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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:19:09 GMT -5
14. "Only Time Of Year" - Brandy Clark
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:23:37 GMT -5
I'm sorry, but I found "Only Time Of Year" to be nearly unlistenable... The chanted melody and chunky production is just sooooo unappealing to me. It started out strong thanks to recordyear's top 5 rank, but pretty much fell consistently from there as more and more people kept agreeing with me and putting it in the lower regions. Unfortunately for someguy he gets to join ClevelandRox in the #1 losses club.
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Dec 29, 2020 21:24:26 GMT -5
I’m genuinely shocked that this is out already. It’s my favourite Christmas song discovery this year.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:25:52 GMT -5
13. "Little Saint Nick" - Lady A
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:30:22 GMT -5
I just as easily could have foregone including a song from Lady A's unnecessary Deluxe addition to their Christmas album because there were so many songs I had to cut to get down to 20, but I decided to do so just for lady𝓐fan....and then he didn't even participate Jokes aside, this is a solid cover of a song that is so classic that people very rarely attempt to cover it! Charles sounds great. Nothing will ever top the Beach Boys' version probably, but this is a very good try that does the song justice!
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:33:35 GMT -5
12. "O Holy Night" - Danielle Bradbery
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:49:49 GMT -5
I knew as soon as I saw that Danielle Bradbery had released a version of "O Holy Night" that it would be fantastic, and I was not disappointed! She has such a smooth yet expressive belting voice that makes her a perfect match for this famously difficult carol. And she did everything right for me to love it! I have realized recently that I tend to prefer when artists take this song a little faster. Think Martina's version on up. Or OMG the borderline-uptempo take that Sara Evans gave us a few years ago Danielle's is the perfect speed for me. I like a tempo like this that allows the beautiful melody to shine through. When it gets slowed down too much it loses a lot of its magic. Celine Dion is the only person to do this song super-slow and actually have it work for me. That being said, the biggest weakness of Danielle's version is that it's almost TOO short and sweet. It almost feels like they cut corners to make it as short as possible (like with the intro being about half as long as it feels like it should be). I know kamala 2024 truther and probably a few others would have preferred to rank Carrie's new version of this, but I wanted to avoid duplicates, so Carrie's was honestly never in contention. Actually, Runaway June easily had my favorite version of this song this year, and I had my heart set on including it up until final edits of the list! I had to begrudgingly get rid of it when I noticed Danielle's version. Honestly, I would have loved to have just included all 3 😂 It has always been my favorite Christmas song, and always will be.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 21:55:52 GMT -5
11. "Lit This Year" - Florida Georgia Line
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 22:00:14 GMT -5
There you go castleoblivion26 !! FGL claim their best performance yet in one of these monthly rankdowns, as they come in just shy of the top 10. "Lit This Year" should in theory be among the worst of this list, but it is juuuuust over-the-top enough for me to accept it as a parody song. It reminds me a lot of Montgomery Gentry's "Merry Christmas From The Family" (obviously inferior to that one though. I just mean that there are not a lot of Christmas songs in that humorous vein, so the fact that it treads similar ground makes it a LOT better than if FGL had tried to do something serious...)
