I know what you’re thinking: It’s not even Thanksgiving yet! It’s too early for a Christmas album! Maybe that’s why Sia decided to call hers Everyday Is Christmas, to get ahead of the Christmas-in-November criticisms. (And yes, the title should probably be “every day,” not “everyday,” but let’s not be grammatical Grinches about this.)
As she explained in an interview with Zane Lowe, Sia chose to skip covering any of the usual standbys in favor of an album comprised entirely of original songs, co-written by Sia and her longtime collaborator Greg Kurstin. “I thought we had a bit of a shortage of good Christmas music,” she said. “There’s obviously the classics and stuff, but anything new, I wasn’t vibing that much on it.” The result is that Everyday Is Christmas stays true to its title, mixing Sia’s pop sensibilities with the sounds of the season for a solid Christmas album that can also hold up year-round.
That said, not every song on Everyday Is Christmas is created equal, so we’ve ranked them for you, below. We’ve also noted which songs are festive enough to make your Christmas party playlist and which are better suited for a quiet evening roasting chestnuts by the fire.
Contents
10. “Puppies Are Forever”
I’ll surely be in the doghouse for putting this one so low on the list, but so be it. Sia’s answer to “(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?” is a warning that owning a dog is a big commitment, so think carefully before adopting one for yourself—or giving it as a gift. “Puppies are forever, not just for Christmas,” she instructs on the song’s chorus. “Cause they’re so cute and fluffy with shiny coats/ But will you love ’em when they’re old and slow?” A choir of barking dogs backs her up for maximum whimsy. It’s an important PSA, especially around the holidays, but it gets old fast, and the message is at odds with the peppy melody.
How festive is it? Jingle bell rock on.
9. “Snowflake”
Everyone’s favorite internet insult just got a musical number to go along with it. This is a lovely but ultimately forgettable lullaby that uses the impermanence of snow as a metaphor for a relationship. Our pick for the No. 1 song on the album covers a lot of the same ground—both ballads even put “snow” right in the title—but “Snowflake” is easily the weaker of the two.
How festive is it? Save for a silent night.
8. “Santa’s Coming for Us”
Sia is acclaimed not just as a musician in her own right but for a successful songwriting career, having written hits for the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Carly Rae Jepsen. That’s why it absolutely tickles me that the first line of “Santa’s Coming for Us” sounds like “Something something something something HOT CHOCOLATE.” Every third word or so is unintelligible, which makes listening to the song like eavesdropping on a conversation that’s just a little too far away to hear properly. Catchy, but too marble-mouthed to rank any higher.
How festive is it? Jingle bell rock on.
7. “Sunshine”
Not everyone loves the holiday season; for some, it can be stressful or lonely, and the days are short and dark. On “Sunshine,” Sia promises to make those days a little brighter, singing “I’m Santa’s helper and I’ve got your back/ All my love is gift-wrapped/ Don’t be scared, I’m by your side.” Just as sunny as the title promises.
How festive is it? Jingle bell rock on.
6. “Ho Ho Ho”
You can thank Robert Louis Stevenson for this one, since “Ho Ho Ho” takes a line from the fictional pirate song he invented (“yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum”), tweaks a single letter, and turns it into a tribute to holiday booze. Unabashedly loopy—just listen to those slide whistles!—and wholly creative, “Ho Ho Ho” is the winter companion to Sia’s summer megahit, “Cheap Thrills.”
How festive is it? Jingle bell rock on.
5. “Everyday Is Christmas”
If the album’s moody title track isn’t the end-credits song for every Christmas movie that comes out in 2017, then what was even the point?
How festive is it? Save for a silent night.
4. “Underneath the Christmas Lights”
Probably the most traditional, and most restrained, song on the album, but it’s beautiful in its simplicity. Sung with almost religious intensity despite the secularism of the lyrics, Sia lets her voice waver and crack on the verses before launching into those haunting high-note howls.
How festive is it? Save for a silent night.
3. “Candy Cane Lane”
Between the sleigh bells and the lyrics (“I’ll call Rudolph down to meet us in the street/ We can dance, he can prance/ There’s no can’ts, ’cause here everything is possible”), this bouncy little earworm is as Christmassy as they come.
How festive is it? Jingle bell rock on.
2. “Underneath the Mistletoe”
Ah, the mistletoe, a staple of any holiday album. Sia urges on an imaginary lover as she waits beneath the plant, wanting to rush “like a fool would.” There’s a lot of power behind the song, from the swooping “la la la la la la”s to the belted-out chorus, but the best parts are the breathy repetitions of “you and me here, underneath the mistletoe.”
How festive is it? Save for a silent night.
1. “Snowman”
This ballad will surely invite some “Mister Police” jokes, and yes, the music video for this would probably be very funny to behold. But this is actually a moving, bluesy love song about a relationship threatened by the promise of spring:
Don’t cry, snowman, not in front of me
Who’ll catch your tears if you can’t catch me, darling
If you can’t catch me, darling
Don’t cry, snowman, don’t leave me this way
A puddle of water can’t hold me close, baby
Can’t hold me close, baby
While not as flashy as “Candy Cane Lane” or as singular as “Ho Ho Ho,” “Snowman” has the advantage of taking something we associate with winter and applying it to a universal theme. Sia has said that she penned the entire album in just two weeks, and it shows with some of the others songs’ lyrics, but not with “Snowman,” which is smart enough and sweet enough to hold up well beyond December.
How festive is it? Save for a silent night.
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