bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Nov 25, 2018 19:33:04 GMT -5
 Now that Thanksgiving is over, I feel safe saying this... MERRY CHRISTMAS, FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!  Now that the holidays are finally rolling around, I am so thrilled to roll out a very special rankdown that I have been looking forward to starting for a long time. Welcome to the "Joy of Christmas" rankdown! This is a festive, celebratory rankdown centered around one artist. The stunning, huge-voiced Celine Dion of Country Music, Martina McBride! Martina is an artist who is widely recognized for her Christmas music. Despite being a country artist, her White Christmas album is one of the most quintessential Christmas albums of all time, and continues to be one of her strongest sellers despite being 20 years old. Her takes on classics such as "Silver Bells", "Silent Night", and "O Holy Night" are so famous that most people would recognize them even if they have no idea who Martina is, and her versions of many of these songs have become what some might call "THE" version of those songs. Along the way, she has also contributed to several side projects that have garnered some attention. Her duet with Elvis Presley on "Blue Christmas" was the most popular song off of his posthumous Christmas Duets album, and the music video garnered attention from fans and critics everywhere for the way it seamlessly made it look like Martina was right there on stage with Elvis performing the song. "Baby It's Cold Outside", also a posthumous duet with Dean Martin, is now a song that you will hear randomly in public almost as much as the original. Finally, this year, she released a new Christmas album, after teasing her fans for years. It's The Holiday Season came out this past October, and features a big band style to contrast with the orchestral sound that had come to define her previous Christmas music. So far it has taken satellite radio by storm, which is about as good as you could hope for at this point in her career! Lol Christmas is always an exciting time to be a Martina fan, and not just because it's the only time of year that you can hear her on the radio. That is because she fully embraces the holiday season, and makes it special for her fans. You may have heard of her popular "Joy of Christmas" tour, which is always one of her most popular tours, and is reprised almost every year. She takes her holiday music out on the road, delivering a high-energy and high-spirited performance that has come to be an irreplaceable holiday activity for many families. She and other volunteers take time at every tour stop for some kind of charity function as well, such as volunteering at soup kitchens, raising money to help impoverished families celebrate Christmas, etc., and try to leave a positive impact on every community that they visit. It is in honor of this charitable and exciting tour that has come to be one of the defining areas of Martina's career, that this rankdown takes its namesake. We are going to have an awesome time ranking the Christmas music of Martina McBride, and celebrating the holidays together to see which of these incredible Christmas classics will go down in Pulse history as the best!  The Songs (in chronological order of release):
1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas2. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow3. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)4. O Holy Night5. Silver Bells6. Away In A Manger7. White Christmas8. What Child Is This9. I'll Be Home For Christmas10. Silent Night11. Do You Hear What I Hear12. O Come All Ye Faithful13. My Favorite Things (Keith Lockhart ft. Martina McBride) 14. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing15. Winter Wonderland ( White Christmas Version) 16. Baby, It's Cold Outside (Dean Martin ft. Martina McBride) 17. Jingle Bells18. Blue Christmas (Elvis Presley ft. Martina McBride) 19. Please Come Home For Christmas20. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Live) (Chris Mann ft. Martina McBride) 21. What Child Is This (Michael W. Smith ft. Martina McBride) 22. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town23. Most Wonderful Time Of The Year24. Winter Wonderland ( It's The Holiday Season Version) 25. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas26. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer27. Happy Holiday / It's The Holiday Season28. Home For The Holidays29. Frosty The Snowman30. My Favorite ThingsDeadline will be set for Thursday, December 20th. Please get your lists in by then, so that we can finish this up right around Christmas day! |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Nov 25, 2018 19:33:29 GMT -5
Final Results:
30. "Jingle Bells" (229)
29. "My Favorite Things" (ITHS Version) (211)
28. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" - Dean Martin ft. Martina (190)
27. "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (189)
26. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Live) - Chris Mann ft. Martina (189)
25. "Winter Wonderland" (WC Version) (184)
24. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (183)
23. "My Favorite Things" - Keith Lockhart ft. Martina (179)
22. "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (171)
21. "Frosty The Snowman" (170)
20. "Home For The Holidays" (164)
19. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (162)
18. "What Child Is This" - Michael W. Smith ft. Martina (162)
17. "Winter Wonderland" (WC Version) (157)
16. "Blue Christmas" - Elvis Presley ft. Martina (151)
15. "Happy Holiday / It's The Holiday Season" (142)
14. "O Come All Ye Faithful" (137)
13. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (126)
12. "Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" (122)
11. "What Child Is This" (122)
10. "Away In A Manger" (121)
09. "Please Come Home For Christmas" (117)
08. "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" (110)
07. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" (107)
06. "Silent Night" (95)
05. "Do You Hear What I Hear" (82)
04. "White Christmas" (73)
03. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (62)
02. "O Holy Night" (40)
01. "Silver Bells" (38)
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Nov 25, 2018 19:35:06 GMT -5
I would just like to say, I hope that people other than just country posters will consider participating in this. Everybody is welcome, and considering that this is not a country rankdown, I would hate to see it get limited attendance just because of the artist involved. The music here is very non-genre, so if you enjoy holiday music, please consider participating even if Country is not your usual cup of tea!!!!  |
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gardyfan
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Post by gardyfan on Nov 25, 2018 19:39:36 GMT -5
Please remove me from this one.
