It has been 8 years since our last Christmas music post where we highlighted our favorite Christmas/Holiday pop songs in 2012. We thought it was time for an update. So here are our favorite Holiday pop songs.
1. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid
This classic 1984 charity single raised money for starving people in Africa, mainly Ethiopia. It was sung by Band Aid: the super group made up of Duran Duran, Bananarama, George Michael, Sting, Culture Club, Jody Watley, U2, Paul Young, Spandau Ballet, Phil Collins, Kool and the Gang, and many more.
Watch the music video here...
Five years later, a new set up superstars gathered to rerecord the song with a poppy dance beat and were called Band-Aid II. We love the 1989 version with producers Stock, Aitken, Waterman. It sounds like a happy song with sad lyrics.
Bananarama would be the only returning artists, although Siobhan had quit Bananarama and new girl Jacquie O'Sullivan was with them. Other stars were Kylie Minogue, Bros, Jimmy Sommerville, Cathy Dennis, Lisa Stainsfield, Cliff Richards, Sonia, and more. At least some women singers got to take the lead.
There have been a couple of more Band Aid line ups singing the song, but they aren't really worth mentioning as they were not very good and neither one included Bananarama. We loved this campaign from Popjustice in 2004 ...
Image from Popjustice.com
2. "Baby It's Christmas" by Bananarama
3. "Christmas Wrapping" by Spice Girls
This remake of The Waitresses 1981 classic was done in 1998 as a b-side for their single "Goodbye." It was the first single that didn't have Geri involved after she had quite the group. The verses are handled by Melanie C, Emma, and Victoria with a single solo line by Mel B. We love it. Check out the fan-made video ...
4. "Last Christmas" by Wham!
This holiday classic from 1984 was huge hit in the UK for the group. In the USA, it didn't hit the Top 40 until 2018, and earlier this year (2020), it went to #11 in January most likely because of the movie by the same name. Watch the Wham! music video here ...
Yes, there have been many remakes over the years, but we adore the camptastic version by Sweden's Alcazar. The pink microphones are amazing. Have a look ...
5. "It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas" by the Pet Shop Boys
This song by the Pet Shop Boys is wonderful Christmas song. It was originally done in 1997 to be a fan club single. Years later it was on a Starbucks CD compilation. In 2009, they released an EP called Christmas that has a new updated version of the song. Both are wonderful. Check it out ...
6. "Happy Ho Ho Ho" by Happy Hoes.
OMG! We absolutely ADORE this campy pop bop! The lyrics are hilarious! So much fun. We miss the short-lived group Happy Hoes. We hope they are reading this and will make a comeback!
OMG! We absolutely ADORE this campy pop bop! The lyrics are hilarious! So much fun. We miss the short-lived group Happy Hoes. We hope they are reading this and will make a comeback!
7. "Santa's On His Way" by The Pipettes.
This song by The Pipettes was released in 2010. We didn't know much about the song, so Davearama asked Pipettes singer Ani about it. "It's a song that gradually morphed into a Christmas song, but started life as something entirely different," Ani said. "It was more or less demanding to be a Christmas number by the end. I have great memories of that song, especially recording it with Martin. We recorded most tracks for the second album over a Christmas period and Martin had build a drum booth in the living room and inside was a saying 'Drummers are for life, not just Christmas.'" The track is available on iTunes.
While Eartha Kitt probably has the most famous version of "Santa Baby" ... others pop stars have also done it. Madonna recorded the song in the mid-80s. Unfortunately, her vocals are too baby-ish for our liking. Kylie Minogue also recorded this and while better than the Madonna version, it also suffers from the baby-ish vocals. So the version we love the most is the 2009 version by the Sugababes. Their vocals are spot on. And the song is very nice when sung in three-part harmonies. Plus, they changed up the arrangement with the melody. Have a look ...
9. "December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)" by George Michael.
This song by George Michael is sad and beautiful. It's a nice downtempo melancholy song. It has a lovely animated video, too. Be warned. You might tear up watching it.
