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Stray Kids' "Christmas EveL" reminds us of how fun K-pop Christmas songs can be

Stray Kids' "Christmas EveL" has unexpectedly become one of my fave K-pop releases of 2021.

By Kat WalcottPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 4 min read
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K-pop boy group Stray Kids in a promotional photo for special holiday single album "Christmas EveL." Photo credit: JYP Entertainment

The announcement of Stray Kids' Christmas single came as a huge suprise to me. The eight-member ensemble has never released a holiday song before and I really had no idea what to expect. However, as soon as the teaser for "Christmas EveL" dropped earlier this month, I knew I was going to like it. What I didn't know though was that the song would end up being one of my favourite K-pop releases of the entire year. The track, which serves as the title song of the four-track single album of the same name, is brilliantly fun and an exceptional example of how experimental and interesting K-pop can be when it comes to Christmas songs.

Christmas music for the most part is quite formulaic and is usually not really my cup of tea unless an artist does something really out there. This is quite rare since almost all Christmas songs are either covers or use very similar melodies, instrumentation, motifs, and even lyrics. And that's not to bash the genre of course–Christmas music sells incredibly well (Mariah Carey anyone?) and the repeated soundscapes is what gives them the "Christmas feel" in the first place and makes them comforting–this video by Vox is really fascinating and explains the phenomenon well.

What's exciting though is when an artist can take these overused themes and motifs, flip them on their heads, and make something totally unique, yet still recognizably "Christmassy." K-pop acts overall have managed to do this, to varying degrees, over the years and Stray Kids' latest release is the cherry on top of my "K-pop Christmas" cake. And by "cake" I mean playlist.

There was a period back in the early days of 3rd gen K-pop when Christmas releases were all the rage. EXO really set the stage with their three chart-topping holiday albums, marketed as "special winter" EPs, that they released in 2013, 2015 and 2017 respectively. The song "Christmas Day" from their 2013 winter EP Miracles in December remains one of my all time fave holiday tracks. The vocals and the suspender choreo were just...*chef's kiss.*

Other notable releases include Girls' Generation sub-unit TaeTiSeo's "Dear Santa." Serving as the title track of their 2015 Christmas EP of the same name, the song was their "All I Want for Christmas is You" moment with a gorgeous, slow ballad intro that leads into a cheerful and bright track that absolutely screams Christmas.

Though never branded as "Christmas releases," I also want to point out that a lot of IU's music from 2010 to 2013 is very whimsical and wintery sounding. I have both "Good Day" and "You & I" on my "Christmas K-pop" playlist. 2011's "You & I" in particular has such a rich, theatrical, Christmas musical feel to it and it's one of my absolute favourite songs by her.

If we're talking experimental though, Crayon Pop's 2013 song "Lonely Christmas," released six months after their viral hit "Bar Bar Bar," is what comes to mind. Sonically, the song is essentially a "Christmasfied" version of "Bar Bar Bar" with a very similar structure and the bridge being a direct reference to the viral hit. The disco-inspired instrumental is brilliantly zany and contrasts with the sad lyrics about feeling lonely on Christmas. This in fact was the only other song I thought of when I first heard Stray Kids' "Christmas EveL."

Like Crayon Pop eight years before them, Stray Kids managed to perfectly marry their signature sound and overall theme with classic Christmas motifs to create something that is 100% them. The deep bass and the rapid-fire rapping by Changbin, Hyunjin and Han in the verses, followed by the really melodic, ascending bridge makes "Christmas EveL" fit in perfectly with the rest of Stray Kids' discography. It's not the "sore thumb" of their discography which a lot of the more forgettable Christmas releases end up being for the artists who release them. Also, can we also talk about the lyrics for a second? Because the boys complaining about the cold, wet weather and the winter season being kind of miserable is SO relatable.

Stray Kids' "Christmas EveL" is the first true Christmas song I've been intrigued and excited by in a while and I would love to see the group make this an annual thing. I'm really excited to see who else ends up releasing Christmas songs this season and can only hope they match up to Stray Kids' masterpiece.

Below are more of my Christmas K-pop recommendations. Do note that not all of these were actually branded as "Christmas songs," but they sound Christmassy/wintery to me!

"Christmas K-pop" playlist:

  • "Christmas EveL" - Stray Kids'
  • "Christmas Day" - EXO
  • "24 to 25" - Stray Kids
  • "Twenty Four" - EXO
  • "One of Those Nights" - Red Velvet
  • "From Home (Rearranged version)" - NCT U
  • "I.O.U" - NCT U
  • "Winter Heat" - EXO
  • "Dear Santa" - Girls' Generation - TTS
  • "Miracle" - GOT7
  • "Christmassy" - The Boyz
  • "Good Day" - IU
  • "You & I" - IU
  • "Lonely Christmas" - Crayon Pop

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About the Creator

Kat Walcott

Writer of all things but especially K-pop and other sectors of pop culture.

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