Fashion
Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas Love Song, and 12 More New Holiday Tunes
Hear tracks from Bartees Strange, Madi Diaz, GloRilla and Kehlani, and others.
Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here, and sign up for The Amplifier, a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs.
Kelly Clarkson, ‘You for Christmas’
Kelly Clarkson is no stranger to the modern Christmas classic (see: the jubilant “Underneath the Tree” and her festive Ariana Grande duet “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me”). This year, she added two new tracks to her 2021 holiday album, “When Christmas Comes Around”: a laid-back take on “Sleigh Ride,” and this soulful original, on which an impassioned Clarkson pleads, “It’s cold out, I need your arms now / Wrap me all night long.” Come for the Yuletide cheer; stay for the climactic key change. LINDSAY ZOLADZ
Charlie Puth, ‘December 25th’
Chugging along with soothing keyboard chords at a cozy mid-tempo, “December 25th” harks back to Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” and it’s even more forlorn. Charlie Puth sings about how snow, holiday music and Christmas lights only remind him that “Santa didn’t bring me nothing but pain,” because Dec. 25 was “the night that you told me you had to go.” Unlike Wham!, he’s not even thinking about moving on; in neatly ascending melody phrases, he insists he’d rather be alone, moping and pining. JON PARELES
Bartees Strange, ‘Xmas’
In “Xmas,” Bartees Strange sings about “Christmas at the end of the world,” when “you don’t even want me at all.” It’s indie-rock with a boom-bap beat, computer-tuned backup voices and syncopated guitar riffs. Strange tries to get over his separation by compulsive traveling and keeping his own mind “on airplane mode” — above it all, but alone. PARELES
Jessie Reyez, ‘Merry Nothin’
A breakup shortly before Christmas has Jessie Reyez miserable and fuming, with her disillusion spiraling out: “Santa Claus ain’t real, he’s fake just like most people,” she pouts. A slow bounce behind her, with mocking doo-wop harmonies, only exacerbates her seasonal spite. PARELES
