This is the Christmas album that Meghan Trainor wants to make, but doesn't have the chops for. Is that an insult toward Meghan Trainor or Jennifer Hudson? The answer: yes.
I'm more or less writing these holiday album reviews in order, so I swear that I did not mention the "Hallelujah" thing in the Little Big Town review while anticipating that dumb non-Christmas song starting us off on The Gift of Love. Jennifer Hudson sings the hell out of it, as she is wont to do. It's still a clear NACS Violation, and everyone involved in turning this Shrek song into a Christmas perennial should be tried at The Hague.
And what kind of violation is having Common give a spoken-word intro to a song? Seems Christmas-y to me. Doesn't mean I like it.
And what kind of violation is having Common give a spoken-word intro to a song? Seems Christmas-y to me. Doesn't mean I like it.
I guess the general thought process, both here and in new-ish covers of Christmas standards, is that "good singing" = "good Christmas music." I won't say that Jennifer Hudson is anything less than an amazing singer, that much is clear. But is that what we want here? Just someone going on insane runs all over "Little Drummer Boy"? I guess some people like that. I'm hit-or-miss on it, mostly miss. But then again, I'm mostly miss on most of the holiday music I hear, so take my word with a grain of salt.
The worst example of what I'm talking about was Barbara Streisand singing "My Favorite Things," which was a NACS Violation in its time since it's from a non-Christmas movie, but I guess those violations are ignored if they keep arriving for years or decades, because here we are again. Hudson, compared to Streisand, actually manages to reign it in a little bit. Don't worry, there are plenty of stretched out songs like "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (also NACSV?) if that's your thing. She sings a fucking prelude to "Jingle Bells"! I mean, come on.
I stopped going to church a while ago, and I would've made the same decision if it was Jennifer Hudson as lead cantor, and not that middle-aged lady who's never brushed her hair in the 22 years I've known her.
GRADE: 2 pukes out of 5
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