Ever since the world collectively decided to coronate Mariah Carey as the Queen of Christmas, as usual with women in pop culture, the talk of which hopeful Christmas Princesses could replace her almost immediately followed. However, she’s only grown in her festive ferocity over the decade since embracing her Christmas royal status.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of her Queen-making song, “All I Want For Christmas is You,” and it’s clear that Carey’s Christmas confection has inspired many of her musical daughters to follow in her stiletto steps. In their sonic choices, lyrical themes, or festive holiday promotional campaigns, all of pop’s princesses want a piece of Carey’s Christmas monarchy. While she won’t be relinquishing the throne any time this century, she has blessed a few of these Christmas princesses with her coveted stamp of approval.

In this playlist, I’m ranking Carey’s Christmas princesses holistically based on several factors: the quality of their original songs, how genuine and committed they are to the genre, their cultural impact, and their reverence for the Queen.

12. Sabrina Carpenter, “Santa doesn’t know you like I do”

Fresh off of a breakout year as pop’s latest it-girl, Sabrina Carpenter wasted no time entering the Christmas conversation. In the Best New Artist nominee‘s Christmas variety special on Netflix, “A Nonsense Christmas,” she repackaged her 2023 holiday EP, “fruitcake,” for mass consumption. As sassy and sexy as her latest hits, the set is heavy on humorous innuendo that would make even the sweet-as-“Honey” Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey blush. However, on “santa doesn’t know you like i do” Carpenter tones down the innuendo in favor of cutesy Christmas tidings that make it perfect for holiday playlisting.

11. Katy Perry, “Cozy Little Christmas”

Always good for a throwback, this 2010s hitmaker released her first and only Christmas song, “Cozy Little Christmas,” in 2018. Perry put her pop songwriting sensibilities to good use for this bubbly bop that gives a modern twist to the classic Christmas uptempo sound. While there is nothing particularly fresh about its plodding piano and sleigh bell-adorned production, that’s what makes it so, well… cozy. Considering how tritely unremarkable her latest album was, she might want to go full-throwback and consider a Christmas album.

10. Ava Max, “1 Wish.”

Ava Max made her second Christmas contribution this year with the release of “1 Wish,” a supercharged pop confection that is as catchy as it is cheerful. Wholly wholesome, she opts to celebrate the Christmas season by rattling off as many items on her list of must-haves to say that her “1 Wish” is for every day to be like Christmas. Refreshingly, it is not another rewrite of the “All I Want For Christmas is You” theme in different words. Ava Max could certainly deliver a solid Christmas album one day, perhaps that’s her fans’ “1 Wish.”

9. Leona Lewis, “One More Sleep”

Since her debut as the British X-Factor winner, Leona Lewis has been compared to Mariah Carey due to her immense vocal talent and style. Like Carey, Lewis recorded a Christmas album as her fourth set in 2013. Unlike Carey, her career peaked there. Regardless, “One More Sleep” has endured over the decade-plus since its release as a minor but beloved bop inside and outside her fanbase. She reissued the album in 2021 and toured the UK for Christmas in 2023, slowly and wisely nurturing a Christmas legacy.

8. Tamar Braxton, “No Gift”

Tamar Braxton might have a very famous sibling, but she’s a self-proclaimed Lamb. She’s always shown reverence for the Queen. You can hear the influence all over her work. So, it’s no wonder that Braxton would go on to record a Christmas album… and that it’s heavily Mariah-spired. “No Gift” has the same theme as Carey’s quintessential classic, but is on the opposite end of the sonic spectrum. Braxton serves drama on this slow-building ballad that works in several classic Christmas piano interpolations.

7. Jennifer Hudson, “Santa For Someone”

In 2020, Jennifer Hudson joined the Queen of Christmas on a special “Oh Santa!” remix alongside Ariana Grande for Carey’s Apple TV+ Christmas special. In 2023, the trio had a surprise reunion at Carey’s Madison Square Garden Christmas show. Hudson released her first Christmas album this season, “The Gift of Love.” On one of its original tracks, “Santa For Someone,” Hudson masterfully executes a high-energy, horn-driven groove that’s as bombastic as it is festive. While her non-holiday music hasn’t made much of an impact, she stands a chance to make quite the name for herself in the genre. The Queen of tributes, Hudson at covering songs and making them her own. With a successful daytime talk show and Carey’s co-sign, in time, she’ll find her way.

6. Kelly Rowland, “Love You More at Christmas Time”

Kelly Rowland began her Christmas story in 2000 when Destiny’s Child recorded their first-ever Christmas song for a Rosie O’Donnell Christmas album. For you post-Millennial generation folks, I can’t even explain that for you right now. But it was a thing. Anyway, the trio released a full-length Christmas set the following year, on which Rowland had a solo cover of “Do You Hear What I Hear” heavily inspired by Whitney Houston’s rendition.

Through the years Rowland has continued to flirt with her festive side, recording several more Christmas tracks, the highlight of which is “Love You More at Christmas Time.” This original was recorded for her first Lifetime Christmas film, “Merry Liddle Christmas.” The film went on to have two sequels. With “Love You More at Christmas Time,” Rowland, like Carey, masters the pop crossover sound while maintaining her R&B sensibilities for the upbeat, romantic track. It’s been over a decade since Rowland’s last full-length album, and once she finally follows that up, it’d be nice if she recorded a solo Christmas album one day.

5. Ariana Grande, “Santa Tell Me”

In true Lamb fashion, Ariana Grande wasted no time releasing Christmas music. In 2013 and 2015, she dropped Christmas EPs; in 2014, she released her biggest holiday hit: “Santa Tell Me.” The sweet sing-a-long checks all the boxes that we’ve come to expect from a modern pop Christmas carol – thanks to Ms. Carey. Year after year, “Santa Tell Me” has become more popular, partly due to Grande’s own growing popularity, and just the simple fact that Christmas songs thrive on nostalgia. Her Christmas profile has also been aided by popular duets with the Queen of Christmas (on “Oh Santa!”) and Kelly Clarkson.

Still, it’s been 10 years since “Santa Tell Me” dropped, and nearly that for “Christmas & Chill.” While Grande’s artistry has grown over the years, her Christmas music is stuck in her less interesting musical past. With her improved vocal skills and matured sound, she could be higher on this list if she released a full-length Christmas set now– one that’s a little more Broadway and a little less “chill.”

4. Tori Kelly, “25th”

Severely underrated songstress Tori Kelly took advantage of all that pandemic free time and dropped one of her generation’s best Christmas albums. She worked closely with R&B legend Babyface to produce the album, and it does not disappoint. Kelly was even nominated for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album GRAMMY for the set. While all three of her original tracks are quite good, “25th” is the album’s shiniest, stickiest moment. It combines all the expected, Christmasy, sonic elements – a horn section, cheerful piano, jingling sleigh bells, a saxophone solo – with cutesy but not too cliched lyrics and a sing-a-long melody that’re ready for caroling. Of course, then there’s those signature Tori Kelly vocal acrobatics. 

Another thematic daughter of Carey’s “All I Want,” Kelly manages to pull it off without it sounding reductive. Similarly, she’s also done the only commendable cover of Carey’s classic – an acoustic rendition that was included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of A Tori Kelly Christmas – as a tribute to Carey according to a 2020 interview. Only a top tier heiress could pull of that challenge.

3. JoJo, “December Baby”

The second December Baby on our list, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque lands just above her Sagitarrius sister Tori Kelly because when it comes to Christmas, JoJo has been down. Her first foray into the festive season was in 2004 – months after her debut album dropped, she performed at the annual Christmas in Washington special. Throughout the years, she’s done several live and recorded covers. She even recorded a masterful cover of Carey’s “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)” in 2018, to “pay homage to the QUEEN Mariah Carey. Imagine being so dope that you single handedly own an entire holiday season!!!?! Her voice and writing has enchanted and inspired me since I was a little girl.” JoJo’s faithful rendition was emotive and expertly executed. 

In 2020, like Tori Kelly, she dropped her first full-length Christmas album, “December Baby.” Of the original tracks, the title track is the most upbeat and festive, a younger, more groovy sibling of “All I Want.” Though another original, “Wishlist” with PJ Morton, is actually the superior song – and a sibling to “Miss You Most” – I wanted to keep this playlist on the happier side. The infectious “December Baby” is an excellent entry into the Christmas canon that’ll have you grooving all December long.

2. Kelly Clarkson, “Christmas Eve”

Of all of the Princesses on this list, nobody is working harder or more actively to secure her place as Christmas royalty than Kelly Clarkson. Having released two Christmas albums and entered the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 this week with her first original, “Underneath the Tree,” Clarkson has made a name for herself in the holiday genre. While that song is her most well-known and fits the cookie-cutter mold of what’s expected of an uptempo, pop Christmas song, my favorite Clarkson uptempo original is “Christmas Eve.”