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Post by lady𝓐fan on Dec 29, 2020 22:01:20 GMT -5
I just as easily could have foregone including a song from Lady A's unnecessary Deluxe addition to their Christmas album because there were so many songs I had to cut to get down to 20, but I decided to do so just for lady𝓐fan ....and then he didn't even participate Jokes aside, this is a solid cover of a song that is so classic that people very rarely attempt to cover it! Charles sounds great. Nothing will ever top the Beach Boys' version probably, but this is a very good try that does the song justice! I meant to submit but I kept forgetting. As for Lady A's version of "Little Saint Nick": I'd probably like it more if I liked the original in the first place. I prefer their original song "Christmas Through Your Eyes" to it.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 22:03:45 GMT -5
I just as easily could have foregone including a song from Lady A's unnecessary Deluxe addition to their Christmas album because there were so many songs I had to cut to get down to 20, but I decided to do so just for lady𝓐fan ....and then he didn't even participate Jokes aside, this is a solid cover of a song that is so classic that people very rarely attempt to cover it! Charles sounds great. Nothing will ever top the Beach Boys' version probably, but this is a very good try that does the song justice! I meant to submit but I kept forgetting. As for Lady A's version of "Little Saint Nick": I'd probably like it more if I liked the original in the first place. I prefer their original song "Christmas Through Your Eyes" to it. Hahaha yeah, I had no idea what to include from them, since there was literally zero buzz about the new Deluxe songs on Pulse, so I had nothing to go off of. In the end I just chose the most immediately recognizable song that also isn't covered to death 😂
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Post by kamala 2024 truther on Dec 29, 2020 22:07:18 GMT -5
I would've loved for Danielle to use the voice we all know she has to go ahead and pull off that second verse and climax, but at least she did the first verse and promptly quit. My biggest pet peeve is when a singer takes the four minutes plus and wastes the entire second half by doing the first verse a second time Danielle would NOT have been in my Top 10 if she did that. And yes I wanted Carrie's but she probably would've won this whole thing if her 2020 version's performance in her Christmas rankdown is any indication :kii: "Lit This Year" was pretty harmless. Good background noise and much better than mess like "I Love My Country"
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 22:07:53 GMT -5
Recap Time!! 20. Hard Candy Christmas - Kassi Ashton (157) 19. Please Come Home For Christmas - Teddy Swims (154) 18. Merry, Merry Christmas Baby - Ronnie Milsap (149) 17. Jingle Bell Drunk - RaeLynn (141) 16. Take Me Home For Christmas - Dan + Shay (136) 15. Feeling Like Christmas - Olivia Lane (133) 14. Only Time Of Year - Brandy Clark (126) 13. Little Saint Nick - Lady A (120) 12. O Holy Night - Danielle Bradbery (116) 11. Lit This Year - Florida Georgia Line (113)
The Top 10: Christmas Always Finds Me - Ingrid Andress Christmas On The Radio - Runaway June Christmas On The Square - Dolly Parton Circle Of Love - Dolly Parton Cowboy Christmas - Terri Clark Hallelujah - Carrie Underwood ft. John Legend Let There Be Peace - Carrie Underwood The First Noel - Gabby Barrett Under The Mistletoe - Kelly Clarkson ft. Brett Eldredge We Need Christmas - Maddie & Tae
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 29, 2020 22:13:04 GMT -5
I would've loved for Danielle to use the voice we all know she has to go ahead and pull off that second verse and climax, but at least she did the first verse and promptly quit. My biggest pet peeve is when a singer takes the four minutes plus and wastes the entire second half by doing the first verse a second time Danielle would NOT have been in my Top 10 if she did that. And yes I wanted Carrie's but she probably would've won this whole thing if her 2020 version's performance in her Christmas rankdown is any indication "Lit This Year" was pretty harmless. Good background noise and much better than mess like "I Love My Country" I mean, it's possible... We'll see how "Hallelujah" does and then draw conclusions from there since it also did super well in Carie's rd Edit: Also you are like obsessed with the second verse of "O Holy Night" This is like the 5th time this month you've mentioned it!
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Post by .indulgecountry on Dec 29, 2020 22:14:56 GMT -5
FGL nearly making top 10 in this is something I 100% would've never anticipated. That said, "Lit This Year" is actually lowkey a jam. Disappointed that Kassi and RaeLynn were tanked so hard, but the results have been pretty solid otherwise. The Teddy Swims (literally who even? lmao), Ronnie Milsap, Olivia Lane, and Brandy Clark songs were all awful imo, while the D+S and Lady A tunes were okay but largely unremarkable. Danielle Bradbery's got a great voice but that interlude version of "O Holy Night" was a letdown. She might've made my top 10 if she had done a proper full version of it.
