There comes some extent each festive season when it instantly dawns on you that for those who hear the identical outdated Christmas songs another time you will run for the hills.

Sure, we’ll admit to getting these pretty nostalgia pangs once we first hear these opening bars of Merry Christmas Everybody or I Want It May Be Christmas On a regular basis firstly of December, however after weeks of it, it will possibly begin to take its toll.

So, no matter your plans are this Christmas, we’ve offered a handful of festive options for anybody hoping to inject a bit of further sparkle to their playlists, with out having to resort to the dusty outdated favourites we’ve been struggling by way of each winter since time started.

You possibly can neglect about Shakin’ Stevens, Chris Rea and even The Pogues – listed here are 18 lesser-known tracks assured to assist convey alongside some further vacation cheer, together with festive bangers from big-name artists like Ariana Grande, Kylie Minogue, Woman Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter and even the queen of Christmas herself Mariah Carey that haven’t fairly crossed over to the mainstream…

100 Levels was undoubtedly essentially the most memorable – and dance-able! – providing from Kylie Minogue’s 2015 Christmas assortment.

This authentic monitor may not instantly fill you with Christmas spirit (there’s neither a sleigh bell nor a reference to Santa in sight), however this disco-infused bop is assured to get the entire household up twirling round the lounge. Sure, even your dad.

Doubtlessly the one Christmas tune you’re more likely to hearken to with the lyric “thanks so much, however fuck you”.

Clearly, this cheeky (and NSFW!) providing may not precisely be one to placed on full blast whereas your nan makes her annual Christmas go to, however it’s nonetheless a catchy ode to dumping somebody on Boxing Day, which makes a welcome change from these artists who simply rhyme “festive cheer” with “final all yr” and hope for the perfect.

Lengthy earlier than A Star Is Born, her Oscar win and, certainly, the A Night time Of Piano And Jazz period, Woman Gaga was finest recognized for placing out synth-heavy pop ditties like this Christmassy providing, Christmas Tree.

Though it references conventional tracks like Deck The Halls and Little Drummer Boy all through, lyrics like “take off my stockings we’re out spreading Christmas cheer” counsel this isn’t one to placed on whereas the household tucks into their turkey.

Gaga even revisited the tune herself throughout her 2024 Carpool Karaoke particular.

You’re most likely already accustomed to Ariana Grande’s latterday Christmas basic Santa Inform Me, which even hit the highest 10 for the primary time in 2024, however what you may not realise is that the Depraved star truly has a plethora of festive tunes to her identify.

In 2015, shortly earlier than unveiling her Harmful Lady album, Ariana launched a whole Christmas EP, titled Christmas & Chill, latterly described by Vulture as a “surreal six-song compendium detailing the precise methods wherein Christmas sexually arouses her”.

They’re not fallacious both, and Wit It This Christmas might be the perfect instance of this. Ariana units the tone early on with the road “are you down for a few of these milk and cookies?”, and it doesn’t get any extra delicate because it goes on. It’s a number of enjoyable, and because it’s written by the identical crew behind most of her Thank U Subsequent album, it’s additionally vastly listenable.

Sabrina Carpenter’s festive EP Fruitcake acquired an actual increase in 2024 because of the discharge of the Netflix particular A Nonsense Christmas, which got here on the finish of an enormous yr for the US singer.

And whereas the Christmas remake of Nonsense is the tune that acquired essentially the most love when it got here to streams and chart positions (understandably so!), we now have to take a second to shout out Purchase Me Presents, an upbeat bop that sums up every little thing that’s helped flip Sabrina right into a pop juggernaut this previous yr.

We love an all-guns-blazing chaotic Christmas tune like Elton John’s Step Into Christmas or Kelly Clarkson’s Beneath The Tree as a lot as anybody, however generally it’s good to have one thing a bit extra slowed-down and subdued to get pleasure from at the moment of the yr.

Nation queen Kacey Musgraves’ duet with Troye Sivan is a twinkly ballad that’s additionally unapologetically mushy, however these two stars handle to drag it off, and Glittery manages to heat you up from the within out like an excellent glass of mulled wine.

On condition that she’s extra carefully related to ethereal and highly effective ballads like Alive, Chandelier and The Best, Sia tried one thing new in 2017 and launched an album of totally new Christmas tunes.

Lead single Santa’s Coming For Us options sufficient lyrical festive clichés that you simply instantly really feel such as you’ve been listening to it for the final 30 years, however the manufacturing can be up to date sufficient (and the supply quintessentially Sia sufficient) to maintain it sounding contemporary.

Generally you must name a spade a spade, and most of the time, a Christmas re-release can really feel extra motivated by these December royalties than the festive spirit, and we now have to confess that was the impression we acquired when Gwen Stefani introduced the deluxe version of her album You Make It Really feel Like Christmas.

We’re glad she did, although, as a result of the brand new model included Secret Santa, a Nineteen Sixties lady group throwback that positively stands as much as repeated listens.

There’s simply one thing a few Gwen Stefani ballad (whether or not it’s No Doubt’s Don’t Communicate or the just-gets-better-with-age Love Angel Music Child lower Cool), and Secret Santa is a worthy addition to her again catalogue.