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Nov 25, 2018 20:53:23 GMT -5
Super excited for this one! Looking forward to revisiting her first album and listening to her new one some more!
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Dec 1, 2018 18:38:09 GMT -5
Martina has some great versions of Christmas songs. I really wish her new album was longer though. 9 songs is way too short for how many more songs I want to hear her sing, lol.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 1, 2018 18:49:44 GMT -5
Martina has some great versions of Christmas songs. I really wish her new album was longer though. 9 songs is way too short for how many more songs I want to hear her sing, lol. I saw an interview recently where she said that they had about 30 songs ready for this album, and cut it down to the 9 that worked best together. I was face palming so hard. Like, if you had that many ready, why couldn't you have at least cut it down to the 12-13 that worked best together, at the very minimum?! Then it would at least be a normal-length album! You gave us a 23-song album once. Lord knows you could have given us at least a dozen  Edit: I am thankful that we finally have a new album at least though! Hopefully her next non-Christmas album won't be too long of a wait, so we can get more regular music from her. |
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Dec 1, 2018 18:53:51 GMT -5
Martina has some great versions of Christmas songs. I really wish her new album was longer though. 9 songs is way too short for how many more songs I want to hear her sing, lol. I saw an interview recently where she said that they had about 30 songs ready for this album, and cut it down to the 9 that worked best together. I was face palming so hard. Like, if you had that many ready, why couldn't you have at least cut it down to the 12-13 that worked best together, at the very minimum?! Then it would at least be a normal-length album! You gave us a 23-song album once. Lord knows you could have given us at least a dozen  That is so frustrating! I can see maybe for a studio album, but for a Christmas album? The worst part is, you know it'll be released 2-3 more times with 'bonus tracks' that are probably part of those 30 songs. And of course, we're suckers, so we'll buy it again ;) |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 1, 2018 18:57:30 GMT -5
I saw an interview recently where she said that they had about 30 songs ready for this album, and cut it down to the 9 that worked best together. I was face palming so hard. Like, if you had that many ready, why couldn't you have at least cut it down to the 12-13 that worked best together, at the very minimum?! Then it would at least be a normal-length album! You gave us a 23-song album once. Lord knows you could have given us at least a dozen That is so frustrating! I can see maybe for a studio album, but for a Christmas album? The worst part is, you know it'll be released 2-3 more times with 'bonus tracks' that are probably part of those 30 songs. And of course, we're suckers, so we'll buy it again  Lmao I would welcome that to happen, just so I can have more than 9 damn songs!  |
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Zach
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Post by Zach on Dec 1, 2018 19:03:26 GMT -5
I might jump in on this :).
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 10, 2018 3:23:25 GMT -5
I hung Christmas lights in my classroom this weekend... Now my life feels infinitely more festive!!!!! Time for me to promote, promote, promote! We have one submission so far, from someguy. The rest of y'all, don't forget about this! It's due in about 11 days! |
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Cody Wants Out...