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Post by someguy on Dec 29, 2020 22:29:40 GMT -5
Surprisingly, I really like “Lit This Year”. It’s a fun jam. I wanted to find room for it in my top 10, but I just couldn’t.
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Post by recordyear on Dec 30, 2020 5:29:47 GMT -5
Kassi Ashton still has a terrible voice but at least Hard Candy Christmas doesn't have that bad production. Teddy Swims sounds like poor man's Chris Stapleton (I only know he kinda went viral with Tennessee Whiskey cover on Youtube). Doesn't like the song either. Ronnie Milsap's is quite decent for my type of Christmas music which is slightly jazzy. RaeLynn is female FGL at this point and the song is too juvenile to me. Take Me Home For Christmas sounds like other songs from self-titled album and is quite dull. Olivia Lane's production is fine, but her vocal presence is missing. Brandy Clark's non album singles this year are in bottom of her discography. I get whistles may make people turn off just like Bigger Boat from her newest album but I am fine with it. Lady A's music has got nothing to comment on really. This O Holy Night is so abbreviated and feels rushed. Despite the redneck Christmas vibe which I don't really like, Lit This Year at least did nothing else wrong. This is very good-sounding track from FGL.
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Post by recordyear on Dec 30, 2020 5:33:23 GMT -5
Also definitely unpopular opinion but the two Carrie Underwood's songs overstayed. I feel that if Carrie Underwood doesn't win this then my #1 may actually win this.
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 30, 2020 9:17:17 GMT -5
I can kinda see the comparisons to "Merry Christmas To The Family" to "Lit This Year" but barely. While I LOVE MCTTF I really disliked LTY. I cannot get past FGL's vocals tbh.
Speaking of rough vocals I am surprised to see that "Only Time of Year" did so poorly. I loved that song. Brandy's vocals were a little rough but I really liked the lyrics of the song. Sad many thought that was the worst of the list.
Also, HOW can anyone think Olivia Lane's "Feeling Like Christmas" sounds good. That song was BAD, I almost put it below FGL it was that bad.
I also think Raelynn deserved better. "Jingle Bell Drunk" was fun and I probably would have had it top 10 if someone else sang it (TBH still not the biggest fan of her vocals but I can tolerate them when the song is good, which this one is).
The only song not in my top 10 that made the Top 10 is Terri Clark. Will speak more on that song when it is revealed (which is hopefully soon) but why is it top 10?
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2020 9:37:08 GMT -5
The only song not in my top 10 that made the Top 10 is Terri Clark. Will speak more on that song when it is revealed (which is hopefully soon) but why is it top 10? That would be because Terri Clark deserves to be in the top 10 at all times with everything she touches. Obviously
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Post by tim on Dec 30, 2020 9:43:47 GMT -5
"Jingle Bell Drunk" was probably the most unfairly hated song in this rankdown... I agree that RaeLynn is not the best vocalist, but in the case of this song I am 100% confident that y'all just tanked it because of her voice rather than the song itself. If this was sung by someone like Maren Morris it would have been an easy top 10 contender for its sassy vibe. Actually, her voice was probably the best part of the song. I had to listen to this a few times and with each listen my opinion of it seemed to sway back and forth. The first time I was very meh about it and by the the second time I actually thought it might be a tad bit cute and funny. The feeling wore off pretty quick though as the drum beat-infused production was a turnoff. “Take Me Home for Christmas” was an easy last place for me as Dan + Shay are really starting to wear me thin. I’m not sure if they’ll ever be able to fully crossover though because while they may be a hit making country duo, I have my doubts that they would be just as successful as a pop act. I’m disappointed that “Feeling Like Christmas” didn’t fare better because it ended up being one of my favorite new Christmas songs of the year. I kept finding myself humming the melody in my head throughout the day and overall just think it’s quite infectious. I just tried to look her up but she doesn't have a Wikipedia (Ten Pound Hammer's been slacking...) I actually still follow him on Twitter as he’s always replying to sabre14 ’s tweets. Not surprised by some of the lower rankings for Brandy Clarks “Only Time of Year” as I expected it to be more on the polarizing side. This was another one that grew on me the more I listened to it. The production is quite different from what you’d expect to hear but overall I found it to be rather catchy. I remember Grady Smith giving props to FGL’s “Lit This Year” as he mentioned it being one of the best songs they’ve released all year...and he was right lol! I really wanted to dislike this but I just couldn’t as the concept is great and as bboat11 mentioned is right up there in the same vein as “Merry Christmas From the Family” (I’m partial to the original by Robert Earl Keen though). I’d probably put this one a bit higher on my list now.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2020 9:45:45 GMT -5
^Wait, "Merry Christmas From The Family" is a cover?! I had no idea!
