You know, at some point, you have to put down the Adele 25 and come out from under your covers and realize it’s December. And since the aforementioned British songbird has yet to put out a holiday collection, there are a few more worthy divas whose holiday offering you might consider.
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (Amy Winehouse’s backing band on Back To Black) just never get it wrong. While most holiday joints go for 50/50 sweet and sassy, Sharon and the Kings are 100% spicy on It’s a Holiday Soul Party. With her retro mid-’60s-into-early-’70s, big-horns-big-voice Southern groove, even her ballads, like “Please Come Home for Christmas,” will have you grinding. Perfect to put on repeat at your next Xmas party.
After a failed reality show and some more pop jaunts didn’t exactly make her the thirty-something Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes sounds like she’s getting back to a rootsier sound with Today Is Christmas. Possibly made with encouragement to capitalize on the opening track’s assumed success, Today Is Christmas (Holiday Theme for NBC’s Today) is a surprisingly strong collection. Once you get past the obvious commercial tie-in, LeAnn brews up a piping mix of soul (powerful duets with Aloe Blacc and Gavin Degraw), genuine pop and country. If you were a fan of Faith Hill’s 2008 Joy to the World, this will be a welcomed addition to your family time.
Speaking of TV tie-ins, I was hoping the first full Braxton Family album in twenty five years with Toni and her four sisters would be a proper pop release, not an 8-song EP, and not one this weak. This is definitely one to cherry pick off iTunes or stream if just for Toni going full gospel on “Blessed New Year.” Skip them butchering the soul standard “This Christmas” … twice! Once where they insert their own names into the chorus, and the second, sans Braxtonism, but remixed poorly.
Cleanse yourself of reality stars and receive a true star (of Christmas too), Kylie Minogue. Like Madonna, you wonder how she’s not done a holiday-themed album after 30 years in the industry. Well, it was worth the wait. With Kylie Christmas, she’s taking you on a pop sleigh (or SLLLLAAAAYYYY) ride through 60 years of contemporary tunes with her duet with Frank Sinatra and seven other fully orchestrated classics; into a few Phil Spector Wall of Sound moments; and even three tips to the ’80s, duetting with Iggy Pop on “The Waitresses’ Christmas Wrapping,” covering The Pretenders’ “2000 Miles” and the amazingly lovely Yaz cover, “Only You,” with late night host James Corden. But of course, it’s not Kylie without some electro-pop. She touches on it wonderfully twice, with the Coldplay-written “Every Day’s Like Christmas” and the bouncy “100 Degrees,” a rare duet with sister Dannii.
So until you hear Adele debut a track mourning the inevitable break of Mary and Joseph, have yourself a very diva Christmas.