Best New Christmas Music from Home Free

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 15, 2018Auld Lang Syne 0 Comment

There are many songs of Christmas that are not, well, Christmas. This is one of them. But it is a Christmas song. I know — but hang with me here a minute. Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, Baby It’s Cold Outside — are all Christmas songs that do not even mention Christmas. Yet they have a place in Christmas. Home Free has just released a new single of Auld Lang Syne, the song of New Year that gets plenty of Christmas love, including from us, because these guys play it straight in their tight, distinctive style: Auld Lang Syne features prominentlyRead more

Baby, It’s Climbing the Charts

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 12, 2018baby it's cold outside 0 Comment

Only a week after Baby, It’s Cold Outside was banned on two major radio stations in Ohio and California the song is seeing resurgent popularity on Billboard’s charts. The song appeared three times on Billboard’s Holiday Digital Song Sales Chart, which is the most for any title. In fact, the song’s recent climb represents the survey’s largest jump. Dean Martin’s version jumped from No. 23 to No. 2 on the Holiday Digital Song Sales Chart, which is the song’s highest rank in seven years. Martin’s version of the song jumped from No. 33 to No. 25 on the streaming versionRead more

Best of New Christmas Music from BYU Vocal Point

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 0 Comment

The great thing about Christmas music is that it comes in all varieties. From the sacred to the secular, whatever your mood there is always something in Christmas to be found. An artist can either ride the wave of emotion — or blow it. I recently saw a video of an epic, dramatic rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen that really not only ruined the song it was completely out of step with both its message and its spirit. This is why we say some artists shouldn’t do Christmas music. One size does not fit all but many performRead more

Best of New Christmas Music from Emily Hearn

Penelope Barnhurst Christmas Music, Christmas News December 10, 2018December 10, 2018emily hearn 0 Comment

Is it possible to release a new Christmas album full of traditional favorites…and just skip the fancy YouTube productions? It is when your voice is pure, your talent obvious and your music is just made for radio. That is what Emily Hearn has accomplished with her Christmas album: Hearn, whose songwriting and raw-quality pop sound has vaulted her to fame, is not making a production of her Christmas album. She’s just throwing it out there, doing it her way, and the results are so very pleasing. About the only positioning I can see with this album is the heady titleRead more

Virtual Hallelujah Chorus

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas Video December 8, 2018December 8, 2018 0 Comment

Imagine combining the voices of thousands in a massive performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. That was the vision in the creation of this video from just a few year ago: How many of us have imagined ourselves singing like this? How many of us have belted out our part of the Hallelujah Chorus while in the shower or in the car, hearing it on the radio? Handel’s Messiah was originally written for Easter but has over the centuries now become associated with Christmas. The Hallelujah Chorus is the climax of what Handel himself saw as a mircle. Of creating MessiahRead more

Best New Christmas Music from Mason Ramsey

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 6, 2018December 5, 2018mason ramsey 0 Comment

Have you seen this kid, Mason Ramsey? Chances are you have. A year ago he was just another 11 year old kid from the midwest, likely tracking Santa and dreaming of a white Christmas. This year he is practically as famous as Santa and singing White Christmas — for millions. Only the age of the Internet can create such a thing. But here’s the deal: this Walmart Yodel Boy can actually…well, wail: Seriously. He became a sensation when a video of him yodeling Hank Williams in a Walmart went viral. He practically became a Hall of Famer when he becameRead more

Best of New Christmas Music from the Tabernacle Choir

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 5, 2018December 4, 2018Tabernacle Choir 0 Comment

Christmas and choir music just go together. The Tabernacle Choir is not afraid to tackle any song of Christmas but nowhere do they shine better than on the traditional, simple songs of Christmas such as O Little Town of Bethlehem. They are, quite literally, a choir of angels: The all-volunteer choir actually puts out new Christmas music each season based upon Christmas concerts held the previous year. This gives the Tabernacle Choir perhaps the most diverse and comprehensive Christmas music portfolio anywhere. O Little Town of Bethlehem is a classic, American Christmas song. Based on the Biblical text of LukeRead more

Best New Christmas Music from Grant Maloy Smith

Penelope Barnhurst Christmas Music, Christmas News December 4, 2018December 4, 2018EmiSunshine, grant maloy smith 0 Comment

Christmas music is unique in that it can uplift, inspire and entertain in a variety of ways. Stories within the music give us teachable moments for all ages. In fact, Christmas carols were intended to do just that — to teach children. Great music makers today do the same thing. Here is a new release from Grant Maloy Smith featuring EmiSunshine with a tale about Santa’s, um, possum: This is not just a song, it’s also a new children’s book, also by Grant Maloy Smith. “Fly Possum Fly” is Smith’s debut book. His 2017 album “Dust Bowl – American Stories”Read more

Best of New Christmas Music from David Archuleta

Penelope Barnhurst Christmas Music, Christmas News December 3, 2018December 3, 2018david archuleta 1 Comment

Ever since Mariah Carey launched All I Want for Christmas is You the world has been seeking a new, uptempo Christmas pop song. Maybe we have found a worthy successor from this new tune from David Archuleta: Archuleta has been a brave pioneer in pop music by going his own way since his breakout on American Idol years ago. That has meant playing in small arenas, getting lighter press and partnering with lesser-known musicians. It has also meant better music from Archuleta, whose best stuff, we feel, is yet to come. This cut is from a new album called WinterRead more

The Naughty Stuff of Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas News, Christmas Opinion December 2, 2018December 2, 2018naughty list 0 Comment

It was expected that in the era of President Donald Trump the war on Christmas would become more extreme. But nobody saw this coming. This time it is not the religious of Christmas under attack. It is definitively secular. Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving, more than half a century old, is now considered by some to be racist. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the 54-year old television special, is now deemed to be full of bigoted and sexist content. An Ohio radio station has pulled all versions of the song Baby It’s Cold Outside saying that the song is inappropriate in theRead more