Here This Christmas

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"Here This Christmas"
A red background displays a color photograph of American singer Gwen Stefani, dressed in a sleeveless red gown and adorned with a red ribbon on her head, worn as a headband; the image also contains 4 large white sparkles and the words: Gwen Stefani, "Here This Christmas"
Single by Gwen Stefani
from the album You Make It Feel Like Christmas
ReleasedOctober 23, 2020 (2020-10-23)
GenreChristmas
Length2:58
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brent Kutzle
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Happy Anywhere"
(2020) 		"Here This Christmas"
(2020) 		"Let Me Reintroduce Myself"
(2020)
Music video
"Here This Christmas" on
YouTube

"Here This Christmas" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from the 2020 reissued edition of her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). The song was written and produced by Brent Kutzle, with Ryan Tedder and Josh Varnadore also serving as co-writers. Prior to its release, rumors of new music from Stefani circulated throughout 2020 after releasing "Nobody but You" and "Happy Anywhere", with fiancé Blake Shelton, as singles that year. The former of the three remained a secret until it was released as a single for digital download and streaming on October 23, 2020 by Interscope Records, the same day the rest of the reissued album was distributed. The Hallmark Channel announced that the song would be used in advertisements and played on their Sirius XM radio channel in order to promote their seasonal block of programming called Countdown to Christmas.

"Here This Christmas" is a festive and upbeat

Radiosoittolista's Finnish Airplay chart at number 33. An accompanying music video was released to Stefani's YouTube
channel on November 17, 2020. The clip features Stefani and Tedder working on the song together in a recording studio.

Background and release

Stefani released her fourth studio album

bonus tracks, a music video for her cover of "Feliz Navidad" with Chilean singer Mon Laferte, and a new single, "Secret Santa".[6][7][8] According to Stefani, the initial 2017 release was successful enough to warrant the new version in 2018.[9]

Having this opportunity to harness the incredible talents of Gwen Stefani and Ryan Tedder in the creation and recording of 'Here This Christmas' is a dream come true and I am confident this single will add a whole new dimension to our seasonal programming event and become an instant holiday hit.

—Michelle Vicary, the executive vice president of programming and network publicity for the Hallmark Channel, commenting on "Here This Christmas".[10]

In 2020, Stefani released two singles with Shelton, "

nineteenth season of the American reality television series The Voice.[15][16] She teased on October 20, 2020 that new music would be released "really soon".[17] Without prior announcement, a cover of "Sleigh Ride" was released to digital retailers on October 13, 2020.[18][19] The rest of the album dropped on October 23, with the album's final original song revealed to be "Here This Christmas".[20]

"Here This Christmas" was co-written by Josh Varnadore and

Orange County Register noted how Stefani's career has headed into a "holly jolly direction" over the course of the last several years.[26] A promotional audio video for "Here This Christmas" was uploaded to Stefani's YouTube channel the same day as its digital release.[27] "Here This Christmas" serves as the official theme for the Hallmark Channel's annual seasonal programming block Countdown to Christmas, which broadcasts holiday-themed films and television series leading up to Christmas day.[28][25] The song and "Sleigh Ride" were featured prominently in advertisements for the block and were released for airplay rotation on the Hallmark Channel Sirius XM radio channel.[29] Philiana Ng from Entertainment Tonight pointed out that Stefani joins Shelton, who had already established a business relationship with Hallmark earlier in 2018.[10]

Composition and lyrics

A color photograph of American musician Ryan Tedder performing live into a microphone.
"Here This Christmas" was co-written by American musician Ryan Tedder (shown), who had previously worked with Stefani as a lyricist on "Baby Don't Lie" (2014).