Originally released as a standalone single in 2017, “Christmas Eve” ditches the romantic trope, popularized by “All I Want” and later emulated in Clarkson’s own “Underneath the Tree,” and instead celebrates the holiday itself. Clarkson delivers it superbly, lyrically, vocally, and production-wise. It’s high-energy and festive to the max. Penned by Clarkson and her musical director Jason Halbert, it shows that she has a knack writing for this sort of song. The only thing keeping Clarkson from the top of my list is that it does feel like she’s going almost too hard to earn her crown, rather than let it gracefully come to her. I respect the hustle, but nostalgia takes time. In the case of “Underneath the Tree,” it had a ten-year crawl to the top 10. It’s too bad that song is too cookie-cutter to be truly magical.

1. Britney Spears, “My Only Wish (This Year)”

On the polar opposite end of the spectrum is the Princess of Pop, Britney Spears, who reigns this list. My favorite Christmas original, out of all the songs by all of Mariah’s daughters, is her only holiday offering: “My Only Wish (This Year).” Unlike Clarkson, Spears has ignored the song’s existence since its release in 2000. There are no live performances, no music videos, and Spears doesn’t do anything to promote it during the holidays. In 2020, her label issued a vinyl single, and it was featured in the 2021 Netflix film, “Single All the Way.”

Released in 2000, just six years after Carey’s “All I Want,” it is perhaps the first to emulate its stylistic sensibilities. Perhaps being the first is why it’s also done the best. It’s Britney at her peak: pop perfection. She also delivers one of her best, most genuine vocal performances. Overall, what makes the song so good is that it’s so innocent. She was a young, new, but hugely successful star hungry to give her all to every song she sang. At the same time, she wasn’t trying to lay down the next Christmas classic, land a hit single, or become the Queen of Christmas. That expectation wasn’t there in 2000. She just had a damn good time, and made a damn good song. Just like Mariah Carey did in 1994, with “All I Want for Christmas is You.” But Britney if you hear me… it’s time to claim your crown.

The post Playlist: Mariah Carey and the 12 Princesses of Christmas appeared first on THE 97.

Rewind back to summer 2010 when Katy Perry was back with a new album, Teenage Dream, and once again on top of the charts ruling the world with another smash summer anthem “California Gurls.” Fitting to help rep the West Coast, Snoop Dogg joined Perry’s response to 2009’s East Coast anthem “Empire State Of Mind,” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.

That was only the beginning. “Gurls” wasn’t the only song trying to claim song of summer 2010’s title by her. The title track from Katy Perry’s new album Teenage Dream was also blazing up the charts vying for the honor. Perry was back better than ever and once again on top of her candy coated world of infectiously sweet pop mega hits.

August 24th marks the anniversary of when Katy’s career defining Dream was released via Capitol Records as her second major label album (Katy Hudson dropped a self titled indie Christian Rock album in 2001). In its first week, Teenage Dream debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 selling 192,000 copies.

Both summer smashes went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 and kicked off an era that couldn’t be considered anybody’s sophomore slump.

While a lot of Teenage Dream’s success could partially be contributed to hit factory producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin (also executive producers alongside Perry), it wasn’t just her Luke/Martin collaborations that the world ate up. “Firework” became the inspirational Winter hit that helped propel the album’s success way into 2011. Not to mention, it garnered Perry a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year, only losing out to Adele’s monstrous “Rolling in the Deep” at the 54th GRAMMYs in 2013.

In an effort to introduce new life to the fan favorite album cut “E.T.,” Perry enlisted Kanye West (despite her 2009 Taylor Swift defense tweet: “FUCK U KANYE. IT’S LIKE U STEPPED 0N A KITTEN.”) to add two verses to the single edit. It’s no surprise that with double the star power “E.T.” became the fourth number 1 hit from Teenage Dream. Even zany Ye lyrics “Pockets on Shrek, rockets on deck/Tell me what’s next? Alien sex/I’mma disrobe you/ Then I’mma probe you,“ couldn’t stall the futuristic tune’s chart trek.

How do you top that? One way might be to enlist an all star cast full of characters including Katy’s own Kathy Beth Terry, viral “Friday” phenomenon Rebecca Black, 80’s pop star Debbie Gibson, child actor Corey Feldman, and Kenny G to name a few who make cameos in her sitcom-like video for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” An album standout upon release a year prior, positioned perfectly for a summer release in 2011 with the epic video, later paired with a Missy Elliott remix and you have Perry’s fifth consecutive number one hit from the same body of work. Perry became the first woman to notch five number ones from one album, putting Katy in the history books alongside Michael Jackson (for his 1987 album, Bad).

Katy’s Dream wasn’t over just yet; there was even more success to come, if you can believe it! Due to the album’s momentum, a sixth single “The One That Got Away” was released and it managed to peak in the Top 5 (no. 3) and bring it’s parent album, released in August 2010, into 2012. Extraordinarily impressive!

