25 beloved holiday albums to rediscover this winter

Under the Mistletoe – Justin Bieber

When you’re one of the hottest young stars in the world fresh off a hit debut album, what can you possibly do to best capitalize off that success? Release a Christmas album, of course! And that’s exactly what Justin Bieber did in 2011 with his star-studded album Under the Mistletoe, featuring collabs with Usher, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey (on a “SuperFestive!” remix of “AIWFCIY”), Busta Rhymes, The Band Perry, and a whole bunch of amazing producers and songwriters.

Under the Mistletoe features a lot of originals for a holiday album, most of which Justin co-wrote, like “Only Thing I Ever Get for Christmas”, “Mistletoe”, and “Fa La La” (which features Boyz II Men). And of course, you always expect the covers, but many of them had a unique spin on them. Justin’s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” samples The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and “ABC.” “Drummer Boy” was his version of “Little Drummer Boy,” featuring a synth beat and raps from Bieber and Busta Rhymes. This isn’t your grandmother’s Christmas carol, that is for sure!

Not surprisingly, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, making him the first male artist to do so with a Christmas album, and became his third album to go platinum, following his debut album My World and the remix compilation album Never Say Never: The Remixes. This album also helped Bieber become the first solo artist to have three #1 albums before even turning 18. That’s one Christmas present that money can’t buy — well, other people’s money bought it, because they bought the album, but you get it.