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Post by tim on Dec 30, 2020 9:50:02 GMT -5
^Wait, "Merry Christmas From The Family" is a cover?! I had no idea! Yup lol! Most people always associate Montgomery Gentry’s as the original considering that one likely receives the majority of airplay during the holidays. Robert actually released that song way back in 1994.
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 30, 2020 10:21:30 GMT -5
The only song not in my top 10 that made the Top 10 is Terri Clark. Will speak more on that song when it is revealed (which is hopefully soon) but why is it top 10? That would be because Terri Clark deserves to be in the top 10 at all times with everything she touches. Obviously I usually love Terri Clark but I didn't love the song chosen for this. Its not bad by any means but didn't grab me either. Hopefully the rest of the album is better, never did get around to listening to it this year.
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Post by someguy on Dec 30, 2020 10:26:31 GMT -5
^Wait, "Merry Christmas From The Family" is a cover?! I had no idea! Yup lol! Most people always associate Montgomery Gentry’s as the original considering that one likely receives the majority of airplay during the holidays. Robert actually released that song way back in 1994. I like both of those, but I’m partial to The Chicks’ version. That’s the first one I heard, and I’ve always loved it.
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Post by castleoblivion26 on Dec 30, 2020 10:28:46 GMT -5
Yup lol! Most people always associate Montgomery Gentry’s as the original considering that one likely receives the majority of airplay during the holidays. Robert actually released that song way back in 1994. I like both of those, but I’m partial to The Chicks’ version. That’s the first one I heard, and I’ve always loved it. when did The Chicks cover that song? I've never heard their version. I doubt anyone will top Montgomery Gentry's version for me because it fits them so well, it honestly feels like the song was written for them
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Post by someguy on Dec 30, 2020 10:40:30 GMT -5
I like both of those, but I’m partial to The Chicks’ version. That’s the first one I heard, and I’ve always loved it. when did The Chicks cover that song? I've never heard their version. I doubt anyone will top Montgomery Gentry's version for me because it fits them so well, it honestly feels like the song was written for them They did it with Rosie O’Donnell on Rosie’s second Christmas album Another Rosie Christmas. It was in 2002 I believe.
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Post by bboat11 on Dec 30, 2020 10:42:39 GMT -5
Yeah, I had no idea The Chicks had done it either. I'll have to check it out when I'm done with Martina in a little bit! ;)
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Post by someguy on Dec 30, 2020 10:49:30 GMT -5
when did The Chicks cover that song? I've never heard their version. I doubt anyone will top Montgomery Gentry's version for me because it fits them so well, it honestly feels like the song was written for them They did it with Rosie O’Donnell on Rosie’s second Christmas album Another Rosie Christmas. It was in 2002 I believe. Double checked. It’s actually from 2000.
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Post by Kris Kringle on Dec 30, 2020 11:10:16 GMT -5
I wanted to like "Only Time of Year" just because I love Brandy Clark, but it was sooooooo boring.
On the opposite end, I really wanted to hate "Lit This Year" because of FGL. This song went straight to the bottom of my list as soon as I realized who was singing, but, overtime, it started to grow on me. It's a fun and catchy song.
Teddy Swims is new to me. He did a pretty good version of "Please Come Home for Christmas" and even "Silent Night". I probably wouldn't listen to his music normally, but his voice was good for this one.
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