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Post by Cody Wants Out... on Dec 10, 2018 20:18:17 GMT -5
Spotify playlist for all you Spotify junkies (like me  )! Missing are "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside". |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 10, 2018 23:41:41 GMT -5
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 21, 2018 16:47:51 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay, bboat11, but my list will be in in a few hours tops! |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 22, 2018 15:44:26 GMT -5
Hey folks. I have been SO dreadful at posting reminders for this rankdown so far. Lol the deadline was 2 days ago, and y'all haven't even heard from me yet I'm in the middle of my first year of teaching, while trying to finish my Master's degree, so some weeks end up getting pretty crazy pretty quickly... This past week was the last week of school before break. I'm finally free!!!! So we're gonna try again. In case there is anybody who wants to participate, but won't be able to get it done this weekend, I will set a new deadline of Wednesday the 26th. I don't want to set it right in the middle of Christmas Eve/Christmas cause I am sure most of you will be busy with your families. I've heard great things from people who have done this rankdown so far; I'd love to see more people branching out and checking out Martina's Christmas music! I'd like to hopefully double our current participant base. Enjoy your holidays, everyone! Participants So Far:
1. bboat11 2. someguy 3. tim 4. castleoblivion26 5. Cody Wants Out... 6. .indulgecountry |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 26, 2018 0:45:43 GMT -5
Just a reminder that there is only 1 more day until this is due!!!! With Christmas winding down, it doesn't make sense to push this one out any further... If you are interested in participating, please jump on in asap! |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 27, 2018 4:13:26 GMT -5
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 6:24:03 GMT -5
Final Participant List: (9)
Following Along (Tagging people who have participated in the Martina album series more-or-less regularly):
Questions to get us started:
1) What will be #1?
2) What will be #30?
3) Which songs belong in the top 5?
4) Which songs belong in the bottom 5?
5) What song will be most polarizing? Least polarizing?
6) Which album will do better overall? (White Christmas, It's The Holiday Season)
7) Which version of "Winter Wonderland" will do better? How much better?
8) What will be the highest track from White Christmas? How long will it last?
9) What will be the highest track from It's The Holiday Season? How long will it last?
10) Any other thoughts/predictions?
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 6:32:11 GMT -5
Greetings! Sorry to leave this hanging the last few days. I have been talking for awhile about how my laptop has been randomly shutting down every few minutes... Especially when I try to make graphics for rankdowns, it just totally dies and takes forever to start up again. So that's been hampering things a bit... However, I just got a new laptop!!!!!! Woohoo!!!! This rankdown will be the official maiden voyage of "bboat's MacBook Air" Therefore, it's time to press on with this one, despite the low turnout. Given the seasonal nature of this rankdown, I don't want to drag it out too long into January. Reveals will be starting today, so don't hesitate to make some hasty predictions before hopping into the sleigh!
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Post by tim on Dec 30, 2018 17:00:42 GMT -5
1) What will be #1? I think it’ll come down to “O Holy Night” and “Silver Bells” which ended up finishing second in castleoblivion26 's A Country Christmas rankdown. 2) What will be #30? Maybe the Chris Mann duet “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” or “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Dean Martin 3) Which songs belong in the top 5? “Silver Bells”, “O Holy Night”, “Winter Wonderland” (WC version), “Do You Hear What I Hear”, “Happy Holiday / It’s the Holiday Season” 4) Which songs belong in the bottom 5? “Jingle Bells”, “Jingle Bells”, “Jingle Bells”, “Jingle Bells” and “Jingle Bells”  5) What song will be most polarizing? “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” Least polarizing? “O Holy Night” 6) Which album will do better overall? Probably White Christmas because more Christmas memories have been made with that album over the years 7) Which version of "Winter Wonderland" will do better? The White Christmas version is probably the most popular and familiar one so top 5 or 10, while the It’s The Holiday Season version will probably finish somewhere close to or just inside the top 10 8) What will be the highest track from White Christmas and how long will it last? “Silver Bells” or “O Holy Night” and top 2 9) What will be the highest track from It's The Holiday Season and how long will it last? I think “Winter Wonderland” will do well, but I also think “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” and “Most Wonderful Time of the Year” all could be top 10 contenders 10) Any other thoughts/predictions? Having not listened to her White Christmas album before I felt that overall I enjoyed It’s The Holiday Season more and will be a Christmas album I’ll revisit for years to come
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 30, 2018 17:05:40 GMT -5
tim glad I'm not the only one who thought her cover of "Jingle Bells" was a hot mess. That was my last place with extreme ease. It better be in the bottom 5!
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Cody Wants Out...
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Post by Cody Wants Out... on Dec 30, 2018 17:35:35 GMT -5
1) What will be #1?
* Really hoping for "O Holy Night" or "Silver Bells", but I'm pretty sure something from White Christmas has it in the bag!
2) What will be #30?
* "Jingle Bells" please!
3) Which songs belong in the top 5?
* "O Holy Night", "Silver Bells", "White Christmas", "The Christmas Song", and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"?
4) Which songs belong in the bottom 5?
* "Jingle Bells" and the solo versions of "What Child is This" and "My Favorite Things" should be there. Not sure what else though.
