New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Beloved traditions are made to be respectfully subverted, and that's the spirit behind Carols Covered-an exclusive-to-Apple
Music collection of familiar Christmas and holiday songs with a distinctive twist, delivered by some of 2020's standout artists. Produced by Apple Music's team of world-class experts and tastemakers, these artists offer their own personal twist on classic holiday songs. The complete "Carols Covered" lineup includes: beabadoobee's "Winter Wonderland,"
James Blake's "In the Bleak Midwinter," Fivio Foreign's "Baddie on My Wishlist," FLETCHER's "Silent Night," GIVĒON's "O Christmas Tree," Mickey Guyton's "O Holy Night," Jax Jones's "Ave Maria,"
Victoria Monét's "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," Ozuna's "Feliz Navidad," and Arlo Parks's "Last Christmas."
Ozuna on the cultural importance of "
Feliz Navidad":
"Really, it is generational. I think it's a song that we are taught from a very young age to listen to in our Christmas tradition."
Victoria Monét on why she covered "
We Wish You A Merry Christmas":
"You know what, I think that I just wanted to really ... because I wish so badly that everyone has a really good, easy transition into next year. Finally some solace, finally some happiness and still able to make some memories. So I genuinely just wanted to say that to everyone. And the song says it so many times. I was like, oh, that's perfect. I can wish everyone a Merry Christmas via song, and quite literally. I did a little spin on the end of the song where the lyrics are a bit different and very reflective of how I feel about 2020. And it's just a quick
Victoria Monét rendition of it to add something else. But I really just wanted to say, I really genuinely hope that everyone has a good holiday because we've really gone through it."
Arlo Parks on the significance around her "
Last Christmas" cover:
"This song is actually the first song I ever learned on guitar. So it's got a special place in my heart, and I really wanted to do something that kind of stripped it back and revealed how kind of hurt and tender this song is. And it's always been my favorite Christmas song."
James Blake about deciding to take on "In The Bleak Midwinter":
"We need a Christmas pop tune. This isn't that. But I love this song and there's something... I don't actually know. Is it an English poet who wrote the original?Whether it is or not, it reminds me a lot of England. I have a huge fondness for choral music, Anglican church spiritual vibes, even though I'm not particularly religious. There's something very appealing to me about the feeling I get from classical choral music. And I loved it when
Jeff Buckley did that cover "Corpus Christi." In the back of my mind, there's always been a thing where I've got to tackle something. Look man, all the pop Christmas songs have been covered a million times. I'm not going to out-sing Mariah."
