With due respect to Mariah Carey, Nat King Cole and other classic Christmas crooners, it just might be time to freshen up your holiday playlist with some more modern selections this season.
No, we’re not suggesting that you ignore the old favorites, but rather just spice things up by adding some newer recordings to the rotation.
Fortunately, there’s plenty to choose from. Indeed, there’s always plenty to choose from — given the number of newly released holiday albums that land under the Christmas tree each and every season.
To help liven up your holiday soundtrack, we’ve combed through a bunch of the new Christmas albums for 2024. And here are 10 of our favorites:
1. “The Gift of Love,” Jennifer Hudson
Fans had to wait more than a decade for the multitalented vocalist-actor to return with a follow-up to 2014’s “JHUD.”
Now, it’s happened as Hudson greets the season with “The Gift of Love,” which is her fourth studio album and her first-ever full-length holiday outing.
It’s a thoroughly enjoyable collection of music that includes four original tunes, nine Christmas carols/standards and the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah” (which is often associated with the holidays, but is not really a Christmas song).
J.Hud’s amazing vocals sparkle throughout, whether she’s crooning Cohen, guiding us through a “Winter Wonderland” or taking listeners to church with “O Holy Night.”
Listen to: “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
2. “Hallelujah! It’s Christmas,” Phil Wickham
The San Diego native has been on such an impressive roll over the last 10 years, steadily turning out such excellent worship songs as “This Is Amazing Grace,” “Living Hope,” “House of the Lord” and “This Is Our God.”
And the roll continues with “Hallelujah! It’s Christmas,” a 15-track set that shines brightly with gorgeous musical arrangements and Wickham’s tender vocal work. It’s another fine seasonal effort from the man who also gave us 2011’s “Songs for Christmas” and 2019’s “Christmas.”
Listen to: “Holy Forever”
3. “Sounding Joy — The Holiday Album,” Lea Salonga
She’s a Tony Award-winning actress who rose to international acclaim by originating the lead role of Kim in the West End production of “Miss Saigon” in 1989. Yet, the Filipina vocalist is also pretty handy with the holiday songbook, which listeners first found out when the singer released “Lea Salonga: The Christmas Album” in 2001.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, Salonga is back with another fine holiday collection that mixes longtime favorites with newer cuts. Of note, the album includes a duet with Clay Aiken on “Angels We Have Heard (Glory Be).”
Listen to: “What Child Is This/Silent Night”
4. “Joyful Joyful: A Christmas Album,” Cece Winans
She’s the most highly awarded female gospel singer of all time, with a trophy collection that includes 15 Grammys, 31 Doves and numerous other recognitions. She’s also a best-selling author, runs an annual women’s conference and helps operate a church in Nashville. Oh, and she’s also a mom.
So, yeah, we’re not sure how she found the time to record a Christmas album — but we’re sure glad she did. The gospel music legend, who many remember for being one half of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans, is in top form on the dozen tracks that make up “Joyful Joyful.” She handles the up-tempo tracks (like “It’s Christmas”) and the softer material (such as “This World Will Never Be the Same”) with equal style and grace.
Listen to: “Joy to the World”
5. “It’s Christmas,” Tower of Power
If you like your “Sleigh Bells” ringing with a side of hot horn action then definitely check out the new holiday release from these Oakland funk/R&B leaders.
“It’s Christmas” features plenty of groovy takes on Christmas classics — from “The Christmas Song” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” to “Silver Bells” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” And the one thing these songs all have in common (besides, of course, the Christmas theme) is the powerful horn section supplying plenty of the band’s legendary “East Bay Grease” to the mix.
Listen to: “Mary, Did You Know?”
6. “A Drummer Boy Christmas (Live),” For King + Country
Those who loved the Australian pop duo’s excellent fourth studio album, 2020’s “A Drummer Boy Christmas,” can now crank up this powerful accompanying concert set as well.
Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone are as energetic and engaging as ever as they run through concert versions of most of the “Drummer Boy Christmas” favorites, including “Joy to the World,” “Heavenly Hosts” and “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
From top to bottom, it’s more great stuff from the outfit once famously dubbed “Australia’s answer to Coldplay.”
Listen to: “Little Drummer Boy”
7. “My Favorite Holiday,” Ruben Studdard
The “American Idol” champ, who narrowly topped Clay Aiken in the hotly contested second season of the TV talent show in 2003, sounds strong on this short but sweet five-song EP.
The set kicks off in fun, upbeat style with the EP’s title track, moves into more mellow territory for a trio of tunes (including the all-time great “Silent Night”) and then closes in jazzy fashion with the number Studdard introduces as being his own favorite Christmas song — “Away In a Manger.”
Listen to: “Away In a Manger”
8. “When I Think of Christmas,” Amy Grant and Vince Gill
The Nashville power couple — with Grant being the “Queen of Christian Pop” and Gill standing as one of country music’s longtime leading men (as well a current member of the Eagles) — releases a compilation of some of their individual Christmas recordings.
The result is a nice mix of songs and styles, with Gill crooning through such holiday favorites as “Do You Hear What I Hear” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and Grant lending her lovely voice to the likes of “Winter Wonderland” and “Tennessee Christmas.”
Listen to: “O Holy Night” (Gill), “Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)”(Grant)
9. “Rejoice! (A Celtic Christmas),” We Are Messengers
This one is another EP, consisting of just five songs. Yet, each of those numbers is a definite winner.
That shouldn’t surprise anyone who is a familiar with this terrific pop-rock act, which has released so much high-quality music since forming in the beautiful town of Monaghan, Ireland, in 2015.
While it’s charming to hear the Celtic music takes on such Christmas standards as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” the album’s true stand-out cut is “Thorn and Thistle” performed with Keith and Kristyn Getty.
Listen to: “Thorn and Thistle”
10. “It’s Officially Christmas: The Double Album,” Dan + Shay
The super popular country duo, consisting of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, has finally joined the party and released its debut Christmas album.
And it’s super-sized, consisting of 21 tracks spaced out over two discs that collectively represent over an hour of Christmas music (well, actually, there’s also one New Year’s song in the mix).
It’s a nice listen from start to finish, with a fair share of stand-out cuts – including “Save the Snowman,” “Let It Snow” and, best of all, “Silent Night.”
Listen to: “Silent Night”
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