5) What song will be most polarizing? Least polarizing?
* Most: "Blue Christmas". Least: "The Christmas Song"?
6) Which album will do better overall? (White Christmas, It's The Holiday Season)
* White Christmas please!
7) Which version of "Winter Wonderland" will do better? How much better?
* The White Christmas version should make the top half at worst with the other version stalling around #20 perhaps?
8) What will be the highest track from White Christmas? How long will it last?
* "O Holy Night" or "Silver Bells" should occupy the top two, or be in the top five at worst.
9) What will be the highest track from It's The Holiday Season? How long will it last?
* Hoping for "Happy Holiday/It's the Holiday Season" to round out the bottom half.
10) Any other thoughts/predictions?
* I should've spent more time with this set. Drastic difference between White Christmas and It's the Holiday Season imo.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 18:20:42 GMT -5
Alright, let's get started!!!! Coming in at #30, the song that will probably not surprise anybody!
30. "Jingle Bells"
Total: 229 Average: 25.44 Std Dev: 7.13
Following:
{Songs Remaining}
Away In A Manger
Baby, It’s Cold Outside (ft. Dean Martin)
Blue Christmas (ft. Elvis Presley)
Do You Hear What I Hear
Frosty The Snowman
Happy Holiday / It’s The Holiday Season
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Live) (ft. Chris Mann)
Home For The Holidays
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
My Favorite Things (ft. Keith Lockhart)
My Favorite Things (ITHS Version)
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Holy Night
Please Come Home For Christmas
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Silent Night
Silver Bells
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
What Child Is This
What Child Is This (ft. Michael W. Smith)
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland (ITHS Version)
Winter Wonderland (WC Version) |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 18:21:36 GMT -5
Holy cow! My new computer must have something different about the screenshot settings... Lol that trajectory graph is huge!!
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.indulgecountry
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 30, 2018 18:23:37 GMT -5
Oh good, just as I'd hoped! This was hilariously awful.
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Cody Wants Out...
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Post by Cody Wants Out... on Dec 30, 2018 18:25:33 GMT -5
Holy cow! My new computer must have something different about the screenshot settings... Lol that trajectory graph is huge!! I got a new computer myself (not a laptop, but an all-in-one desktop), and will probably start using it pretty soon after I move tons and tons of things around! Time to stock up on my flash drives!  |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 18:34:41 GMT -5
"Jingle Bells" is a song that I am not at all surprised to see get tanked in this rankdown. Martina's version of this song is probably the most frenetic and bizarre version I've ever heard! However, I have come to love it through the years. In general, "Jingle Bells" is not a song I need to hear professional vocalists trying to sing (kind of along the same lines as a song like "Mary Had A Little Lamb", or "Jesus Loves Me"... Lol), so I have found myself appreciating this one through the years because of how fantastically odd the musical arrangement is, in a world where "Jingle Bells" is literally always a boring and tired song. The dissonant orchestra riffs, and the bike horns, and the jig-worthy oboe/flute solo, etc. all come together to make this song the most entertaining version of "Jingle Bells" by far. I can totally understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but I get what she was going for here |
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Post by tim on Dec 30, 2018 18:40:18 GMT -5
Martina’s version of “Jingle Bells” is just cringe worthy and deserves to be last place here. Not really a fan of the song myself and rarely seek this one out for the holidays, but Alan Jackson’s version is probably my favorite.
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 18:42:20 GMT -5
29. "My Favorite Things
Total: 211 Average: 23.44 Std Dev: 8.55
Following:
{Song Remaining}
Away In A Manger
Baby, It’s Cold Outside (ft. Dean Martin)
Blue Christmas (ft. Elvis Presley)
Do You Hear What I Hear
Frosty The Snowman
Happy Holiday / It’s The Holiday Season
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Live) (ft. Chris Mann)
Home For The Holidays
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
My Favorite Things (ft. Keith Lockhart)
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Holy Night
Please Come Home For Christmas
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Silent Night
Silver Bells
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
What Child Is This
What Child Is This (ft. Michael W. Smith)
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland (ITHS Version)
Winter Wonderland (WC Version) |
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bboat11
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2018 18:45:28 GMT -5
We jump over to her new Christmas album for our second elimination! This version of "My Favorite Things" is oddly slow and mechanical, and I am not at all surprised to see it get tanked either. The other version from earlier in her career is WAY preferable, imo. Still, LBTrocks manages to lose a #4 already! Apparently the rankdown world isn't even going to give him a break for the holidays!  |
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