You can tell that 2021 is just going to be as fucked up as last year. Why? Because we have already heard what the great soothsayer Nostradamus has said (Zombie apocalypse, asteroids, and famine. If you didn’t know.), and there’s a fucking Christmas-themed album at No.1 on New Year’s Day! I mean, how fucking depressing is that when we have only just finished celebrating Christmas not that long ago! I was thoroughly depressed listening to the album to review, knowing that it’s another 350 odd days until Christmas day again.

As you know, Michael Bublé is a French-Canadian singer who has been around for quite some time now and usually performs quite regularly for the BBC in England, be it on radio or television. I believe he has even performed at Last Night of the Proms. He scored his first No.1 album in 2007 with “Call Me Irresponsible” among several charts in Europe, Australia, The United Kingdom, America, and his native Canada.

“Christmas” was released a decade ago, and funnily enough, it was also no.1 on New Year’s Day in 2012. It is one of the most critically acclaimed Christmas albums of all time. In 2012, it won a Juno Award for the album of 2011. You would have thought that nine years after its initial release, it wouldn’t generate the sales to be number one a decade later. Still, it appears that “Christmas” was bought for household-only gatherings and family members as a present, making this possible.

Michael puts his slant on Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas is You” and has fun with the jazz band on “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”. “Silent Night” is another standout with its elementary yet melancholic tones, and if you want to smile and laugh, then “Santa Baby” is for you with its male point of view. There’s room for a duet with another Canadian artist, Shania Twain. Their rendition of “White Christmas” is something to behold, and you will get tingles listening to it.

This classic Michael Bublé album will bring him another generation of fans who may not have discovered him yet. This album is uplifting, sometimes melancholic, and full of smiles and laughs. If it was on the build-up to Christmas or it was Christmas, I would undoubtedly be in the mood to enjoy it more. It’s a bit shit hearing an album based around Christmas when it has already been and gone. I tend not to go out of my way to listen to Christmas albums unless I happen to be at a party or writing reviews where the album of the week is about the theme. So, I can’t say if I would classify this as my favourite Christmas album as I don’t listen to them.

However, towards the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, I listened to my fair share due to writing reviews and enjoyed them. This is up there with Michael Ball & Alfie Boe’s for me. Why? Because they are both full of humour. It could well be that Bublé’s album inspired Michael and Alfie. Those who love Christmas will find this appropriate for Christmas parties (If we can have them in the new year and beyond.), listening in the car, unwrapping presents, Christmas dinner, or just relaxing by the fire while drinking mulled wine or egg nog. What an album to review to start the new year, eh? So, I will very sarcastically wish you all a Merry Christmas. It’s going to be another fucked up year, so I might as well. Remember, there are only three more lockdowns until Christmas.

Song recommendations: “White Christmas”, “All I Want for Christmas is You”, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”

8/10