We take a look at the Christmas songs released in 2022 that don’t suck.
Let’s be real, most Christmas songs kinda suck. They’re often just a bit too corny or or overproduced to really work. Occasionally though, you come across one that’s truly great.
When formulating the perfect playlist for the festive season there’s a lot of metaphorical chaff one has to sift through to get to that sweet sweet wheat. Luckily, dear ready, you have me to sift for you, just call me “Sifter Sam”.
Last month we looked at 13 Christmas songs that are actually cool. In the weeks since, a myriad of top-tier artists have dropped new Christmas tracks ready for this year’s holiday season, and the strike rate of songs that are actually good has been surprisingly high.
With this in mind, I figured now would be a great time to follow up our previous list with a few of my favourite new additions to the canon. Who knows, with both lists combined you may finally be able to build a Christmas playlist that doesn’t make your cooler cousin groan in disapproval, that’s certainly my dream. Let’s get into it.
Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple and Matt Berninger – ‘7 O’Clock News / Silent Night’
Phoebe Bridgers and Fiona Apple together on a track! Are you kidding me?!
To be honest, this one might confuse the family a little, but that’s exactly what you’d hope for when two high-calibre artists like Bridgers and Apple combine their talents. The pair sing a sombre rendition of ‘Silent Night’ as Matt Berninger reads a troubling news report, really hammering home how dystopian the modern world feels.
The track is taken from an entire EP Bridgers has dropped for Christmas titled So Much Wine, and in true Phoebe Bridgers fashion the entire thing is excellent. Check out the full EP here, and feel free to play whichever tracks you think will land best with the fam.
The Linda Lindas – ‘Groovy Xmas’
Young punk rockers The Linda Lindas have rounded out their bumper 2022 with this incredibly fun new track.
This song rocks, and reminds a cynical old soul like me of just how fun Christmas can be.
Lizzo – ‘Someday at Christmas’
Stevie Wonder’s ‘Someday at Christmas’ is easily one of the most underrated Christmas songs ever, so it’s great to see someone like Lizzo giving it the attention it deserves.
For Lizzo’s cover I have good news and bad news. The good news is that it’s great, the ever-fantastic Lizzo has done the track justice. The bad news is that — being an Amazon Music exclusive — it’s not available on most streaming services.
Luckily the acclaimed songstress recently performed the track live on SNL (something we wrote about here), so I’ve shared that clip below. For the select few of you that do use Amazon music, however, here is the studio version link.
Los Bitchos – ‘Los Chrismos’
London-based cumbia rockers have blessed us with this deliciously catchy track. There are sleigh bells, there are catchy guitar riffs, and there’s even a repeated refrain of “Christmas time! Sexy time!” what more could you want?
Olivia Rodrigo – ‘The Bels’
To round off this list, I’d like to share with you this brave avant-garde tune by Olivia Rodrigo, which she wrote at the tender age of five and recently released as a Christmas gift to her fans.
It’s definitely an acquired taste, but I personally think it’s kind of a bop.
