When it comes to the holidays, country artists are all about making music to fit any Christmas mood–whether you’re joyful, thankful, reverent, lonely or not all that into the holiday season. Just like the plethora of holiday activities that folks engage in each year — attending Christmas gatherings, caroling, baking Christmas cookies, attending a tree lighting, enjoying hot cocoa, building a snowman, or traveling to see Christmas lights — country Christmas songs offer something for everyone.
Currently, Brenda Lee (the first woman to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) resides at No. 1 on the all-genre Hot 100 with her classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Meanwhile, Billboard’s Holiday 100 chart features classics by Gene Autry (“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”) and Faith Hill (“Where Are You Christmas”), as well as the Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani song “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.”
Every year, country fans have come to expect a season rife with full-fledged holiday albums, succinct EPs, and of course, covers of holiday classics aplenty. Some artists, such as Brett Eldredge and Martina McBride, have made holiday touring a key part of their brand over the years.
Here, we look at this year’s slate of newly released country holiday songs, including music from Jon Pardi, Randall King, Kane Brown, Sam Williams, Breland, Kimberly Perry, Walker Hayes, Tanner Adell and more. Among the entries are Jon Pardi, with his first holiday album, while Hayes puts a festive holiday spin on his Billboard Hot 100 hit “Fancy Like.”
