Are you ready for some Christmas sparkle!! Time to turn up Christmas with these tunes!

The Submissions this year were fantastic and you really need to give yourself a tour of the Submissions playlist. . I vouch for these songs making hours on a highway pass like mere mintues!

Without further ado …

The nominees for 2022 Christmas Carol of the Year are …

• Christmas Prelude – Trey Ivey – pure Christmassy Christmas!
• It’s Christmas Again – Lawson Touliatos – a Westend take on Christmas
• The Greatest Gift – Andrea, Matteo, Virginia Bocelli – What’s Christmas without a Bocelli?
• Who Could’ve Dreamed – Jason Crabb – THAT. VOICE. Da pipes I tell you!
• Hope is Here (Do Not Fear) – Building 429, Terrain – WHOA! Listen loud you’ll be transported to another galaxy!

Nominees for 2022 CCOTY ‘KiDs cHoiCe’ are …

• Funky Funky Christmas – Electric Jungle – Pure funky joy!
• Christmas Joy – Brandon Camphor & One Way – Pure happiness!
• The REASON – Lord Badu, Scribe Music – Pure join-in-ability
• Unto Us – Ryan Ellis – Sing it, Ryan!
• When Christmas Comes to Town – Virginia Bocelli – Pure disney magic

Nominees for Best Christmas Duet are …

• Angels we have Heard on High – Josh Groban & Brian McKnight – Duet of the century?
• O Come all Ye Faithful – Mariah & Patricia Carey – Duet or One-up-manship? You decide!
• My Christmas Prayer – Bebe Winans & Rob Thomas – Nice one Bebe & Rob. On repeat.

Need a tour of selectred submissions? Check out down below!

Tips for your BEST CCOTY experience!

• Get GOOD speakers (and give it some volume – you want to hear every bit!)
• Purge cynics from your surroundings (Zero grinch policy – unless they are on the verge of enlightenment. NB: No cynics were harmed in the collation of these CCOTY finalists)
• Listen to the ENTIRE song! (Are these songs full of suprises? YES THEY ARE! Like many of the submissions were too. Do yourself a favour!)

Spotify lists are below, YOUTUBE playlists are on the blogsite (on the right and up if you’re on your computer.)

Voting Opens on Thursday, December 15!

The Submissions Tour you never knew you needed!

Hope is Here (Do Not Fear) (Building 429, Terrian).

Did you hear about the holiday-themed sequel to ‘The Greatest Showman,’ currently in development for Broadway?? That bit is (happily) a lie but…this festive offering would definitely not feel out of place if such a musical existed. This is a big number with ALL the bells, whistles, production values and smoke machines (probably). This reviewer had never heard of Building 429 before but if these vocal acrobatics and powerhouse arrangements are what can be found there, one can only imagine what might await us all in Building 430 – a naturally-occurring, glitter-infused snowstorm, perhaps? It’s festive, it’s loud, it features more than one drum kit. It’s fun!!  – JR

Go Tell it On the Mountain (Gordon Mote).

Give this one a chance!! If you are wondering when the vocals come in, they don’t. But this turns out to be a wise choice because a vocalist may have struggled to match the joyful urgency of the lyrics, ‘go tell it on the mountain!’ to this relaxed and bluesy arrangement without sounding a bit lackadaisical. It’s more, ‘go tell it on the mountain…but let your dinner settle first…’ I suppose this wars against the lyrical heart of this song but it’s a lovely instrumental. – JR

O Holy Night (Samara Joy feat. The McLendon Family).

Samara Joy makes this much-loved, glorious carol an absolute pleasure to listen to because of her exquisite vocals. At first, her tone is what draws all of the attention. Is that Billie? Ella? Nope, it’s Samara! Welcome, pleased to meet you. The harmonies provided by the McLendon crew are beautifully unhurried and never overpowering. This is the kind of carol we get when auto-tune is left outside in the snow – sometimes a tiny bit strident but always authentic and human. Feels like you’re in the room with them (if you were really very lucky). – JR

The Greatest Gift (Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, Virginia Bocelli). 

Pretty safe to say that not every family trio would sound like this together. The Bocellis Three deliver the most quintessentially Christmas song to grace the festive season for some time (even if it does sound the teeniest bit like the Jurassic Park soundtrack at times). 10 year old Virginia Bocelli is the first person we hear but it is her older brother, Matteo (25) that opens this song. At first, we wonder, could that be Andrea? He’s sounding young for a 64 year old…but then Andrea finishes a phrase where his son leaves off and we know, undoubtedly, that he has now entered the building. This song fits a snowy, choral-supported Christmas perfectly. There is no mistaking this for a song released any old time of the year (except maybe as part of a Winter Olympic’s opening or closing ceremony). As Christmas songs go, it’s perfect. 5 stars, would recommend. – JR

Favourite Part of Christmas (Stan Walker).

Our favourite part of this song is Stan Walker’s unmistakable and effortless talent. The end. – JR

Joy to the World (Chicago Mass Choir)

Wow! Straight to the pool room for this one! Gospel might not be your jam, but pause and appreciate this unique arrangement and punchy rhythm section. You won’t regret it. This will be a CCOTY Faves rotation star! – AS

O Come All Ye Faithful/Hallelujah Chorus (Mariah Carey, Patricia Carey).

You don’t have to like it but it is difficult not to respect the talent on show here! This gem has stuck around for many a year of CCOTY and deservedly so. While there may be some debate over whether this is really a duet (or simply a featured vocal from Patricia while Mariah draws breath), the Oxford Dictionary defines a duet as, ‘a performance of two singers, instrumentalists, or dancers.’ So, the boffins at Oxford say, ‘yes,’ this is a duet. And anyhow, perhaps Patricia was interpretive dancing while Mariah sang? We may never know for sure. This is a classic for a reason. – JR

That Special Time of Year (Reggie & Layde Love Smith)

Give this one time. It will grow on you. And the subtle ripping guitar and smooth vocal and harmonies will have you cruising into Christmas with serious style. We admit – it’s tidy. Almost too tidy. But neat little packages under the tree are never unwanted! – AS

Joy to the World (The Bonner Family)

That’s it. We’re inviting the Bonner Family over for Christmas!! A happy take on Joy to the World with a masterful joy-inducing electric guitar reveal at 2 minutes and 10 seconds. You know you love it. Enjoyment plus! – AS

Christmas Joy (Brandon Camphor & One Way)

Come on! This is too happy! If you’re not tapping your toes and playing air bass guitar to this one – there’s something seriously wrong! Pro-tip: If you need to get some Christmas jobs done – this will help – if you’re not too busy tapping your toes and playing air bass guitar that is. -AS