Queermas: LGBTQ+ Christmas Songs to Add to Your Playlists

By Laurine Payet, Music Journalist

It is the time of the year where we get our Christmas jumpers out and dream about drinking mulled wine next to the fireplace. However, this cannot happen without some good festive songs. While Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ is the unavoidable tune of the holiday season, many artists try every year to make the new Christmas anthem. We selected our favourite Christmas songs written or performed by queer artists. It might be a celebration of queer love during the holiday, or a simple melody honouring that time of the year, we all need the queer soundtrack of our Christmas.

two queens in a king sized bed – girl in red

“Two queens in a king-sized bed, there's no mistletoe above our heads but I'll kiss you anyway, on Christmas day.”

As she pictures her and her lover staying in bed forever, Marie Ulven, also known as girl in red, started the Christmas season on a romantic note. The song, released last year, was a change from the singer’s acoustic debuts and sets a warm and welcoming Christmas-y atmosphere in our holiday playlists. She surprised her fans with a soft and cloudy voice on an electro-pop piano track.

Christmas Song – Phoebe Bridgers

“You don't have to be alone to be lonesome. It's easy to forget the sadness comes crashin' like a brick through the window and it's Christmas so no one can fix it.”

‘Christmas Song’ is a revisit of Mccarthy Trenching’s 2008 song that Phoebe Bridgers covered with her personal touch. Rather than the usual joyful vibes of holiday songs, ‘Christmas Song’ is a sad but relatable song about the loneliness some of us can encounter during Christmas times. Mental health issues are left aside while the majority is enjoying December, and therefore the sense of community during that period is becoming less important. ‘Christmas Song’ is the second song Phoebe Bridgers released as part of a yearly traditional Christmas release since 2017, which she’s continued until 2021.

Carol of The Bells – Ashnikko

“That is their song with joyful ring, all carolling. One seems to hear words of good cheer from everywhere, filling the air.”

As part of the annual Spotify Singles Holiday, the American born Ashnikko released a rendition of a 1914 traditional Christmas Carol. Originally composed by the Ukrainian Mykola Leontovych, Ashnikko brought her own touch to ‘Carol of The Bells’. It is a blend of classic holiday season sounds with the specific pop energy of the artist. The singer, who has just finished her UK tour, is famous for celebrating another holiday. Since her 2018 song ‘Halloweenie’, Ashnikko has kept the tradition going and released a new Halloween song annually, showing her love for holiday traditions.

HOLIDAY – Lil Nas X

“Ayy, it's a holiday, I got hoes on hoes and they out of control.”

Released in November last year, ‘HOLIDAY’ is not the usual Christmas song. Playing on Santa Claus‘ catchphrase “ho, ho, ho”, Lil Nas X is bringing queerness into the holiday season with his major banger. It might have been written as a Christmas tune, but ‘HOLIDAY’ is the perfect track all year round. It was released as the first promotional song for his latest album ‘MONTERO’, published last summer. The unapologetically gay artist shows perfectly how to reappropriate a holiday celebration that is usually based on a heteronormative idea of the family and to get the queer community to celebrate.

Last Christmas – Wham!

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart but the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special.”

Every year, Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ is the song that competes with Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ to get to the top of the charts, and this year it has succeeded in the UK. Written by George Michael, it has been covered by many global artists since its release in 1984. Wham! was the blueprint of 80s British synthpop and ‘Last Christmas’ is still to this day a highly recognised song of the holiday period, reaching over a billion streams on Spotify.

Step into Christmas – Elton John

“Step into Christmas let's join together, we can watch the snow fall forever and ever. Eat, drink and be merry, come along with me, step into Christmas, the admission's free.”

Originally released as a stand-alone single in the winter of 1973, Elton John’s ‘Step into Christmas’ is also a song that survived and is still at the top of the current charts. It is a joyful track, embracing the romantic aspect of the holiday season. It is a song that will take you on a peaceful trip to love, no matter if it is fictional or not.

The further we dig, the more we can find treasures in the banks of Christmas songs, including many queer artists taking over the period of the year that has never in the past been dedicated to them. It is not only about bells and carols, but some artists bring multiple genres to holiday songs, for everyone to celebrate the holidays together.

Play our queermas playlist this holiday season: