The 10 Best New Broadway Holiday Albums of 2020!
Get ready to Fa-La-La-along with Leslie Odom, Jr, Megan Hilty, MIchael Ball, Alfie Boe and more!
By: Nicole Rosky Dec. 05, 2020
Tis the season for holiday tunes! From festive favorites to brand-new bops, Broadway isn't disappointing this year, with a huge variety of new holiday albums from your favorite artists to put under the tree. Check out a full list of 2020 holiday albums from Broadway best and brightest!
Leslie Odom, Jr.
The Christmas Album
Grammy and Tony Award-winning vocalist, songwriter, author and actor Leslie Odom, Jr. has just released his brand-new holiday album, The Christmas Album, via S-Curve Records/BMG.
The 10-track album features a collection of beloved traditional favorites together with newly penned, original tracks "Snow" and "Heaven & Earth" that are sure to become instant holiday classics for years to come. Special guests on the album include Cynthia Erivo, Nicolette Robinson, The Mzansi Youth Choir and more!
Michael James Scott
A Fierce Christmas
This album, created during such uncertain times, is a new way to spread holiday cheer this season. Songs include "Christmas Time is Here" (Arranged by Jim Abbott, Produced by Chett Gass & Jim Abbott and Additional Instrumentation by Chet Gass), "This Christmas" (Produced and Arranged by Chet Gass, Additonal Instrumentation by Anthony Santaniello, Mike Pinder & Kenny Anderson), "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (Produced and Arranged by Chet Gass), "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Produced and Arranged by Chet Gass, Additional Instrumentation by Jim Abbott), and "The Christmas Song" (Produced and Arranged by Chet Gass).
Scott says, "This year has been incredibly tough. And I'm protesting it-I'm protesting 2020 with joy. I am a gay, black man putting joy into the world. That's where this album comes from. I think it's important for people to know that it's OK to put out joy. It's OK to put out love. It's OK to put out light and laughter. It's OK to put out Fierceness. What better way to put it out there than with holiday music? We need some light!"
Liz Callaway
Comfort and Joy
"Comfort and Joy - An Acoustic Christmas" features 10 songs with acclaimed guitarist Peter Calo and a duet with Grammy- nominee Jann Klose.
Thinking of recording a holiday single during the pandemic, Liz turned to social media for suggestions. As the song recommendations piled up, she began to realize that it wasn't a single - she felt the need to create an entire acoustic album to spread warmth for the holiday season. Turning to her neighbor Peter Calo, a renowned guitarist and producer, who has worked with Carly Simon for years, she set about creating "Comfort and Joy" under a tight three-week deadline and the restrictions of the pandemic. Featuring ten tracks ranging from traditional carols to newer Christmas classics (including songs written by Sara Bareilles, and her sister Ann Hampton Callaway), and featuring a guest vocal from Grammy nominee Jann Klose, "Comfort and Joy - An Acoustic Christmas" is like a warm (socially-distanced) hug from an old friend.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe
Together at Christmas
Two of the greatest voices in the world, Michael and Alfie are back doing what they love the most, but this time with an album packed full of holiday cheer! 2020 has been a year of isolation and social distancing and Michael and Alfie want to make this holiday season special, however you're together at Christmas.
The record has everything you could want from a Christmas album, and more. The pair breathe new life into favourites such as 'It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas', 'Silent Night' and 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', to name a few. Gregory Porter joins on 'The Christmas Song', and the duo perform the heart-warming 'My Christmas Will Be Better Than Yours' - a brand new original song.
Cast of Hadestown
If the Fates Allow
If The Fates Allow: A Hadestown Holiday Album offers both solace and celebration as we head into a winter season like no other. Starring Blackman, Gonzalez-Nacer, and Trinidad as The Fates, the album also features guest appearances by the entire cast of the Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning Hadestown singing beloved holiday classics, songs composed by Gonzalez-Nacer, Hadestown's Tony Award-winning songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, and Robinson, as well as gems waiting to be rediscovered, all in a sound steeped in blues, folk, ragtime, and jazz that has made Mitchell's groundbreaking musical a phenomenon.
This album is sure to lift your spirits and keep you livin' it up this holiday season.
Maxine Linehan
This Time of Year
Maxine takes the traditional holiday album and turns it into a work of art. This is the record we all need, a sophisticated seasonal album full of cheer, imagination, warmth and humanity. Her gorgeous voice, so rich and versatile, highlights both the joy of the season as well as its heartbreaking poignancy, making this that rare holiday album that stands out from the crowd. Maxine brings a deep understanding to the songs she sings, finding the heart and soul in them, unleashing not just their passion, but yours! Buoyed by lush and original arrangements of songs both warmly familiar and excitingly unexpected, This Time of Year is a collaboration of some of the most renowned artisans of popular music today.