At this point you might imagine after a super successful album campaign plus world tour, the California Dreams Tour (February 2011-January 2012), Katy Perry might want a break. Nope, that wasn’t the case at all!

2012 saw a re-release of the mega successful album as, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, in the works with “Part Of Me,” leading the newly reworked set. The new single officially premiered at the 54th GRAMMY Awards in 2013, and became the twentieth song to debut at number 1 on the Hot 100, and Perry’s 7th number one.

But wait, there’s even more! Katy Perry was working on an autobiographical film Katy Perry: Part Of Me, assisted by the mid-tempo Luke/Martin ballad “Wide Awake.” The track managed to peak at number 2, only held from the top spot due to the inescapable summer 2012 staple “Call Me Maybe.” In addition, Katy ended up snagging a 54th Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance, sadly once again losing to an Adele track: “Set Fire To The Rain.”

Nearly two years to the day of its release you might have thought you heard all Teenage Dream had to offer. Not quite the case. Truly it’s one of the greatest Pop albums of the 2010s. Despite having eight Top 5 singles, the album still boasts more tunes with comparable hit potential.

Most notably, the Tricky Stewart produced “Hummingbird Heartbeat” could have been the perfect sequel song to the album’s second single and title cut. Or perhaps the audacious “Peacock,” which brings Katy back to her more controversially sly lyrics (akin to her 2008 summer smash “I Kissed A Girl”). While she isn’t known for her strength in ballads (see “Thinking Of You” from One Of The Boys stalling at number 29) “Not Like The Movies,” wraps up the standard LP beautifully while showcasing the depth and range of Katy’s talent as both a songwriter and vocalist.

When you look back on how Katy Perry dominated the first few years of the decade off of one album alone, it’s hard not to consider Teenage Dream one of the top Pop albums the 2010s had to offer. With seven GRAMMY nominations, including Album Of The Year, movie quality epics presented as music videos (MTV’s VMAs will definitely have to award Katy Perry her very own Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award one day), a tour grossing $59.5 million, plus 8 massive singles peaking in the Hot 100’s Top 3 (6 hitting number 1) it’s unquestionable that Katy Perry’s legacy as a superstar was more than just a dream; this album cemented her place in the Pop music history books forever.

LISTEN TO Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream

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Follow The Chained Disco Balls

Give it up for Capitol Records. Once again they pulled off a unique global marketing campaign, this time announcing new Katy Perry music. Mid-week around the world, chained disco balls appeared, granting fans an early access preview to the new Perry single, “Chained To The Rhythm”. If you found one of the chained disco balls, all you had to do was insert your headphones.

Fast forward to today, and the entire world got to hear “Chained To The Rhythm” in full! When you first listen, “Chained To The Rhythm,” is light and airy, your average modern Trop-House/Pop Dance hit. Think “Sorry,” “Cheap Thrills,” the list goes on. Take some more time though, dissect the lyrical content of the Perry/Max Martin/Sia co-penned track and it tells a whole different, deeper story. A hopeful Perry questions, “Are we tone deaf?/Keep sweeping it under the mat/Thought we could do better than that/I hope we can.”

Is she speaking about the current state of the world due to the recent divisive nature? Absolutely! She even brings along Skip Marley for additional wise words and added crossover Reggae flavor.

Perry recently changed her Twitter bio to “Artist. Activist. Conscious.” The woke Katy Perry is officially upon us. We knew she wasn’t afraid to roar, and fight for equality among all, but now she is set to rise and rebel against the rhythm we all shan’t be chained to!

However, be on the look out for a possible future tweet tirade from the new leader of the free world. After all, he seems to be chained to his Twitter. Grab your popcorn as political Perry arrives in full force!

Grade:
85/97

Stream “Chained To The Rhythm” below:

The post Single Review: “Chained To The Rhythm” | Katy Perry Gets Political, Presents Party Jam appeared first on THE 97.

YAS Katy! Thank you for releasing a perfect, light-hearted summer anthem! Personally, I think “This Is How We Do” is a great choice for the next single off of Katy Perry’s third studio album, PRISM. I was a Katy Perry fan before they were called Katy Cats – before it was cool to be a fan – so I’ll always be partial to her earlier music (especially the unreleased tracks that really showcase her talent), but TIHWD definitely lends itself to its fair share of head nodding with the sunroof open.

I can’t help but point out the similarities between this latest installment and 2011’s summer smash, “Last Friday Night (TGIF).” Anybody else excited for a potential return of Kathy Beth Terry?! I am! Either way, we’ll find out when the video is released this Thursday.

Grade:

75/97

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