SIA

‘Everyday Is Christmas’

(Album Review)

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This past week, Sia released her first-ever holiday album, EVERYDAY IS CHRISTMAS, via Monkey Puzzle/Atlantic Records. Written by Sia and Greg Kurstin, this collection of original holiday songs ranging from festive tracks to ballads is available in stores and on all digital service providers. Get it HERE now!

The album’s lead single, ‘SANTA’S COMING FOR US’, has been labelled a “straight-up bop”(PopSugar), “catchy earworm” (Entertainment Weekly), and “kooky jazz jam” (Billboard). In addition, the song is top 10 on Billboard’s Holiday Songs Chart. ‘Santa’s Coming For Us’ has several counterparts on the album including other upbeat songs like ‘CANDY CANE LANE’, ‘HO HO HO’, and ‘PUPPIES ARE FOREVER’, which are anchored by emotional tracks ‘UNDERNEATH THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS’, ‘SNOWMAN’, and ‘SNOWFLAKE’.

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Sia herself has recently stated – “It’s not like you have to have an original idea to begin with,” she explained here. “It’s like, Christmas, mistletoe, ho-ho-ho, Santa Claus, Christmas list, elves.”

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Yet Sia brings to the table her subtle quirks and unique approaches to a Christmas album that might in fact take its crown on the holiday charts, knocking off alumni Mariah Carey and Michael Buble.

Everyday is Christmas opens with the boppy tune ‘Santa’s Coming For Us’ – a somewhat jazzy feeling, if I must say. My favourite track of this ten track album is none other than ‘Ho Ho Ho’. The single is catchy and repetitive without sounding like a generic pop song.

As a whole, the album tracks are short and sweet – there’s no need to drag out holiday sentiment longer than needed. The songs perfectly captivate the holiday season with a more realistic approach.

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We’re all used to Christmas albums having the tendency to be sappy, predictable affairs – preaching from 50’s culture and trying to define love in a holiday setting; but ‘Everyday is Christmas’ portrays Christmas as a joyous experience in all departments, even if you’re not feeling perhaps joyous at all given times. The album as a whole, while being somewhat pop, leaves a very relaxed atmosphere.

‘Everyday is Christmas’ is not merely a stocking-stuffer, but the star on top of the tree. A holiday album that wasn’t afraid to push the envelope and challenge the notions of Christmas and what a Christmas album should capture. Move over Buble and Carey, Sia’s rasp and original sound encompasses a new era of Christmas and an ever-changing music industry.

Recently wrapping up the North American leg of her headlining arena ‘Nostalgic For The Present’ tour, which was proclaimed “creatively captivating” by Billboard, Sia now continues her only live dates for 2017 this summer in stadiums across Australia and New Zealand.

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