And now time for something completely different.
It’s that time of year, nearly. Those popular soft drink trucks have rolled in to our lives yet again, and some Z List Celeb has rocked up at your local High Street to switch on some fairy lights. So to help inject something new to proceedings CelebMix (well me!) have compiled 8 Christmas songs that have been in the shadows for too long, have been long since forgotten or even stuck on a B Side for years. It’s time to show them some love and wang them on your Holiday playlist.
1) Sleigh Ride – Spice Girls
Back in the late 90s the Spice Girls had three Christmas number ones back to back, a feet that has yet to be matched by anything other than a reality show. The track is a B Side to their first Christmas Number 1, “2 Become 1”. It makes it on to the list for 2 reasons, not only is it a 90s twist on a Christmas classic. It starts off with some sound holiday advice and classic Spice Girl Banter or Banter Spice if you will.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0kARckjpv8]
2) Kylie – Christmas Isn’t Christmas Until You Get Here
The art of the Christmas song has died over the past decade or so, with hope appearing every now and again from bands such as The Darkness trying to bring it back. And it looks like their mission is working as Pop Queen Kylie this year has given as the perfect Christmas gift, in the form of a full Christmas Album. It’s a festive package to rival even Michael Bublé. Sadly the album was realized in the same week as One Direction and Justin Bieber, and a week before Adele’s 25, so it may slip under your radar. But dig it out it’s beautiful and “Christmas Isn’t Christmas Until You Get Here” is proof that you can still write a perfect original Christmas song. It even maybe one of Kylie’s best ever!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ps8GvFC2rc]
3) Lady Gaga – Christmas Tree
When something is so bad, it almost makes it brilliant. This is the case with our next choice. Lady Gaga’s “Christmas Tree” might just be one of the worst songs of all time, and that is what makes it brilliant. It’s completely over the top and we are not fully sure what GaGa is asking us to do. This really does have to be heard to be believed! Thankfully 2009 was a very different time and she went on to record much better songs, her album Cheek to Cheek with Tony Bennet.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toH5hDudXnU]
4) Destiny’s Child – 8 Days Of Christmas
In October 2001, Destiny’s Child were riding high, a string of super hits had smashed charts around the world, and how do you follow “Bootylicious”? Well with a Christmas album! Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle were so powerful at the time they could even change the number of days Christmas traditionally has. While the album wasn’t a huge commercial success this single went on to grace Christmas compilation albums for years.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tt6Ot_WEHI]
5) The Wombats – Is This Christmas?
This was one of my favourites back in MySpace ridden 2008, and I had completely forgotten about it until writing this article, in fact I’d completely forgotten about The Wombats too! It’s a spot on look at a British Christmas, so if you live in Britain you’ll know what I mean when you listen to this, if your don’t, then imagine this like a musical documentary. All proceeds of the single were put towards the charity Mencap and it even features comedian Les Dennis in the introduction of the song. Sadly the song flopped and it didn’t even chart until 2010 were it peaked at 49. This song deserved better then that!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQAmwRM-vXU]
6) Elvis Presley – Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me
Nothing says Christmas quite like the past, and we can’t have a Christmas song list without Elvis. This track was the B Side to “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” in 1957 and has been featured on many an Elvis Christmas album yet I bet you’ve never heard it. Which is a shame, because it will instantly warm you up on those cold nights and fill your nose with the smell of Ginger Bread. In fact, this is my Christmas Karaoke song, but I sing it about Louis Tomlinson.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flitqZxZHkM]
7) Frank Sinatra – I’ll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)
What’s Christmas without a few tears! Not everyone can make it home for Christmas and will spend it away from loved ones this song perfectly captures that feeling and conveys it beautifully. Frank is one of my personal heroes and this shows you why and is actually the reason why I don’t work over the holidays anymore, you only have a limited time, spend it wisely.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pk-SLQPYJ0]
8) One More Sleep Til Christmas – Muppets Christmas Carol
All of our families have Christmas traditions, we all have movies we watch, songs we have to play and food we eat. Each holds special place in all of our hearts and for me this song is one of them. It pains me that I don’t hear this song outside of my family or the movie, but then again, maybe that’s a good thing, it would maybe hurt the value that this song holds. You have to hear it!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzcUQuImIBY]
So there we have it, 8 underrated Christmas songs. I know I’ve missed some, like Justin Bieber,Disney, and Leona Lewis. But let us know on social media and in the comments which Christmas song you feel has been overlooked and we will add them to our playlist.