22 Christmas songs as an alternative to Mariah Carey

Laufey’s cover of the moving Santa Baby is one of the best Christmas songs

What are the latest Christmas songs to put under the tree this year? Since her acclaimed debut studio album Everything I Know About Love (2022), Icelandic singer Laufey has been elegantly revisiting jazz standards with her contemporary sensibility. After collaborating with renowned artists, such as Adam Melchor, and with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the 25-year-old singer unveils a sublime cover of Santa Baby, originally sung by Eartha Kitt in 1953. All in all, the perfect hit to bring a little sweetness to the Christmas season.

Santa Baby (2024) by Laufey, available now.

Coco Jones lights up the Christmas holidays with Call on Christmas

Even before winter arrives, American actress and singer Coco Jones is already lighting up the holiday season with Call on Christmas, a moving track from her latest EP, Coco by the Fireplace (2024). With its incredibly melancholy lyrics – “Why don’t you call on Christmas?” – this track explores the nostalgia and loss that can sometimes arise at this time of the year. Punctuated by original tracks, such as Santa Is Me and String of Lights, this EP celebrates the bittersweet season and offers a refreshing alternative to the Christmas classics.

Call on Christmas (2024) by Coco Jones, available now.

Saweetie takes us on a magic winter journey with I Want You This Christmas

This particular Christmas song will surely please all R’n’B fans this year… With the romantic track I Want You This Christmas, American singer and rapper Saweetie plunges us straight into the magic of winter. The music video directed by Jamar Harding takes the rapper to a glittering glacier first, and then by a Christmas tree surrounded by presents, with a touch of glamour and nineties influences.

I Want You This Christmas (2024) by Saweetie, available now.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Nonsense Christmas

To kick off the festive season in style, Sabrina Carpenter will turn up the heat with her first Christmas Special, entitled A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, broadcast on December 6th, 2024 on Netflix. In the meantime, fans of America’s new darling can look forward to the track A Nonsense Christmas, which was released in 2022.

A Nonsense Christmas (2023) by Sabrina Carpenter, available.

Billie Eilish’s splendid cover of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Gen Z idol Billie Eilish, 22, knows how to reinvent herself and surprise her audience. The American singer-songwriter performed a classic Christmas carol dating from 1944, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, on Saturday Night Live last year. This very elegant, pared-down version was a far cry from her current repertoire.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (2023) by Billie Eilish, available now.

Camélia Jordana’s interpretation of Silent Night

For Amazon Music Original, the 32-year-old French singer and actress Camélia Jordana has unveiled a beautiful reinterpretation of the 19th-century Christmas carol Silent Night. Her version of the melancholy holiday classic comes with a warm-hearted video of her sitting down at a table while singing with some of fans invited for the occasion.

Silent Night (2023) by Camélia Jordana, available now.

Pomme’s melancholy Christmas card

A few weeks after announcing the upcoming releases of her two-part album, Saisons, singer Pomme has unveiled a moving first extract of her new record with the track _ dec carte de noël. While the first part of her album, Automne Hiver, was released on December 1st, 2023, the artist, who unveiled the excellent album Les Failles in 2019, sends us some beautiful Christmas wishes haunted by an intense melancholy.

_ dec carte de noël (2023) by Pomme, available now.

Best wishes from Olivia Dean

“Merry Christmas to you” sings Olivia Dean in her 2021 cover of the song The Christmas Song written by the infamous American jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole. This ode to the Christmas season, which dates from 1961, perfectly suits the soft, voluptuous vocal range of British singer Olivia Dean, who sweeps us away with her warm voice. Commenting on the song, which is best enjoyed by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate, the singer explained: “Nat King Cole’s and Ella Fitzgerald’s versions of ‘The Christmas Song’ have been such comforting go-to’s for me at this time of year, so getting the chance to cover it was super exciting.” In any case, the cover has brought Olivia Dean good luck, as the singer has reached the top 100 singles chart for the first time during the first week of its release in 2021.

The Christmas Song (2021) by Olivia Dean, available now.

Benjamin Biolay covers Wham!’s song Last Christmas

A few months after the release of his excellent tenth album Saint-Clair, French singer Benjamin Biolay is re-releasing his record for the festive season. The singer-songwriter has decided to celebrate the season in style since the new edition of the album, subtitled l’édition de minuit (‘midnight edition’, ed), features six new tracks, including three unreleased ones, three covers – two of them are Christmas songs. Among them is a suave, disillusioned version of Wham!’s sublime Last Christmas.

Saint-Clair (2022) by Benjamin Biolay, available now.

Los Bitchos’ jubilant Christmas rock anthem

London-based psychedelic rock band Los Bitchos keeps surprising us. The four musicians, who mix cumbia, Turkish pop and garage rock, have come up with a Christmas anthem that is almost entirely instrumental, punctuated by a few shouts and the promising phrase “Christmas Time, Sexy Time!”. Entitled Los Chrismos, this joyous track full of sunny guitars and exotic percussions comes with a vintage video in which the artists appear in kitsch Christmas looks from the 80s. The perfect soundtrack to a whimsical Christmas…

Los Chrismos (2022) by Los Bitchos, available now.

Jimmy Fallon’s masked, yet funny Christmas with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion

The famous American presenter Jimmy Fallon, hosting the very popular programme The Tonight Show, knows how to make people laugh even in the most troubled times. Last year, he released the hilarious It Was A …(Masked Christmas), alongside singer Ariana Grande and rapper Megan Thee Stallion. This quirky Christmas track depicts what we’ve all been through during the Covid crisis. “It’s basically about how last year was rough on everybody,” the host stated at the time. The music video aimed to play it down and featured skying sessions, cosy moments by the fireplace and a sexy nurse, reinventing Christmas with masks and laughter. “This year, hang that mistletoe / I’ma kiss everybody that I know,” Megan Thee Stallion even warns us.

It Was A …(Masked Christmas) (2021) by Jimmy Fallon, featuring Ariana Grande & Megan Thee Stallion, available now.

Mac DeMarco’s hip Christmas

Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco has already given in to covers of iconic Christmas carols, with his lo-fi interpretation of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. He kept the tradition alive with a melancholy, under-produced, rock reinvention of the classic I’ll Be Home for Christmas in 2021. Recorded for the first time in 1943, his track has little in common with the original version. Yet you absolutely have to listen to it while watching its wild, poetic video, in which an inflatable DIY Christmas tree is going home among other trees.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas (2021) by Mac DeMarco, available now.

Crazy Christmas wishes from Lil Nas X

In 2020, American rapper Lil Nas X, whose career skyrocketed with his 2019 hit Old Town Road, unveiled the track Holiday with its heady chorus. In this pop song, the 25-year-old artist reveals the hectic schedule of his holidays, while he appears in a rather futuristic Santa costume in the music video for the track. The video delighted his fans so much that Lil Nas X eventually earned a new nickname: ‘SantaNasX’.

Holiday (2020) by Lil Nas X, available now.

Traduction Emma Naroumbo Armaing.

But also…

La playlist de Noël de Numéro