Every fall, country stars, Americana singer-songwriters, pop singers and bluegrass pickers vie for a spot on your holiday playlist. So far in 2023, we've gotten an album's worth of festive material from Jon Pardi, an extension of Maddie & Tae's holiday catalog, a '90s country dream duet and an unlikely collaboration from Kane Brown.
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Those tracks expand the canon of memorable Christmas songs released across popular genres. Since 1980, Mariah Carey, Wham! and Alabama have been among the acts to freshen up the constant stream of holiday music that starts long before Thanksgiving dinner. If those modern selections hit the spot better than something by Gene Autry or Brenda Lee, there's plenty more worth a listen, from a Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani duet to original material by Kelly Clarkson, Sia and dozens of others.
Read on for Wide Open Country's picks for your modern Christmas music playlist, which includes several songs released in 2023. The list is in chronological order and favors popular genres over classical, jazz, blues and world music.
Michael Macioce/Getty Images A new wave gem inspired by early rap (specifically Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'"), The Waitresses' addition of "Christmas Wrapping" to the Christmas song canon holds up as one of the best pop-rock holiday songs ever cut to wax. David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images This country classic's lyrics about merry Christmases spent in the South resonated with listeners strong enough for Alabama's "Christmas in Dixie" to chart in three consecutive decades: first in 1982, and later in 1997 and 2000. Chris Walter/WireImage Before "All I Want for Christmas is You" took the crown, Wham!'s "Last Christmas" reigned as the best-known — and best overall— modern seasonal hit. It likely defines holiday pop music to those who've covered it since, from the Backstreet Boys to Jimmy Eat World. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Rap revolutionaries Run-D.M.C. set the bar high for light-hearted hip-hop carols. A nice balance of silly and sincere makes "Christmas in Hollis" one memorable, as does the sample from Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa." James Devaney/WireImage Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" entered rare air over the years, becoming as ever-present during the holiday season as Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas," Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." David Corio/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images For an added touch of class, stick with one of the 1990s' (or any decade's) finest singers and revisit Luther Vandross' album "This is Christmas." It's among the best seasonal albums by a soul and R&B icon, in large part because of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," the angelic closing track. Members of the Mikki Ansin/Getty Images Christmas music is custom-made for two key elements of modern pop music: strong vocal leads and impeccable harmonies. It's no wonder, then, that *NSYNC made a holiday album that's aged well enough to not sound like a gimmick or a cash grab. The title track, "You Don't Have to Be Alone," among the group's better swoon-worthy originals. George Napolitano/FilmMagic At her crossover peak, Faith Hill got recruited for the soundtrack of the Jim Carrey film "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." She suited the score for "Where Are You Christmas" by James Horner while soaring as one of the top world-class vocalists to emerge at the time from country music. Jamie McCarthy/ WireImage For something more uplifting, consider the orchestral title track of Alan Jackson's 2002 holiday album. "Let It Be Christmas" is about seeking peace on Earth, regardless of where you reside or if the calendar reads Dec. 25. Gary Livingston/Getty Images As we await that U2 holiday album and tour that somehow hasn't happened yet, give the next best thing a listen: Coldplay's "Christmas Lights." Few do the type of poetic sentimentality we'd expect from Bono better than Chris Martin, as heard on this Christmas deep cut from 2010. Phillip Massey/WireImage One of the artists on our list who followed the lead of the crooners behind earlier holiday standards, Michael Buble adds to that tradition with the joyous song "Holly Jolly Christmas," associated with the classic TV special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." David Livingston/Getty Images Some of the best 21st century selections reimagine timeless sounds to meet the moment. Here, CeeLo Green points back to Motown across the high note-filled opening track "What Christmas Means to Me" on his Christmas album CeeLo's Magic Moment. Kevin Winter/Getty Images Kelly Clarkson's Christmas songs could be a list unto themselves. New tunes such as "Underneath the Tree" plus Kelly-oke style recordings of old favorites span two albums (2013's Wrapped in Red and 2021's When Christmas Comes Around...) and offer quite a few worthwhile options for your seasonal listening pleasure. Mark Ashman/Disney Parks via Getty Images Ariana Grande is part pop firecracker, part choir director on this holiday tune of epic proportions. Culturally, "Tell Me Santa" may not have the staying power of some of our older picks, but musically, it belongs among the best Christmas songs released since 1980. Chris Polk/FilmMagic A list leaning heavily into some of the best pop singers in recent memory needs a Miley Cyrus song. In "Sleigh Ride," she harnesses her inner Wynonna Judd for a soulful performance that plays into the source material's sense of holiday fun. Randy Shropshire/Getty Images The easiest-to-defend child pop stars and one-hit wonders of the '90s, the Hanson siblings still deliver the goods as vocalists, instrumentalists and composers. In "A Wonderful Christmastime," they reimagine a Paul McCartney classic as something that wouldn't sound out of place in a Christian coffee shop. