25 beloved holiday albums to rediscover this winter

Simply Christmas – Leslie Odom Jr.

Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr. was having one of the biggest years of his career after winning the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the smash hit Hamilton, and what better way to top that off by releasing a Christmas album?

Unlike a lot of the albums already on this list, Leslie wanted to do his album differently. He wanted to have a more unique sound, saying in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, “I didn’t want it to be sullen. But I don’t think the album was really ever cheerful.” He decided that he wanted to do his own jazz interpretations of Christmas standards. The album features eight songs — all covers, no originals — including “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “First Noel”, and “Ave Maria”. Leslie also covered “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music and “Merry Christmas Darling” by The Carpenters.

Fans had been asking Leslie to release a Christmas album for years, and they weren’t disappointed when they heard Simply Christmas. He treated them once again the next year, in 2017, when he re-issued the album with four new songs, one of which is “Edelweiss” (also from The Sound of Music) featuring his wife, fellow Broadway star Nicolette Robinson.

Simply Christmas is exactly what the name implies: simple. Leslie lets his voice shine on pulled back piano arrangements and slowed down, jazzy covers. He doesn’t need the big orchestras or the ever-present jingle bells to make his Christmas album stand out from everyone else, he just needs to show off his talent, and that he does!