We know it’s hard to write a new holiday classic or even get traction at holiday radio with a new version of a standard. Even so, holiday music rewards those who do want something new every year with a steady stream of new releases that would be the envy of any contemporary format.
Holiday music challenges artists to reinvent oft-recorded standards, and every year it submits for approval a song or two that wasn’t written for the holidays but still resonates there. Just as AC radio returns long-gone legendary acts to prominence every year, new Christmas music also gives veteran acts an avenue to stay active with new releases.
This year, we’re taking a look at the holiday backstories of some of those new releases. We’ll be adding on to this roundup each week as new songs are featured in Ross on Radio. Of course, we’ve also created a playlist where you can hear new holiday music.
Ali & Theo, “Oh Christmas Tree” – In Canada, the duo’s annual holiday single is a 16-year tradition. This year’s single is a potential boon to programmers everywhere — a familiar song to Christmas music fans that has never had a significant radio version before.
Braden Hull, “Hey Son” – Not a holiday song, but one that Hull hopes will resonate in particular at the holidays, especially for anybody separated from their family. Hull, a new Country artist signed to Melody Place, returns to his hometown of Lexington, N.C., to host “Braden’s Christmas Wish” to raise money for families in need. In 2023, the fundraiser was successful enough to fully sponsor five families. This year, he’ll host both full-band and acoustic shows
Carpenters Legacy, “Christmastime With You” — Christmas AC radio has rediscovered the Carpenters in recent years. Sally Olson and Ned Mills perform as Karen and Richard Carpenter in the Las Vegas (and touring) review Carpenters Legacy. “Christmastime With You” is an original in the spirit of the group’s classic ’70s holiday album (the focus of their holiday shows).
Craymo, “Last Christmas” – The song is one that we hypothesized last year might have an even bigger footprint than “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The familiar song gets a high-energy treatment here courtesy of the Orlando-based DJ/artist Craig Raymo, who claims George Michael as an inspiration, but also Robbie Williams, Niall Horan, and Simon LeBon. (He’s also been an ROR subscriber since 2017!)
High Valley, “Call It Christmas” – In America, they broke through with “Make You Mine” and “She’s With Me.” In Canada, Brad Rempel and band have had 20 top 10 singles and are climbing the charts again with “I’m Leavin’ You.” Their new holiday song was released November 19.
LeAnn Rimes, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” — The most interesting backstory of any holiday hit. In 1990, the song became a secret weapon for Country and AC radio from an unlikely source, an act until then known only for the novelty “Bomb Iran” a decade earlier. Now there’s a new version from an act already entrenched at holiday radio. The 911: Nashville star just released Greatest Hits Christmas, which features three new tracks, including covers of “River” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”
Motorleague, “Merry Xmas You Filthy Animals” — It’s a little surprising that the catch phrase of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York didn’t become a song title until this year’s entry from the Canadian alt/punk band Motorleague. “When we wrote the track, I kept thinking that someone had to have written a song like this already, but I couldn’t find one anywhere,” says the band’s Don Levandier. Radio has an advance on the song, which comes to streaming on Dec. 5.
Owen Rivera, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — Rivera was discovered by the National Association of Music Merchants at age 4 and became a regular performer at its annual gala. He had an endorsement deal with SoulTone Cymbals at age 5, followed by SJC Drums (age 8), Tycoon Percussion (age 9), and Ernie Ball (age 12). He’s also a SAG-AFTRA voice actor. Rivera returns to the holiday-hits canon with this rocking take on a standard after last year’s original “I Fall in Love With Christmas.”
Pentatonix & Frank Sinatra, “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” – A rare instance of a holiday song from the Great American Songbook that hasn’t yet become a holiday-radio mainstay through some previous interpretation. The radio single from Pentatonix’s Christmas in the City album, it’s already the leading 2025 release at AC radio this season. The group’s similarly named tour is in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Kansas City, Cincinnati, and St. Louis in the next few days.
Tommy Roe, “Son of God King of Kings,” “If I Could Spend Christmas with You” – The veteran hitmaker (“Sheila,” “Sweet Pea,” “Dizzy,” “Jam Up and Jelly Tight”) has been particularly prolific with new music in recent years. “Son of God King of Kings” was released earlier this month. “If I Could Spend Christmas With You” was released Thursday. Roe is interviewed in this week’s Ross on Radio about his holiday songs and a recent career-retrospective album, Bubble Pop Rock.
Sacha, “Where Are You Christmas” – She was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2021 and won SiriusXM’s Top of the Country 2022. Last year, Sony Music Canada took her first major-label single, “Hey Mom I Made It,” to No. 6 on the Country chart there. She’s climbing that chart again with “Shooting Star.” Her version of the Faith Hill soundtrack hit gives the song, co-written by Mariah Carey, a little extra texture and energy without changing the spirit of the original.
Sarah Reeves f/Clark Beckham, “Winter Wonderland” – Reeves’s recent retro disco-flavored “Cloud Nine” reached No. 10 at Mainstream AC and No. 16 at Hot AC. It’s currently No. 32 at Mainstream Top 40. Her version of “Winter Wonderland” goes in a much different direction with its 1940s feel and “generations collide” video.
Train, “This Christmas” — Okay, it’s not new, and the album it came from, Christmas in Tahoe, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Since then, their cover has become AC’s preferred version of the Donny Hathaway classic; this year, it’s the format’s No. 35 song so far. But there are three new songs on the album’s deluxe reissue — “Under the Christmas Moonlight,” “Rainy New York Christmas,” and “Let’s Stay In Tonight.” The band also recently announced another anniversary celebration: the upcoming “Drops of Jupiter: 25 Years in the Atmosphere” tour.
Wyn Starks, “Pure Imagination” — Starks has become a regular AC and Hot AC chart presence in recent years. This year, he reimagines the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory classic as a holiday song with a creative (and livelier) new arrangement. Interesting sidenote: Starks is on Curb Records. Mike Curb was the MGM label boss when another song from that movie’s soundtrack, Sammy Davis Jr.’s “The Candy Man,” went to No. 1 at the time of the original movie.
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