holiday
‘Tis the season to be a little petty. Kelly Clarkson shared her official album visualizer for her 2021 holiday project, When Christmas Comes Around… Again on Wednesday (Dec. 18), and the cozy fireplace display in the clip features a lineup for four stockings. Clarkson and her two children, River Rose and Remington Alexander, all have […]
The holidays are here, which means Christmas music has fully infiltrated the charts, radio and mall speakers alike. Most of that music precedes this year, from traditional classics sung by Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Brenda Lee to contemporary hits from Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson and Michael Bublé — all names that regularly appear […]
Jennifer Hudson is no stranger to covering songs and making them her own, after getting her start on American Idol and continuing through her Emmy-nominated daytime talk show. So when she started work on her first-ever holiday album, The Gift of Love, Hudson understood the assignment: She would need to Jennifer-ize some of the most beloved Christmas classics of all time.
“Any time I do a classic — which I get to do a lot — I always want to stay true to the base but then allow space for my artistry to come through, which made making this album the most fun I have ever had recording an album,” the EGOT winner tells Katie & Keith on our special Christmas episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen below). “Whether it’s me lyrically or musically, my expression is there in some form, in my interpretation. … So it was fun to reimagine the classics, Jennifer Hudson-style. I call it ‘Jennifer-izing’ them.”
How did she choose which holiday hallmarks to tackle? “I picked what was most personal to me. Like ‘The Christmas Song,’ for instance, my grandmother used to love that song, so I recall hearing that as a little girl throughout each and every holiday of her playing that song — Nat King Cole with the satin voice — so that made me want to pay tribute to her in that way,” Hudson says. “Or ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain,’ I grew up singing that in church during the holiday season and ‘Carol of the Bells’ in high school. ‘Hallelujah,’ that’s my favorite song; that’s the heart of the album. And ‘O Holy Night’ is my favorite Christmas song.”
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She was also conscious of bringing a diversity of sounds, styles, genres and tempos to the project, because, according to Hudson: “There are different Christmases. Some years it’s a winter wonderland Christmas, it’s a big-band Christmas, it’s a North Pole Christmas with the reds and the greens and the candy canes for the kids, a ‘Jingle Bells’ type of Christmas. It can change through each year — which is why my album has a lot of variety in it, because it’s like: Is your Christmas the icicle Christmas? Is it a green Christmas? Is it a white Christmas? What type of Christmas do you want, baby?”
Hudson spoke with Katie & Keith from the set of The Jennifer Hudson Show, and she said it was her tightknit work family that was the original “inspiration towards why the time is now to do a holiday album. Our [show] theme is ‘Choose Joy.’ And on the Christmas album is the song ‘Let There Be Joy.’ So that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what I love to do. And the best gift and the best way I know to do it is through music. And it’s just a blessing to come in here every day and work with such beautiful people. And it’s like a party every day. We call it The Happy Place.”
The 15-song project also includes a half-dozen originals, all co-written by Hudson. Below, J-Hud breaks down the messages behind four of those brand-new holiday songs.
“Santa for Someone”
“My assistant inspired it because he he’s a scrooge. [Laughs] And I was like, ‘What is it about the holidays you don’t like?’ He’s like, ‘Getting gifts for everybody and trying to figure it out.’ So that’s where ‘Santa for Someone’ came from. Because we all can get frustrated looking for those gifts. Will we get it in enough time? Will we get them what they want? … I can’t think of too many men, like uncles and brothers, that are listening to ‘Jingle Bells,’ so how about I give them something to bop to throughout the holiday season? So I was trying to think of everyone, as we do during the holidays.”
“Find the Love”
“It meets the times that we’re in, and I feel like it’s a song that could be played throughout the year. … We’re in such a difficult time as a people, and it’s like, what unifies us? Music. We’re all human. We all have to go through a season no matter what — no matter if it’s the holiday season or life has seasons in itself. But that one thing that can bring us together on one accord is music, and that’s why the album is called The Gift of Love. And a song like ‘Find the Love’ is on there because it doesn’t just sit within the holiday season; it’s something you can carry throughout your life, and it can speak to you and it can speak to the times.”
“Make It to Christmas”
“‘Make It to Christmas’ is my son’s favorite song. It speaks to like, we all work all year, right? But we are waiting to get to the end of that tunnel, where the lights are red and green, to that holiday season, where we can go home at that one time of year and enjoy each other and our families.”
“Go Tell It on the Mountain”
“‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’ is for the mourners, those who may have lost. It’s kind of like a remake of that song, but from a personal perspective.”
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Also on the podcast, we’ve got chart news on how Taylor Swift spends a 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with The Tortured Poets Department; how Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” nets a 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, tying “One Sweet Day” as her song with the most weeks atop the list; and how Sabrina Carpenter’s “Fruitcake” flies into the top 10 for the first time on the Billboard 200 with the single-largest sales week in the modern era for a holiday album on vinyl. Plus, Madonna announced new music with her longtime collaborator Stuart Price coming next year, and we’ll hear from the Queen of Pop’s biggest fan, Keith, about why this is especially exciting news.
