Kelly Clarkson - When Christmas Comes Around... (2021)

Reason for Listening:
#9 on the Top Holiday Albums (Week of 20211204).
Last Week: 9 | Peak: 1 | Weeks on Chart: 6


Released 20211015.
12+3 songs. 37:20+10:31. When Christmas Comes Around... (2021)
Wikipedia
Notes:
--20211205--
First listen.
The first part is alright. The ending/outro is annoying ("Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)")
I like the way this song plays up Kelly Clarkson's vocals; the instrumentation is also vibrant ("Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree")
I feel as if this version of "Santa Baby" doesn't quite have the feel of "Santa Baby"; as if it's missing the appropriate inflections that one might associate to the theme of the song
This track had me wondering if Ariana Grande had a holiday album. Technically she doesn't have any, instead she has two holiday EPs.
That's quite a bold move, to title a song with the same name as the top holiday hit ("All I Want For Christmas Is You"); from a pure artistic standpoint, certain a song should be created and titled as feels right... but it's one situation to have a famous title that comes after your own piece of work and another to place your own piece of work under the shadow of an existing famous name...

Songs in bold are the bonus tracks on the standard edition.
3: "Last Christmas";
2: "Merry Christmas Baby"; "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"; "Glow" (with Chris Stapleton); "Santa, Can't You Hear Me" (with Ariana Grande); "Jingle Bell Rock"; "Blessed"; "Christmas Come Early";
1: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"; "Under the Mistletoe" (with Brett Eldredge);
0: "Merry Christmas (To The One I Used To Know)"; "Santa Baby"; "All I Want For Christmas Is You"; "Christmas Eve";
-1: "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)";

Summary:
Overall, I recall having more positive feelings with Kelly Clarkson's first holiday album Wrapped in Red. Without knowing what I rated that album, I would give this album a 3.6; I gave Wrapped in Red a 4.2. While both albums are filled with original songs, the non-original songs on this album feel as if they are more modern hits.

Overall Rating: 3.6/5
Favorite Song: "Last Christmas"

#68 on the Billboard 200 (Week of 20211204).
Last Week: 134 | Peak: 63 | Weeks on Chart: 4

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