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Somehow, Blake Shelton's Oklahoma drawl sounds more obvious than usual on the first verse of this song with Gwen Stefani, adding to the charm of "You Make It Feel Like Christmas." From there, the future spouses' voices join for maximum holiday jubilance in one of the better Christmas duets of its time. Natasha Moustache/WireImage Sia reached the top tier of modern artists with fresh holiday material through such playful, poppy and slightly bizarre selections as "Santa's Coming for Us" and "Candy Cane Lane." Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images Alessia Cara closed the 2010s with one of the decade's best original Christmas songs, "Make It to Christmas." Its ace storytelling about how the season makes heartbreak sting a little more. Mindy Small/WireImage A list of popular Christmas songs predating 1980 would be dominated by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis and other easy-listening crooners. "The Voice" coach John Legend places himself in that lineage with this jazzy, lounge act-style rendition of "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," a song that snubs the 93-year-olds at your family get-together. Samir Hussein/Getty Images In any era, Taylor Swift is at her most compelling when she puts pieces of her own life and experiences into her lyrics. She spent her formative years living on a Christmas tree farm in Reading, Penn., making "Christmas Tree Farm" one of her autobiographical tunes. Ray Mickshaw/WireImage If "O Holy Night" isn't the greatest Christmas song in the hymnal, it's at least the hardest to sing. That's why few aside from Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and, more recently, Carrie Underwood dared gunning for its high notes. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for STARZ A selection from the The Sound of Music soundtrack, "My Favorite Things" started popping up on Christmas albums in the '60s. It's stayed in the public consciousness outside of the holidays via homages by Andre 3000, Ariana Grande and others. Mary J. Blige's slowed-down, symphonic interpretation suits her 2023 Christmas album. A twanged-up, modernized retooling of Elvis Presley's holiday classic makes Kane Brown an unlikely duet partner of the King. Most notably, Brown holds his own as a vocalist when paired with one of the undisputed champions of Christmas music. Overall, "Blue Christmas" a fun twist on a song synonymous with the season. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA Although the title is silly, expect DJs to play "DJ Play a Christmas Song" plenty this season and beyond. The opening track of Cher's Christmas album sounds like a perennial LGBTQ+ empowerment anthem in the making. Though he's not considered a country artist, Gavin DeGraw fits in the same singer-songwriter lineage as some of the genre's all-time greats. In "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," he blends modern pop with tinges of rockabilly for a cover of Brenda Lee's holiday hit. Maddie & Tae reissued their We Need Christmas album in October 2023 with three new recordings including "White Christmas," a rendition of this crucial page from the 20th century Christmas songbook. Jamie O'Neal co-wrote and co-produced this new yet timeless Christmas tune and recruited fellow '90s country notable Ty Herndon as her duet partner. Despite being upbeat musically, the lyrics of "Merry Christmas Baby" tell a somber tale for anyone whose holidays are less happy without a special someone. A light-hearted carol that was debuted in the '60s by Buck Owens, "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" ranks among the better Christmas songs that originated in country music. Fittingly, Jon Pardi covered it for his first holiday album, Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi. Caitlyn Smith co-wrote and co-produced this original tune with Ben West. "Show Day" is chock-full of sweet sentimentality and fits the mold of easy-listening holiday standards. For the digital flip side, Smith takes a stab at the greatest seasonal hymn of them all, "O Holy Night.""Christmas Wrapping," The Waitresses (1981)
"Christmas in Dixie," Alabama (1982)
"Last Christmas," Wham! (1984)
"Christmas in Hollis," Run-D.M.C. (1988)
"All I Want For Christmas is You," Mariah Carey (1994)
"'O Come All Ye Faithful," Luther Vandross (1995)
"You Don't Have to Be Alone," *NSYNC (1998)
"Where Are You Christmas," Faith Hill (2000)
"Let It Be Christmas," Alan Jackson (2002)
"Christmas Lights," Coldplay (2010)
"Holly Jolly Christmas," Michael Buble (2012)
"What Christmas Means to Me," CeeLo Green (2012)
"Underneath the Tree," Kelly Clarkson (2013)
"Santa Tell Me," Ariana Grande (2014)
"Sleigh Ride," Miley Cyrus (2017)
"A Wonderful Christmastime," Hanson (2017)
"You Make It Feel Like Christmas," Gwen Stefani (Feat. Blake Shelton) (2017)
"Santa's Coming for Us," Sia (2018)
"Make It to Christmas," Alessia Cara (2019)
"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," John Legend (2019)
"Christmas Tree Farm," Taylor Swift (2019)
"O Holy Night," Carrie Underwood (2020)
"My Favorite Things," Mary J. Blige (2023)
"Blue Christmas," Kane Brown and Elvis Presley (2023)
"DJ Play a Christmas Song," Cher (2023)
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," Gavin DeGraw (2023)
"White Christmas," Maddie & Tae (2023)
"Merry Christmas Baby," Jamie O'Neal and Ty Herndon (2023)
"Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy," Jon Pardi (2023)
"Snow Day," Caitlyn Smith (2023)
