Photos: Epic

A few weeks ago, there was speculation that Mariah Carey would be releasing new holiday music to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her iconic album, 1994’s Merry Christmas. While it turns out that a new record out this holiday season, there will be a special edition version of the fan-favorite featuring bonus tracks — including a brand-new, festive rendition of the “Sugar Plum Fairy”!

Additionally, Mariah will be embarking on the All I Want For Christmas Is You Tour presented by Hallmark Channel and produced by Live Nation. This limited engagement concert tour will be coming to select cities across the U.S. this winter following a slate of dates at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which I mentioned in my post over the summer.

Photo: Eric McCandless

It’s going to be quite the merry season for Idina Menzel because, not only does she have Frozen II coming out in November, the Tony winner announced today that she’ll release a second Christmas album, Christmas: A Season of Love, on October 18th!

Menzel will be joined by a slew of talented singers on the record–including her Frozen voice co-star Josh Gad on “We Wish You the Merriest”; Ariana Grande will join Menzel on “A Hand for Mrs. Claus,” Tony and Emmy winner Billy Porter will duet on “I Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” and Menzel will be joined by her husband Aaron Lohr on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. The couple have previously starred together in the musical productions of Rent and See What I Wanna See.

Photos: Sony Music Entertainment

After announcing that she was making a Christmas album earlier this summer, Lea Michele officially announced her first solo holiday record, CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY!

The former Glee actress has recorded several Christmas albums for the hit FOX television series, but this it the first time she’s been able to create her own collection filled with renditions of her favorite seasonal classics, including “Silver Bells”, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from Disney’s Frozen.

“It was always my dream to make a Christmas record,” Michele, exclusively told PEOPLE. “Christmas is so special to me. It’s such an important time of year for me and my family that I have so many incredible memories from.”

Photo: CBS

She & Him announced yesterday that they will be embarking on a holiday tour this December to sing Christmas classics across North America.

The indie pop/folk duo comprised of actress/musician Zooey Deschanel — known for her beloved role as Jovie in 2003’s “Elf” — and musician M. Ward, will hit the road for the Christmas Party Tour 2019, which is named after their second Christmas album that was released in October 2018.

“We’re so excited to announce that we will be playing holiday shows again this December! In addition to returning for shows in LA and the Bay Area, we’ll be coming to the East Coast for shows in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and New Haven,” the duo said in an Instagram statement.

(l-r) Matt Sallee, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado and Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix. | Photo: RCA

This past Thursday, the a capella supergroup Pentatonix began a holiday-related teaser countdown that had us all eager about a new album or a possible tour… well, we’re getting both!

All was revealed this morning when the three-time Grammy® Award-winning and multi-platinum selling group announced a greatest hits holiday album, The Best of Pentatonix Christmas, as well as a 16-date nationwide Christmas tour — A Pentatonix Christmas 2019 Tour!

Beginning on November 30th, PTX’s Kevin Olusola, Kirstin Maldonado, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Matt Sallee will visit places like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Fairfax, Sugar Land, and more, to spread Christmas cheer with their renditions of holiday classics and a few original songs!

(l-r) Zac Hanson, Taylor Hanson & Isaac Hanson. | Photo: 3CG Records

Get your jingle bells ready because, HANSON is going on a Christmas concert tour!

The celebrated sibling pop rock trio, known for their chart-topping 1990’s infectious hit “MMMBop,” will be hitting the road this holiday season where they’ll bring the 2019 Wintry Mix Tour to select cities across North America.

The tour, which kicks off in late November and runs until the week of Christmas, will feature an eclectic mix of Christmas and holiday classics, fan favorites and the live preview of brand new music from the band’s forthcoming 7th studio album, set for release in 2020.

(l-r) Kevin Olusola, Kirstin Maldonado, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Matt Sallee of Pentatonix. | Photo: NBC

It might be safe to say that more holiday music from Pentatonix is on the way!

In what has become somewhat of a tradition, the a cappella super group appears to be getting ready to release new Christmas music. Earlier today they posted a throwback to pictures from their Christmas tour last year and mentioned, ‘It’s never too early to get into the holiday spirit… right?’

Several hours later, they posted a half completed graphic that simply says “MONDAY” on it with, what looks like, a snow falling motif. The PTX Twitter included a link to Comingsoon.PTXofficial.com, which takes you to a landing page with a partial Christmas tree graphic.

PTX previously released the albums: “PTXmas” (2012), “That’s Christmas to Me” (2014), “A Pentatonix Christmas” (2016), and “Christmas Is Here!” (2018) followed by holiday tours to support each record. They’ve also hosted two NBC holiday specials, 2017’s “A Very Pentatonix Christmas” and 2018’s “Pentatonix: A Not So Silent Night”.

Could it be new music? A holiday tour? Both? I guess we’ll find out on Monday, September 16th.

As always — I’ll keep you posted.

Stay merry!

ABC

ABC has officially announced the lineup for the annual music event, “CMA Country Christmas”!

This year, Country superstar Trisha Yearwood will host the 10th annual holiday event, which is set to air on the ABC network with performances from Kristin Chenoweth, for KING & COUNTRY, Chris Janson, Tori Kelly, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Runaway June, CeCe Winans, Brett Young and Chris Young.

In addition to her hosting duties, Yearwood will also perform on the Christmas special, taking the stage for a night filled with Christmas classics and festive one-of-a-kind collaborations.

“Music, memories and enjoying the season with loved ones are what make Christmastime so special,” says Yearwood. “Hosting ‘CMA Country Christmas’ is an opportunity to share joy and celebrate the holidays with friends and family everywhere.”

“CMA Country Christmas” will be taped on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Tickets went on sale last Friday, September 6th, and they’re still available at CMAChristmas.com/tickets.

Stay merry!

Photo: Kayla Schoen/CMA

Martina McBride has turned her The Joy of Christmas Tour into a holiday tradition — she’s bringing the show back on the road for its ninth season this fall with 14 stops across the country!

“This show is so much fun to do,” McBride said in the official press release. “We have everything from classic hymns like ‘O Holy Night’ to fun, big band swing classics like ‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town.’  It’s all a very visual, the songs are well-loved, and you leave with a warm feeling. I love to think of entire families, from grandparents to grandchildren, enjoying The Joy Of Christmas. It’s really a show for the whole family.”

Photo: Rhino

Legendary rock band, Chicago, are gearing up for the holiday season by planning the release of their upcoming album, CHICAGO CHRISTMAS!

The Christmas album will be the band’s 37th album — and the fourth in their holiday collection. You can find a tracklist below, which will include classics like “Sleigh Ride” (previously heard on 2011’s Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Thee) and “Here We Come A Caroling” as well as original songs: “All Over the World”, “(Because) It’s Christmastime”, and “I’m Your Santa Claus”. The album also features R&B and ballad versions of “Merry Christmas, I Love You,” a song that founding member Lee Loughnane wrote with John Durrill of The Ventures.