Bonnie McKee is liable for co-penning a number of the most memorable tracks by artists like Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Rita Ora, so it’s no shock that her personal Yuletide output is a complete earworm.

Hearsay has it, the phrase “camp as Christmas” didn’t truly come to be till the yr 1983, when this glorious tune burst onto the scene.

As if the final word Christmas throwback wasn’t joyous sufficient, it opens with the expression: “We’re your Climate Ladies… and have we acquired vacation information for you!”

Now that’s model consciousness.

After a few beneficiant snowballs, we defy you to remain on the couch when the beat kicks in on this tune throughout that Christmas afternoon lull.

Hear, we’re not going to take a seat right here and fake Oh Santa! is nearly as good as All I Need For Christmas Is You, as a result of it isn’t. But when we judged each tune by that standards, we’d be left with about 4 to hearken to all yr round, wouldn’t we?

If you would like a little bit of Mariah this festive season however you’re fearful of what you’ll do if you must hear All I Need For Christmas Is You even one extra time, then that is the tune for you.

And to take issues up about 20 extra festive notches, try the 2020 remix that includes Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s model of Wham!’s Final Christmas has been on our playlist for an excellent few years now, so we had been over the moon in 2020 when she lastly unveiled her first authentic festive tune.

It’s Not Christmas Until Any person Cries is a celebration of these dysfunctional gatherings so many people endure by way of in the case of placing collectively teams of prolonged relations.

And whereas the lyrics about uncles “speaking politics” and cousins questioning “if Santa’s a lie” may look like the stuff of Yuletide nightmares, the synth-y manufacturing be sure you’re dancing by way of until Boxing Day.

Vacation carried out modestly when it was launched in 2020, peaking simply exterior the UK high 20. Nonetheless, since then, Lil Nas X has had large success together with his chart-topping hit Montero (Name Me By Your Title) in addition to his debut album, so we’ll be curious to see if his festive providing slides any additional up the charts within the coming years.

This festive ditty is just about every little thing you’d anticipate from a Lil Nas X-mas monitor (see what we did there?), with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em intercourse references interspersed with cheeky performs on festive tropes.

Oh, and the video is a complete feast for the eyes, too.

Initially included on the soundtrack to the festive rom-com Happiest Season, Make You Mine This Season immediately grew to become a favourite of ours when it was launched in 2020, so we’re blissful it’s lastly the time of yr to get it again in rotation.

The Tegan And Sara monitor is a uncommon Christmas tune that explicitly references a same-sex relationship – however greater than that, it’s only a actually heartwarming pay attention that’ll make you wish to slip into your festive jammies and sip one thing sizzling in entrance of the hearth.

Disappointingly, the Spice Ladies by no means launched an authentic Christmas tune throughout their time collectively, which is a disgrace as this good mixture of Spice Ladies perspective and festive enjoyable (which was used because the B-side to their Christmas primary Goodbye) is an absolute gem (for those who’ll pardon the GEM reference).

If you happen to’re a fan of RuPaul’s musical output however favor to have the standard lyrics about “strolling the runway”, “stomping the runway” and “bringing it to the runway” swapped out for some Christmas references, then it will have you ever “yassss”-ing alongside during till Boxing Day.

This authentic Christmas tune from Ladies Aloud was by no means launched as a single, which we predict is an actual disgrace because it actually has the potential to have been a contemporary basic, mixing the lady band’s signature pop perfection and perspective the lady group and placing a little bit of a festive slant on it.

Not Tonight Santa truly shaped a part of a string of festive songs recorded by Ladies Aloud, which additionally included covers of Jingle Bell Rock, Merry Xmas Everyone and I Want It May Be Christmas On a regular basis.

Really an anthem for anybody who simply needs the festive interval to rush up and be over, a fast blast of this moody providing from Hurts ought to actually let everybody within the neighborhood understand how you’re feeling.

Equally, Bleachers’ new launch for 2024 sums up the loneliness and heartbreak that a few of us can really feel at Christmas with much more pep in its step than the likes of Mariah Carey and Wham!.

Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Name sums up that morose feeling many people expertise when a relationship breaks down across the holidays, and whereas it received’t precisely have you ever shaking your stomach like a bowl filled with jelly, it’d earn you cool factors when it comes on throughout your festive playlist.

We’ve been obsessive about this tune ever since we heard Jinkx and DeLa sing it throughout their annual vacation present in 2021, and we now break it out yearly.

It’s no secret that musical releases from Drag Race alum is usually a little hit or miss (to place it mildly), however Trying At The Lights is a really lovely tune concerning the significance of connection over the festive season, at what is usually a troublesome time of yr for thus many people.

After which… there’s this.

No, it isn’t precisely a departure from the standard cheesiness we’re subjected to on the standard radio stations round Christmas (in reality, in comparison with this, even Wombling Merry Christmas sounds edgy).

However Christmas isn’t concerning the cool or innovative, it’s concerning the naff, the excessive and the fully ridiculous, and what might match the invoice greater than watching John Travolta flying a aircraft to see Olivia Newton-John accompanied by a line-dance-friendly festive tune?

Try our various Christmas playlist in full under: