Written By Kate Baron

Have you noticed shopping advertisements doubling in their usual allure, especially because of their new festive jingles? Have you entertained carolers at your front door yet, whether they came with tinkling traditional instruments or booming karaoke machines? In Michael Bublé’s (slightly modified) words, is it beginning to sound a lot like Christmas?

If you’re not quite at that point yet although you want to be, then we may have an early present for you. Just choose which mood you think best captures your holiday season so far, and we’ll suggest a tune to add to your playlist and hopefully complete your desired Christmas vibe for the better!

Feeling fun and festive? Play: “Butter (Holiday Remix)” by BTS.

The worldwide impact of the Korean boy band, BTS, has spread smoothly this year as well, much like one of their latest releases, “Butter”. In true BTS fashion, the seven members have had the public side-stepping right and left to their beat, with their English single pulling in millions of plays across streaming platforms and a Grammy nomination for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance”, among many other achievements. 7 months after its release, “Butter” remains as versatile as the ingredient it was named after. The latest “Butter (Holiday Remix)” is a carol-pop version of the track, still breaking into your heart with fresh beats but livened anew with holiday cheer, so you can keep letting it roll even as the season melts from hotter summer to a cooler shade.

Lovestruck by your significant other? Play: “Bibingka” by Ben&Ben.

While we’re on food-related music, hear us out: are we truly Filipino if we don’t consider food as one of our love languages? Food can be the perfect product of generous love when you pour your heart and soul into cooking up a special dish for your lover. Even if you simply buy it, food is no less romantic as a gift because it would still be a vessel for something special: new, shared memories. The Filipino nine-piece band, Ben&Ben, seems to agree, even suggesting to up the ante during the holiday season when they sing, “Ang sabi nila, ‘Bilhan mo na siya ng bibingka’, dahil ikaw na ang aking tadhana.” Indulging in the warm fluff of bibingka on a chilly dawn with that special person worth your every simbang gabi wish, angelic voices accompanied by soft piano and strings playing in the background? Now that is irreplaceable, so forget the invisible red string; this Christmas, we’re here for the rice cake of fate!

Got those homesick blues? Play: “Hallway Weather” by Niki.

“When do you know somewhere is home?” asks Niki in her melancholic Christmas song, “Hallway Weather”. The Indonesian singer-songwriter’s musical prowess is certainly evidenced by her poignant lyrics and genre-breaking sound, yet she’s more like us ordinary folks than you may think. When the pandemic hit, her relationship with music took a hit too, so she penned “Hallway Weather” to remember why she loves her craft in the first place: it’s one of the few places where she feels most like her genuine self. It’s somewhere she knows she can always come back to, no matter how far she wanders or how long she feels lost—it’s a place to call home. Hopefully, this tune serves as a similar reminder for you because whether you’re a fantasist or a lone ghost, you deserve your Christmas to be even just a hair less tragic.

Cherishing the simple things? Play: “That’s Christmas to Me” by Pentatonix.

“That’s Christmas to Me” by Pentatonix is an a capella piece lovingly embellished with not only soulful harmonies but also the vocal group’s own memories of the holiday. It’s a song that makes us think that perhaps what makes Christmas truly beautiful is just how many things it can mean to different people. We remember that there’s so much to cherish in our lives — family and togetherness, joy and affection, the light of a new morning… Even if the holiday season may look quite different than we’d expected this time around, we can still make the most out of it. If one thing simply must stay the same, then let it be as Pentatonix croons: “And then for years to come, we’ll always know one thing: that’s the love that Christmas can bring.”

Featured Image by Elissa Cirio