"This year, with so many families unable to gather as they normally might, we all need to work extra hard to ensure a truly magical holiday season," Maxine said. "This album is my contribution to that cause, and I hope it provides a little joy when we all need it most."
Marty Thomas and Marissa Rosen
The Award Winning Holiday Album
Broadway luminaries Marty Thomas (Wicked, Xanadu, The Secret Garden) and Marissa Rosen (Kristin Chenoweth: For The Girls), release their debut duet album "The Award Winning Holiday Album".
The album features an impressive lineup of guest artists including Broadway stars and recording artists. Spicing up this holiday project are Alysha Umphress (On the Town, American Idiot, Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Christina Bianco (The Ellen Show, Forbidden Broadway), Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray, Hair, American Idol), Jessica Vosk (Wicked, Bridges of Madison County, Fiddler On The Roof), Melinda Doolittle (American Idol), and Rachel Potter (The Addams Family, Evita, The X factor).
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Megan Hilty
We Made It to Christmas
Not quite a full album, but still full of holiday cheer, Megan Hilty performs the new song "We Made It To Christmas," with music by Zina Goldrich and lyrics by David Javerbaum.
As we come to the end of a very hard year, Megan reminds us with this beautiful song that, despite all the sadness, confusion, and fear, somehow, we made it to Christmas.
Amanda Jane Cooper
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Hoping to bring heartfelt connection to homes this holiday season, Amanda Jane Cooper just released a brand new cover of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". The song, originally made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis, is one that Cooper feels is especially relevant and touching this year. Arranged and produced by Vincent John and Maxwell Perla at Eraserhood Sound.
Carly Hughes
Mistletoe and Carly
Fresh off of her exit from the ABC sitcom American Housewife, Carly Hughes just put out her first ever Holiday EP, titled Mistletoe and Carly. The songs include: "Santa Baby," "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"
Need more holiday music? These albums might not be new, but they are still making spirits bright!
Carols for a Cure: Volume 1-21- For over twenty years, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' holiday CD, Broadway's Carols for a Cure, has been a staple of every theatre-lover's wish list. The beloved series pairs casts from award-winning Broadway musicals with seasonal songs that are both classic and new.
Idina Menzel: Christmas: A Season of Love- The album features Ariana Grande, Billy Porter, Josh Gad and Idina's husband, Aaron Lohr. Christmas: A Season of Love sparkles with big-band energy, swinging holiday classics and brand-new original songs that will surely live on as part of the holiday season for years to come.
Ana Gasteyer: Sugar & Booze- The 15-track album was produced by New York's Downtown nightclub supernova Julian Fleisher and features original songs written by Gasteyer, such as the modern nostalgic title track "Sugar & Booze" and the cheeky, woke original song with a retro-Cuban beat, "Secret Santa" featuring Maya Rudolph.
Lea Michele: Christmas in the City- Reuniting with Glee songwriters/producers Adam Anders and Peer Astrom, the album features timeless hits like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Silent Night," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" as well as star-studded collaborators handpicked by Lea, including fellow Glee alum Darren Criss, Spring Awakening costar Jonathan Groff and Broadway favorite Cynthia Erivo.
Randy Rainbow: Hey Girl, It's Christmas- On his debut Christmas album, comedian, singer, and viral star Randy Rainbow puts his signature twist on holiday classics and premieres a brand-new Christmas song (the title track) with music by Marc Shaiman (Hairspray, Smash, Mary Poppins Returns) and lyrics by Randy Rainbow and Shaiman.
John Barrowman: A Fabulous Christmas- This album features all your festive classics including, 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town', 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' & 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'.
The Norm Lewis Christmas Album- The album is an amalgam of selections chosen from song lists that Norm has performed over the last few years at Feinstein's/54 Below in what has now become an annual holiday tradition in midtown, where he has a six night residency at the famed music hot spot.
Kristin Chenoweth: A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas- This third studio and first Christmas album from Chenoweth was released on October 14, 2008, and features collaborations with jazz musician John Pizzarelli on "Sleigh Ride/Marshmallow World". It has become her first album to chart on the Billboard 200.
Barbra Streisand: A Christmas Album- Streisand's first Christmas album and tenth studio album was originally released in 1967. The album is one of Streisand's best-selling albums and is ranked as one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time.
Linda Eder: Christmas Stays the Same- Released in 2000, tracks include "Ave Maria," "Grown Up Christmas List" composed by David Foster, "O Holy Night," "Do You Hear What I Hear," "Silver & Gold (Medly)" and many more.
Josh Groban: Noël- The fourth studio album by Groban, it was released on October 9, 2007. The album sold 3,699,000 copies in 2007 after its release, making it the overall best-selling album in the US for all of 2007.
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