5 Best Classic Christmas Song Remakes
It’s officially December again, which means Christmas music is about to be in full swing. The classics are fun to listen to once a year, but when every shopping mall and grocery outlet in the United States plays the same few songs on repeat for an entire month, it gets boring.
Fortunately, quite a few artists throughout the years recreated the classic Christmas songs in an effort to make them less boring.
Here are Music Buzz’s top five best classic Christmas song remakes for your holiday season!
5. Aquadrop – “Troll The Halls”
As a follow-up to A Very Decent Christmas, Mad Decent released A Very Very Decent Christmas in 2014. It started as a joke, but quickly turned into a serious project.
For those that want to rave this Christmas season, Aquadro’s “Troll The Halls” is the perfect remake of John Ceiriog Hughes’s original “Deck The Halls.” The Welsh melody dates back to the sixteenth century, but it’s still a crowd pleaser, especially with a bass drop or two.
4. Jack Johnson – “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer“
Jack Johnson is best known for his hit singles “Better Together,” “Banana Pancakes,” and “Flake,” but in 2018, he released “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” as part of a collaboration effort with 10 other artists, including Zee Avi, ALO, and G. Love. That album, This Warm December: A Bushfire Holiday Vol. 1, is filled with chill holiday jams.
Jack Johnson even slightly alters the original lyrics, promoting an anti-bullying message. The reindeer apologize to Rudolph and promise to “try to change.”
3. Coldplay – “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
For those looking for a more traditional cover, Coldplay updates “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” from 1944 to the 21st century without changing much in terms of tone and performance.
The British pop-rock band’s “Something Just Like That” is over 1 billion streams via Spotify, making “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” a hidden gem at only slightly over 40,000 YouTube views.
2. Pentatonix – “Mary, Did You Know?”
The Pentatonix are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas. Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee never overshadow each other. Maldonado’s voice in particular is a great addition to the male-focused group, especially in their cover of “Mary, Did You Know?”.
Michael English’s “Mary, Did You Know?” is not one of the more popular classic Christmas songs, but it should be after such a wonderful rendition.
1. Tyler, The Creator – “You’re A Mean One”
Tyler, The Creator wrote and recorded “You’re A Mean One” for the 2018 remake of The Grinch, which features Benedict Cumberbatch, Pharrell Williams, Cameron Seely, Rashinda Jones, and others. It perfectly encapsulates how fun Christmas music can be in the new millennium.
The Grinch will forever be one of the world’s most loved and hated Christmas characters. Hopefully, artists continue to repurpose classic Christmas songs for new audiences. Anyway, happy holidays!
Bonus. Small Town Titans – “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
A group of friends from York, Pennsylvania are close to Tyler, The Creator’s rendition of “You’re A Mean One,” gaining over 2 million YouTube views compared to 3.4 million for the latter.
This hard rock version is great for when the holidays start to get a little too stressful. Enjoy.
