Candy canes, Christmas trees, and holiday shopping…we are well and truly in the midst of the festive season!
Every year we’re met with a lot of the same holiday tunes, whether it be at the mall or the Christmas party; so, we’ve put together a selection of fresh, female, festive tracks to spice up your holiday playlists!
A Nonsense Christmas by Sabrina Carpenter
@sabrinacarpenter
i present you “A Nonsense Christmas” ⠀⠀⠀⠀ happy holidays lol 💗
♬ A Nonsense Christmas – Sabrina Carpenter
Kicking off with a brand new release, Sabrina recently announced this remix of her fan-favourite track, ‘Nonsense’ off of her 2022 studio album emails i can’t send. She shared the news with her fans this week on TikTok with a fun, mini music-video-style preview. Sabrina has yet to announce when the single drops officially, but we sure do hope Christmas comes early this year!
Glittery by Kacey Musgraves feat. Troye Sivan
A chill, acoustic, warm Christmas tune about a sparkly romance. With lyrics like “You shake me up…just like a snowglobe” and “I love the way you decorate my heart”, it has all the cheesiness of a classic Christmas favourite, with a more relaxed and easily replayable vibe.
Christmas Tree Farm by Taylor Swift
Not that we need another reason to listen to Taylor all year-round, but ‘Christmas Tree Farm’ just really is that girl. You get the nostalgic dreamscape of an introduction that pays tribute to classical festive tunes, carrying into an optimistic and comforting taste of what it’s like at home on a Christmas tree farm. Taylor graced us with strings, jingle bells throughout, and a choir wishing us a Merry Christmas in the outro! And to top it all off we get an adorbs music video made up of Taylor’s own childhood home videos. What more could you need?
Cozy Little Christmas by Katy Perry
‘Cozy Little Christmas’ acknowledges the chaos the holiday season brings, and provides us with the introvert anthem of the year. Encouraging Santa to “take the day off, get a massage” while we enjoy a comforting holiday indoors with our loved ones! Though we might want to instead enjoy the holidays outdoors** for our Kiwi summer season, Katy still gifts us an underrated tune for some holiday humming!
White Christmas (Live) by Lady Gaga
If you’re looking to slow things down with a cover of a Christmas classic by one of the most innovative and influential pop artists of the century – this is it! Gaga showcases her other-worldly vocals with a smooth and sultry sound on this track, and she even adds her own verse too. Being a decade or so old already, this rendition is a hidden gem and is not getting near close to the holiday love it deserves!
Make it to Christmas by Alessia Cara
Alessia definitely captures the prevailing energy that a lot of us feel this time of year (Universal December agenda: the fastest and slowest chaos known to man). If you need some seasonal solidarity and motivation to hang in there, this track has got your back!!
River (It’s Coming on Christmas) by Ellie Goulding
This song is a really beautiful, reflective, and emotional Christmas ballad that showcases Ellie’s vocals stunningly. Considering the stripped back nature of the production, on this track we get to see a different side to her compared to the energy of her more famed pop singles. Definitely one to give a listen!
Christmas Party by Meghan Trainor
Although many joke that Miss Meghan has mastered the art of having her main discography sound and feel like we live in the festive season year-round, this tune genuinely brings the best, light-hearted Christmas vibes. Definitely a wholesome sing-along!
Under the Christmas Lights by Gwen Stefani
Off her wonderfully festive album You Make It Feel Like Christmas, this song gives us all the festive feels without relying solely on the (literal) bells and whistles of the seasonal production repertoire. This song definitely offers a breath of fresh air to the warm fuzzies of this seasonal genre!
True Love by Ariana Grande
It’s so hard to pick just one standout track from Ariana’s surprise-release 2015 EP Christmas and Chill. This collection of work is the definition of modern Christmas pop – fun and varied production, impossible to overplay, sprinkled with fun references to her discography throughout (we see you, ‘Tattooed Heart’). Ariana has already nailed some holiday classics like ‘Santa Tell Me’, but this work elevates the standard of fresh Christmas tracks.
Consider these underrated tracks our gift to you this Christmas, merry listening whānau!
