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The best and worst Christmas songs ever written

The festive bops and the festive flops...

Dean Hadcock Dean Hadcock - 24th December 2024

We can all agree, in terms of Christmas music, it has its bops and it has its flops.

Some songs do an incredible job of capturing that warm fuzzy feeling that Christmas can give you… others feel like they were purposely made just to drive you crazy.

And whether you’re into violins and jingling bells or pure festive pop, we’ve all got opinions about Christmas music.

So let’s take a look at five of the all-time best Christmas songs and five of the absolute worst.

We know people will go to war in the name of their favourite Crimbo song, so before you start a crusade against us because your favourite is on the worst list, let me remind you this list is completely subjective… but we all know it’s right.

The worst Christmas songs ever written

Sia's Christmas song is one of the worst ever written
  1. Santa Tell Me – Ariana Grande

Not hate towards Ariana – she’s an honorary Manc after all – but Santa Tell Me is a massive flop. Nothing screams ‘I’m in a department store at Christmas time’ more than this song and I pray for any retail worker who has to hear this more than once on their wintery shifts.

2. Everyday Is Christmas – SIA (The Whole Album)

You’re getting a whole 13-song album for this one. SIA did not need to make a full Christmas album but she did and it’s basically all the same song. Everything about it is bad, even down to the album art. There’s something about SIA’s voice that just doesn’t lend itself to festive music. Sorry SIA.

3. It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

It’s not the singer, it’s the song. It doesn’t matter who is singing this one, it’s going on the worst list. When it’s the start of November why does every commercial company decide this is the perfect song to shove on every Christmas ad ever? And how does something with such cheerful lyrics manage to sound so glum?! It’s like a Winnie the Pooh Christmas song.

4. Underneath The Tree – Kelly Clarkson 

This one makes me feel like I’m in a silly little 00s British Christmas romcom and I absolutely hate it. How did she fall from Since U Been Gone to this utter trash? I’m not mad, Kelly, I’m just disappointed.

5. Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano

For a three-minute-long song, it does not need to repeat Feliz Navidad 21 times. There are literally only four different unique sentences in this one and they’re repeated over and over again. We get it Jose, you wanna wish me a Merry Christmas. Can you do it a bit more quietly, I’ve got a Bailey’s hangover.

The best Christmas songs ever written

  1. White Christmas – The Drifters

Nothing lends itself more to Christmas than some classic doo-wop, that’s why White Christmas by The Drifters and only The Drifters is the best version of this festive classic. As soon as the band’s deep harmony kicks in at the start it fills the room with that Christmassy feeling. 

2. Step Into Christmas – Elton John

No era was better for Christmas music than the 70s and Elton John’s Step Into Christmas is its peak. Whether you’re putting up the tree, present shopping, having a festive boogie or eating your Christmas dinner, this song fits the vibe perfectly.

3. Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses

We don’t think American new wave band The Waitresses knew the scale of what they were making when they were recording this anti-Christmas song. It instantly became a cult classic. Trust us, sit down and listen to the bass in this one, it’s so funky and usually by the time the sax comes into it we’re already up dancing. 

4. Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney

As soon as this song starts with those synthy keys you know you’re in for a good’n, I mean who else is more equipped to write a jolly ol’ Christmas song than an ex-Beatle? It just feels like the epitome of Christmas.

5. Christmas Rappin’ – Kurtis Blow

By the time this song came out in 1979, rap was a relatively new genre on the scene. So for Kurtis Blow, the first commercially successful rapper, to release Christmas Rappin’ as his first song is insane but what a hit it was. Not your generic Christmas song but it’s something different and you can’t deny, that beat is infectious.

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Featured image: Youtube

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A bring-your-own booze music venue is opening in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A brand-new nightlife concept offering bring-your-own-booze is coming to Manchester this month. 

XLR will be the very first BYOB licensed music venue in Manchester, and it’s set to open on Wilmslow Road later in September.

Club-goers will pay for a ticket, then can bring their own beers and alcohol inside the club.

They say they want people to be able to make ‘the night as expensive as you want it to be’.

XLR owner Chris said that clubbing has lost its way from the early 2000s heyday and become ‘very corporate’, so it’s hoped that this new concept will break down those money barriers.

Tickets will be priced between £10 and £20, with lockers provided inside so that you can safely store your booze.

XLR will open on 24 September with appearances from Yung Singh and Bushbaby.

Owner Chris said in a teaser snippet today: “We’re bringing a really new and exciting concept to the venue this year, where customers can bring their own alcohol into the venue. 

“Clubbing has come so very far away from what it used to be, sort of back in the early 2000s, and the early 90s as well. 

“Clubs were meant to be about the music, whereas now it’s become very corporate, very money grab. 

“The clubs used to be cheap and the bars used to be expensive. 

“Clubs now, they’re just run very commercially. 

“We don’t want people feeling like they’re being priced out of venues anymore. 

“It’s very important that anyone can come to a club. We all know the crisis that’s going on with clubs and hospitality this year. 

“When you pay for your ticket, you know you’re paying for the DJ, you pay for the promoter, you’re helping the venue to survive, you’re contributing to the culture. 

“So the tickets will be £10 to £20, you can bring your own beers in, bring your own alcohol in, we’ve got lockers in place so that you don’t have to leave everything out on the dance floor. 

“That’s the way that we’re gonna go this year. We hope that you get on board with the concept.

“We hope that you drink responsibly, because that’s really important as well. 

“We’ll see you in September.”

See the latest from XLR Manchester on their Instagram HERE.

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Featured image: Unsplash, Alexsandr Popov

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Soft rock heroes Foreigner announce UK tour including big Manchester gig

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia Foreigner Manchester arena gig tickets

Foreigner are bringing their soft rock classics over the waters and to the UK as they embark on a new tour which features a Manchester stop.

Formed in the 70’s, Foreigner are a British-American rock band known for their catalogue of soft rock, including hits like ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and ‘Cold As Ice.’

These rockers have gained a newfound following of late thanks to their music making an appearance in an array of yet more contemporary TV shows like Stranger Things, Euphoria, Wednesday and more, having been heard in plenty of films over the years.

This UK tour marks the band’s return to Manchester after four years – and no, you’ve not got ‘Double Vision’: they are in fact revisiting the same iconic arena they played back in 2022, AO Arena.

The band may look a little different on their next visit as Kelly Hansen, former vocalist of Foreigner, has stepped down after 20 years and has handed the reins over to the equally impressive Luis Maldonado.

This newest gig announcement, set for 2026, will celebrate a landmark 50 years since the band formed back in 1976, and you can expect to hear all their greatest hits.

Foreigner are no strangers to the charts with a chart-topping album and single as well as five Top 40 hits and five Top 40 albums – I guess you could call them the ultimate ‘Juke Box Hero’.

The band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2024, and to celebrate, they played their timeless classic ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ with pop singer Kelly Clarkson performing alongside.

Whether you’re there for ‘Urgent’, ‘Double Vision’ or ‘Waiting For a Girl Like You’, the New York-formed rockers will be smashing out their variety of anthems at AO Arena next year.

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Now, Foreigner are coming back to Manchester and the AO Arena on Thursday, 18 June, with tickets for the gig going on presale this Wednesday, 3 September at 10am GMT.

As for general admission tickets, they will be available from the same time on Friday, 5 September – you can get ready to grab yours right HERE.

They’re not the only rock legends booking big Manc arena gigs recently, either.

Def Leppard announce HUGE arena gig in Manchester next year
Foreigner and their glam rock contemporaries are both playing big Manchester gig venues.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shot (supplied)/Jim Geuther (via Vinyl Records Gallery)

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