10. "Like A Holiday" by Jody Watley
"Like A Holiday" has a chill out RnB vibe that will have you nodding your head and tapping your feet in no time. The Alex Di Ciò Remix adds a soulful guitar adding to the ambient relaxed feeling to the original. Just have a quick listen here ...
11. "100 Degrees" by Kylie Minogue featuring Dannii Minogue
We love when sisters Kylie and Dannii duet. Especially a disco number like this!
12. & 13. "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" & "Not Tonight Santa" by Girls Aloud.
Girls Aloud recorded a Christmas EP to be an special edition of their Chemistry
album. These two songs from the EP are the best. "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" was promoted a bit. What a live performance here ...
Girls Aloud recorded a Christmas EP to be an special edition of their Chemistry
album. These two songs from the EP are the best. "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" was promoted a bit. What a live performance here ...
But the naughty lyrics to "Not Tonight Santa" are a hoot. Have a listen ...
14. & 15. "Mele Kalikimaka" & "Jingle Bells" by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters.
The Hawaiian Christmas song is a classic. Davearama says, "My best friend from high school and I even had dance routine for the chorus. It just makes me smile. I've never been to Hawaii for Christmas. But dreaming is half the fun. And Bing Crosby never sounded better than he did when he sang with the Andrew Sisters."
And their version of Jingle Bells is the best ever. We don't even want to hear anyone else sing this song, unless they use this arrangement.
16. "Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" by Boney M.
This is the most religious Christmas song that we love. Davearama says, "I think I love it so much because I grew up going to a church that had a preacher who preached the same sermon every Christmas: Jesus wasn't born on Christmas day. Yep, you heard it right. And every year it was the same sermon. So, I came to like this song because of that. Plus, Boney M. singing the song make me love it that much more."
This song is about a daughter who isn't coming home for Christmas. So she will be spending a lonely Christmas either by herself or with friends. It's a sad song, with a happy beat. The LGBTQ+ community have really connected to this song over the years. The song appears on Erasure's Crackers International EP.
18. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey
We know this is a mainstream song, but gosh darn it, we absolutely love it. Especially in the movie Love Actually. We gave in and it is part of our Christmas playlist.
19. "All Alone On Christmas" by RuPaul.
Most people know this song by Darlene Love. But hearing RuPaul sing it brings new meaning to the song. And the only video we could find of the song is of a drag queen performing it. Very fitting. RuPaul has a fun Christmas album from the 90s called "Ho Ho Ho." Check it out, it is pretty good!
20. & 21. "O Tannenbaum" and "Little Drum Machine Boy"
"O Tannenbaum" is "Oh Christmas Tree" in German. It is sung by Katja von Kassel.
"Little Drum Machine Boy" is indeed a version of the "Little Drummer Boy." Is it sung by a computer or John von Ahlen? Have a listen ...
This is new this week! We love Deven Green and think she is HILARIOUS! This is a somewhat serious song, although there is humor in the lyrics. Check out the music video ...
21. "Open Your Arms (It's X-mas)" by Dolly Style
Also new this week! The latest single by Sweden's girl group with the pastel wigs is a Christmas ballad. The vocals are quite nice. Check out the music video ...
22. "Happy New Year" by ABBA.
-Frontal.jpg)
It's nice to throw in this year-end classic with the Christmas songs. A wonderful song. We always love the way she pronounces "champagne" in the first line. Happy New Year, indeed!
23. "Happy, Happy Year For Us All" by Magnus Carlsson with Alcazar.
This was recorded when Alcazar was still the original trio: Annikafiore, Andreas and Tess. Shortly after this was recorded Magnus joined Alcazar. So we sort of just consider it an Alcazar song. Love it! And Annikafiore's vocals are awesome. And it is a nice song to get the New Year started.
We have A Very Poptastic Christmas Playlist on Spotify. There are more gems there than are mentioned here. Sadly, not all of the songs listed here are on Spotify. Which is why legally downloading them and making your own playlist might just do the trick. If you know of any Christmas Pop songs that you love and are not on our list, let us know! Enjoy!~
Cheers then,
—The Poptastic Confessions Collective
P.S. Please follow Poptastic Confessions on social media ...
Please like and share our posts so that more people hear the music!
No comments:
Post a Comment