine Dion sang along to it in a devastating scene from her documentary, I Am: Celine Dion. The song has charted in more than 50 worldwide territories and been top 30 on Shazam’s Top 200 Global Chart.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com