This week’s extra festive New Music Friday single and album releases appear at the bottom of the page, but first, a few highlights…
There’s another flurry of festive-themed releases this week, led by a brand-new version of Mariah Carey’s 2010 track Oh Santa! featuring Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson. Could it manage a Christmas miracle and outperform Mariah’s festive classic?
Other new Christmas-themed tracks release this week include Ella Henderson’s Blame It On The Mistletoe with AJ Mitchell, a Christmas EP from US alt-pop star Poppy, a disco-flecked cover of My Favourite Things by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and an entire Christmas album from Chris Kamara.
MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2020 so far
One of the biggest breakout artists of the year – Yungblud - has gone big on his new album Weird, by which we mean it’s packed with big melodies and even bigger choruses. Early singles Weird and Strawberry Lipstick are good indicators for what to expect from the record, in that each track will take you by surprise. Read our chat with Yungblud about the album here.
Shawn Mendes’ fourth album arrives off the back of two Top 40 hits: Wonder and Monster ft. Justin Bieber. The musician said he has “tried to be as real and as honest as [he’s] ever been” before, so expect a collection of deeply personal songs. Shawn’s last two albums peaked at Number 3 on the Official Albums Chart; could this be the one that goes all the way to the top? Check out Shawn’s Official Top 10 biggest songs here.
Deluxe editions of albums are all the rage in December – those out this week include the ‘finale’ edition of Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, and special editions of Britney Spears’ Glory (featuring two previously unreleased songs), Rina Sawayama’s debut album SAWAYAMA, and Blossoms' Foolish Loving Spaces.
