Top Christmas songs that have been recycled to death

Published 16 December 2014 ● Last Updated on 6 April 2021

If you happened to be in Singapore in early November and walked around on Orchard road, you could already see shops lit up with sparkling Christmas decorations, traditional cookies (yes those that forever remain on the hips) and brightly coloured adverts urging you to start splashing out money on gifts!

Now that December is here, the mood has become even more festive.

None of the frenzy would be complete without every radio station, advert and music channel seemingly playing Christmas songs on repeat. It’s great for the first few days or so; listening to Don’t You Know It’s Christmas whilst driving home in your car after a long day’s work can really get you into the mood for some family time. But by the time actual Christmas Eve/Day comes around, one is usually tired of these songs, and literally counting the days until they stop playing over and over again. What’s worse is that bands seem to have lost all their sense of originality; why can’t anyone come up with a new Christmas song? Why do bands and musicians insist on recycling old Christmas songs to death? Don’t know what I’m talking about? No worries, I’ve got three radio-kill examples for you right here!

White Christmas (Bing Crosby)

White Christmas does really bring home the holiday feeling. Its quiet sense of nostalgia and longing encapsulates the spirit of Christmas: Reminiscing about your own childhood and the uncontainable excitement on the night of the 24^th of December; the longing for loving hours spent with family and friends, laughing and sharing unforgettable moments. Crosby’s deep voice touched the world in the 1940s and offered comfort to all those affected by World War II. Apparently various other bands and musicians figured they could do the same for their generation and so, White Christmas can be heard from the likes of Elvis Presley (1957), Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (1963), Willie Nelson (1979), New Kids on the Block (1989), Neil Diamond (1992) and even Lady Gaga (2011).

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (Brenda Lee)

There are so many cheesy Christmas songs out there it’s always nice to even them out with some rockin’ tunes to get you in the mood for mince-pies, mistletoe-fantasies and secret-Santas. Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree offers the perfect alternative! Believe it or not, she was only thirteen years old when she recorded this in 1958! With this song, Brenda really knew how to get people feeling jolly – no wonder so many people decided to recycle this song! Here is a list of people who brought us their own versions of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: Cyndi Lauper (1998), LeAnn Rimes (2004), Chicago (2011), Bella Thorne (2012) and II Volo (2013).

All I Want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey)

This can definitely be classified as a Christmas-Love-Song; the focus might be on Santa and Christmas Trees but the real subject of the song is spending these special holidays with your boo, frolicking in the snow and cuddling up in front of the fireplace. It was a top hit when it was released by Mariah Carey in 1994; The New Yorker noted the song to be “one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon”. Suffice to say, plenty of other artists decided to hop on to the same holiday canon with their own spins on the song. These artists include: Shania Twain (1998), Miley Cyrus (2007), John Mayer (2008), Michael Bublé (2011), Cee Lo Green (2012) and The Electrical Fire (2013).

Let’s see who will be providing the best latest version of these songs!

– Roxanne

One recent Christmas song recycling that caught the attention of Secondsguru was the November 2014 cover version of the Band Aid Classic “Do they know its Christmas?”- in its fourth avatar. The original song was recorded in 1984 for the relief of the famine in Ethiopia, then in 1989 and 2004 for famine relief in all of Africa. Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure have come together once again to produce this 2014 version. The Band Aid 30 as it is called, has vocals from stalwarts like, Bono, Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Sam Smith, Chris Martin, Rita Ora, Bastille, Ellie Goulding and Emeli Sande. All proceeds from the sales are to be donated for the fight against Ebola in West Africa. Now, that is really a worthwhile reason to recycle a song, even if for the 4th time! Band Aid 30 has got massive support (as well its own share of critics) and made it as 2014’s fastest selling single in addition to being on the top of the Official Singles Charts in the last week of November 2014.

– Lara