25 beloved holiday albums to rediscover this winter
Someday at Christmas – Jackie Evancho
From a beautiful voice of the past, to a beautiful voice of the present. Jackie Evancho is only 18 years old, but has been commanding the spotlight for almost ten years now. The classical crossover singer put her beautiful vocals to work on Christmas songs years ago, with her first Christmas album Heavenly Christmas in 2011 and the EP O Holy Night in 2010. If you’re keeping count, she was only like 10 years old at the time.
For her second attempt at a Christmas album, 2016’s Someday at Christmas, the young singer enlisted some big names to help her out, like Placido Domingo (“Guardian Angels” and “Pie Jesu”), YouTube acapella singer Peter Hollens (“Hallelujah”), and Il Volo (“Little Drummer Boy”). Some of the songs were previously recorded songs while some were completely new, like the title track “Someday at Christmas”.
Some of the other songs Jackie touched with her magical voice were “Do You Hear What I Hear”, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”, “The Christmas Song”, and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. Even at such a young age, she manages to give these songs that hint of nostalgia that only the best vocalists can manage to do. Like I’ve said many times already, modern pop Christmas albums are fun, but nothing will beat a classical rendition like Jackie Evancho, Il Volo, or Josh Groban.
Someday at Christmas got rave reviews from critics, all of whom praised her incredible vocal range and the sweeping orchestrations of the songs. Since many of us have been following her career since she was a child, it’s also interesting to see how much her voice has matured over the years, which is perfectly showcased on the Christmas standards.