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard’s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard’s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
GloRilla and Kehlani‘s “Xmas Time” has topped this week’s new music poll that features artists in various genres of music. The holiday collaboration was crowned the favorite new music release by fans in a poll published Friday (Dec. 13) on Billboard. “Xmas Time” garnered nearly 55% of the vote, edging out new music from Stray […]
‘Tis the season for new holiday hits! On the latest Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are taking their annual sleigh ride through a half-dozen Christmas songs impacting the Billboard charts this year. For 2024, we’re taking a look at Jimmy Fallon and Jonas Brothers’ “Holiday”; Cher’s “DJ Play a Christmas Song” remix with […]
BTS‘ V and the late Bing Crosby‘s duet version of “White Christmas” has topped this week’s new music poll, which highlights releases from artists across a variety of genres.
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Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Dec. 6) on Billboard, naming the new rendition of the holiday classic their favorite new music release of the past week.
“White Christmas” secured nearly 51% of the vote, outpacing new releases from ROSÉ (rosie), TWICE (Strategy), Bad Bunny (“EL CLÚB”), Khalid and Normani (“Personal”), and more.
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In the festive collaboration, V and Crosby trade lines, harmonizing on the iconic lyrics: “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas/ With every Christmas card I write/ May your days be merry and bright/ And may all your Christmases be white.”
“I’m so grateful to have had the chance to be featured in a song with my all-time favorite jazz artist, Bing Crosby,” V previously said of the track in a statement. “I grew up listening to his song ‘It’s Been a Long, Long Time’ countless times a day, and I feel incredibly fortunate and honored to have sung along on ‘White Christmas’ with the voice of someone I consider an idol.”
“Being a huge fan of his, I sang with the utmost sincerity and admiration for him,” continued the superstar, who previously covered “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” “I hope many people enjoy it as much as I enjoyed singing it. Lastly, I wish a lovely holiday season to everyone listening to the song.”
Crosby passed away in 1977. His daughter, Mary Crosby, expressed her excitement about her father’s new posthumous collaboration, saying, “As a family, we are thrilled to have V and Dad singing together on this ultimate Christmas song. Their voices blend beautifully, capturing the holiday spirit in the best possible way.”
The Christmas classic, written by Irving Berlin in just 18 minutes, remains the best-selling song of all time, with over 50 million copies sold worldwide, according to Guinness World Records. “White Christmas” also won the Oscar for best original song in the 1942 musical Holiday Inn and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.
Trailing closely behind V and Crosby in this week’s poll is BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ, whose debut solo album, rosie, garnered almost 48% of the vote. The 12 tracks on the set include the hit single “APT.” with Bruno Mars, which has held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global 200 for six consecutive weeks, as well as “Number One Girl.”
Check out the full results of this week’s poll below and head to Billboard‘s Friday Music Guide for more must-hear releases.
Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan teamed up for a holiday classic. In her new Netflix holiday special A Nonsense Christmas, which premiered on Friday (Dec. 6), the 25-year-old pop star invited special guest Roan for a festive duet of Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” Set in a scene evoking the aftermath of a lively holiday house party, […]
The Philly Specials’ charity album A Philly Special Christmas Party makes a festive debut across Billboard’s charts, opening at No. 1 on Independent Albums; in the top 10 on Top Album Sales (No. 2), Top Holiday Albums (No. 2), Vinyl Albums (No. 2); and at No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard 200 (all charts dated Dec. 7).
It’s the third and final release in the charity series, presented by The Philly Specials (former Philadelphia Eagles football player Jason Kelce and his teammates Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata).
Party arrives with the biggest sales week for any holiday album in four years, and the largest sales week for a holiday album on vinyl in the modern era (since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991). A Philly Special Christmas Party sold 32,000 copies in its first week (ending Nov. 28), with 22,000 of that sum on vinyl. The album was commercially released on CD, vinyl and digital download on Nov. 22.
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The last holiday set with a bigger sales week overall was when Carrie Underwood’s My Gift sold 33,000 nearly three months into its release, on the Dec. 19, 2020-dated charts. Previously, the biggest sales week in the modern era for a holiday set on vinyl was when Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack pushed through 20,000 copies in late 2022 (Dec. 31, 2022 chart date).
The new Party album boasts collaborations with the likes of Boyz II Men, Stevie Nicks, Mt. Joy and Jason’s brother (and Kansas City Chiefs tight end) Travis Kelce and includes covers of tunes like “Maybe This Christmas,” “Last Christmas” and “Please Come Home for Christmas.”
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units.
As for the rest of the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart, the Wicked film soundtrack debuts at No. 1 (85,000), Kendrick Lamar’s GNX debuts at No. 3 (32,000), ATEEZ’s Golden Hour: Part.2 falls 1-4 in its second week (24,000; down 87%), Marilyn Manson’s One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 debuts at No. 5 (20,000), Zach Bryan’s The Great American Bar Scene re-enters the chart at No. 6 (18,000; up 14,517% after it was issued on vinyl and CD for the first time), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is steady at No. 7 (16,000; up 9%), ENHYPEN’s chart-topping Romance: Untold falls 4-8 (15,000; down 70%), Ice Cube’s Man Down debuts at No. 9 (nearly 15,000) and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess rises 11-10 (13,000; up 16%).
Backstreet’s back — this time, with the Rockettes! The Backstreet Boys had some fun with the Radio City Rockettes in a new TikTok video from the iconic dance group. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the viral clip shared on Thursday (Dec. 5), Nick Carter, Howie […]
Featuring jingles from Sabrina Carpenter, Kelly Clarkson and more.