The best (and worst) of holiday music in 2024

Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network

Music Interviews, Music History, Music, Music Commentary

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2024

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's an annual tradition: Every December, artists release their bids to join the hallowed halls of holiday music history. The gold standard remains Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which reportedly earns the pop star $2.5 million annually in royalties. This year's crop of seasonal offerings spans from ambitious originals to reimagined classics, with artists trying everything from AI-generated lyrics to funk renditions of Hanukah hymns. To evaluate this year's entries, we're introducing our definitive sleigh bell ranking system: five sleigh bells marks a future holiday classic destined to join Mariah in the pantheon, while one sleigh bell promises pop obscurity. Songs Discussed: •Kelly Clarkson - You For Christmas •Orville Peck - Happy Trails •Conan Gray - Holidays •Dan and Shay - Take Me Home for Christmas •Amy Grant - Tennessee Christmas •Kesha - Holiday Road •Ben Folds - Xmas Aye Eye •Jennifer Hudson - Santa for Someone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for this show is brought to you by Nissan Kicks. It's never too late to try new things,
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0:35.3	Available feature, Bose is a registered trademark of the boast corporation
0:38.9	welcome to switch on pop.
0:57.8	Welcome to Switched on Pop. I'm musicologist Nate Sloan.
0:59.2	And I'm songwriter Charlie Harding.
1:06.6	Charlie, it's December. There in New York, I know you're donning your finest winter ensembles.
1:09.3	I have my giant, I'm freezing cold parka, yeah.
1:14.1	Your turtlenecks, your bomber jackets, your English hunting coats. I know your whole sartorial repertoire.
1:16.6	You love to bust these things out at this time of year.
1:18.7	Beautifully knit hats by my mother.
1:20.4	Out here in California, it's hot, but I think we'll have some snow on the mountain soon.
1:26.0	And that means it's time for one of my favorite annual traditions here at Switchin' Pop.
1:32.6	Our roundup of the best and the worst of Pop stars holiday offerings.
1:38.8	You've actually found some best?
1:40.2	You say that was such derision, Charlie, as though year in, year year out here we don't discover little nuggets of Christmas gold amongst the commercial dross that these artists churn out in a cynical calculating ploy for a maximum return on investment.
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