Ariana Grande - Christmas & Chill

Ariana Grande released her 2015 “Christmas & Chill” EP almost exactly nine years ago on December 18, 2015. Since then, it has become a cult Christmas classic amongst her fans. At a mere 13 minutes, it features trap R&B, classic pop balladry, and even a tropical acoustic pop song that Jason Mraz could have made. Throughout the project, the “Wicked” star sings about love, lust, and being with her boyfriend during Christmas. It’s really a bunch of love songs that just happen to be set in Christmas, with minimal instrumental and lyrical references to the holiday season.

Despite being recorded in just a week, the production value is excellent while the lyrics are pointed and clever. Grande’s voice soars on the romantic pop ballad “Not Just On Christmas”, a highlight in the project. My personal favorite on the album is “True Love”, a perfect time capsule of the trap R&B music that dominated the mid and late 2010s decade. It perfectly displays the vocal dexterity that led to so many Mariah Carey comparisons early in her career. At times raunchy, the project served as a preview of the maturity she would display on her 2016 opus “Dangerous Woman”.

“Christmas & Chill” often gets overshadowed by Grande’s 2014 modern Christmas classic “Santa Tell Me”, which continues to scale the charts every December. However, what is special about this project is that it has minor nods to Christmas and can thus be played year-round if you wanted to. After releasing her latest hit album “Eternal Sunshine”, Grande has now transitioned into becoming a bankable Hollywood actress after the recent success of her “Wicked” film. Whether she remains in music is yet to be seen but I wouldn’t be surprised if she dons the reindeer antlers again and cranks out another Christmas album in the near future!