Christmas songs as sung by actual music artists are pretty divisive. I like to think that we, not only as a generation but as a country, stand united in loyalty to the classics. The hits for which we wouldn’t otherwise know who on earth Slade and The Pogues were. Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas’ are the only legitimate exceptions to the rule. Maybe Elton John and the Jackson 5 too. But the 80s, 90s and 00s were a different very different time. Christmas albums were somewhat of an expectation for burgeoning artists trying to make an extra buck from the December sales at HMV.
N’Sync’s ‘Home For Christmas’ and Destiny’s Child’s ‘8 Days of Christmas’ are probably (definitely) the last borderline successful products of the token holiday album. Anyone remember what was on Justin Beiber’s 2011 Christmas album? How about the Taylor Swift Holiday Collection? Didn’t think so. Which is why we can’t be blamed for wondering why on earth Sia, a legitimately successful and highly respected artist would bother with what one might retrospectively consider a musical cry for help.
Sia has recently moved to Atlantic Records and the Christmas album – ‘a collection of original holiday songs’ - will be her first release with the label. In a statement, Atlantic Records’ CEO Craig Kallman and COO Julie Greenwald said: ‘Sia is a once-in-a-generation artist. Her extraordinary gifts as a singer and songwriter, her revolutionary approach to the art of performing, her groundbreaking videos – everything she does comes from a deep wellspring of inspiration and imagination. Sia is a rare artist who has formed her own singular, boundless musical universe’.
There's no argument against how brilliant of an artist Sia is. None at all. Her music, her writing, the awards and the people she's written for are proof enough of how talented she is. So perhaps I'm being a little too sceptical about the need/relevance/purpose of Sia's Christmas collection. Maybe it's another musical masterpiece in the making.
For some reason, though, I don't see Sia (or Maddie Ziegler) donning a Santa outfit and skipping around a fireplace with happy little elves. I don't see Sia recreating the cheesey, brilliantly cringe masterpiece that is the Destiny's Child '8 Days' video. But who knows, maybe I'm too defensive of Christmas. Maybe sexy Santa crop-tops and generically pleasing R&B beats aren't what 2017 wants from Christmas anymore. Maybe Sia's song will replace Destiny's Child as the most repeated track of every retail outlet's November-January in-store playlist.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.