The holiday season is filled with cheer, marketing sales, and, of course, festive music to keep the merry feeling floating around in the cold winter air. The SunDevil Times asked students to share their favorite holiday songs.
#1 “Last Christmas” by Wham
“It’s a classic. It’s pure 80’s pop at its holiday best; what more can I say? It’s really catchy.” – sophomore Jay Pena
“It’s a classic Christmas song and a good song by itself; not even considering it’s a holiday song.” – sophomore Emma Lewis
“Because it is a classic.” – junior Lily Check
“[‘Last Christmas’ has a] good beat and heartfelt lyrics, and [is] the better version of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’.” – senior Brody Collins
“‘Last Christmas’ is one of my core memories, [because this song] was always [played] during my holiday swim practices.” – senior Gavin Winsler
There are a tremendous amount of Christmas songs that are replayed on radios throughout the holiday season, so, unsurprisingly, very few songs were repeatedly recommended. However, four songs are tied for the second most-recommended hit: “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley, “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms, Brad Paisley’s “Winter Wonderland,” and the infamous “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey.
#2 Tie “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley
“I love [‘Blue Christmas’] because of Elvis’ voice and the old-timey, classic feel. – junior Lily Check
“[I like] ‘Blue Christmas,’ specifically sung by country artist Megan Moroney. I like this specific song and singer because [Moroney’s] signature color is blue, and for her to sing ‘Blue Christmas’ is just iconic. I also just love the song.” – senior Chloe Nelson
#2 Tie “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms
“My family used to play ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ whenever we would put up our decorations.” – senior Gavin Wehr
#2 Tie “Winter Wonderland” by Darlene Love
“[‘Winter Wonderland’ is] nice and mellow, and I love it.” – senior Lacy Capistrano.
“’Winter Wonderland,’ specifically the cover Laufey [performed], [it’s] super cute and filled with Christmas.” – senior Erica Simpson
#2 Tie “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
“[It is] super generic and popular, but [it is] so timeless and really encapsulates the winter. I like Carey’s yearly ‘It’s Time’ announcement too.” – senior Kiersten Francisco
“[I love] ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ and ‘8 Days of Christmas’ because they are from two of my favorite music acts. The songs aren’t too ‘Christmas-y’ to listen to all year round.” – junior Isaiah Bolden
Some additional favorite songs to be blasting this holiday season:
Pena recommends “Every Snowflake is Different (Just like you)” by My Chemical Romance.
“It is genuinely a decent holiday song despite literally being intended for young children, considering it was performed on Yo Gabba Gabba for the holidays in 2009. The hook is pretty catchy and the TV performance is entertaining,” said Pena.
Senior Emma Jones recommends “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by NSYNC.
“It just has a great vibe to it, and I never get sick of it,” said Jones.
Sophomore Adrian Lumba suggests “My Favorite Things” performed by John Coltrane.
“I love it because of John Coltrane’s version of it, being a 13 [to] 14-minute jazz rendition of the tune,” said Lumba.
Senior Lacy Capistrano loves “Breath of Heaven” (Mary’s Song) by Amy Grant.
“[I sang] this with the Salem Select Treble Choir, and we always sounded amazing when we performed it,” said Capistrano.
Senior Lydia Gualdoni recommends “Love to Keep Me Warm” by Laufey and Dodie.
“I like this song because it’s catchy and chill. Also, I love Laufey,” said Gualdoni.
All in all, it seems that the reasons why each song is special to each student is either because of personal experiences or because the songs are catchy. Regardless of why these songs were recommended to the merry music playlist, it is intriguing to know what students’ favorite holiday songs are. Did we miss your favorite?