Musically, "Here This Christmas" is an upbeat and "cheery" Christmas song.[30] It utilizes a "skipping drum groove" and features sounds created by various strings, horns, and bells.[30] According to Cathy Padilla from Community Magazine, the song is an "upbeat tune with a toe-tapping beat of sleigh bells" and she attributed this to the song's creative team, which she called impressive.[31] A contributor to Billboard called the song sunny.[32] Despite it taking just one day, the recording process of "Here This Christmas" was "difficult" for Stefani, who commented that Tedder's work on the song required her to sing with a strong vocal range. Because she considered it demanding, she joked that the song would be better suited for The Voice contestants.[33]

"Here This Christmas" is set in the

chord progressions of A#–Dm–D# in the verses and A#–Dm–Gm–D# in the chorus.[34] Alongside her vocals, Stefani is joined by Varnadore and Laura Cooksey, who contribute as background vocalists. For instruments, the song features Matt Melton on bass, Paul Nelson on cello, Loren Ferard on electric guitar, and Brandon Collins as a strings contractor. Violinists David Angell, David Davidson, and Elizabeth Lamb also perform, and Lamb additionally contributes to the track on viola.[21]

Lyrically, "Here This Christmas" finds Stefani admitting that she prefers love over receiving materialistic gifts on Christmas Day.[30] She reveals the only thing that she wants is to have her significant other "here this Christmas" with her.[35] She also mentions various seasonally appropriate phrases, such as "snow falling, lights, mistletoe, and more".[30] Stefani opens the song by cooing: "Darling, when it's cold outside and I can see the snowflakes falling / I'm staring at the Christmas lights and counting down to when you're calling."[36] In the chorus, Stefani grows sentimental as she admits her desires.[36] During the refrain, she sings: "Don't need presents under the tree / Don't need snow and caroling / I don't need a lot of wishes / I just need you here this Christmas."[30][37]

Reception

Aynslee Darmon from

Vulture disapproved of the song's early release date, joking that Stefani "apparently had no qualms violating the cardinal rule of no-Christmas-music-before-Thanksgiving".[35] Craig Jenkins, from the same publication, also spoke of the song, favorably comparing its sound to Stefani's 2006 single "The Sweet Escape". However, he disliked the inclusion of "Here This Christmas" on the 2020 edition of the parent album, calling it a "cold cash-in".[43]

KSAT's Cody King ranked "Here This Christmas" as the sixth best new Christmas song of 2020 and Billboard contributors featured it within their list of holiday music "you need to know about this season".[32][44] Tomás Pier from People included the single on his list of 2020 Christmas Songs to "Get Into the Holiday Spirit".[37] Sara Kitnick, a contributor to SheKnows, listed the song in her article titled "You Should Add These 15 New Albums to Your Holiday Playlist Now".[45] Parade's K.L. Connie Wang listed it among the 35 best original Christmas songs within recent years.[46]

Commercial performance

The same week that You Make It Feel Like Christmas was reissued, "Here This Christmas" appeared on Billboard's Holiday Digital Song Sales component chart in the United States.

Radiosoittolista, where it entered at number 98 during the 2020 holiday season, and reached a peak of number 33 the following year.[51]

Music video

The accompanying music video was released on November 17, 2020, when it was uploaded to Stefani's YouTube

behind-the-scenes footage of Stefani working on the song with Tedder in a recording studio. To make it appear more festive, "some digital snow is superimposed over footage of Stefani belting the song in the booth".[54] In addition to her typical gold necklace chain reading "Stefani", Stefani wears an additional necklace that displays "Shelton".[55] Randee Dawn from Today provided a positive review of the video, writing: "Gwen is getting us into the holiday spirit!". She pointed out Stefani's "Shelton" necklace and commented: "And in a way, Stefani has worked Shelton directly into the music video, though you never see his face."[55]

Track listing

Digital download/streaming[24]
No.TitleLength
1."Here This Christmas"2:58

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[21]

  • Gwen Stefani – vocalist
  • Brent Kutzle – producer, composer, lyricist
  • Ryan Tedder – composer, lyricist
  • Josh Varnadore – composer, lyricist, background vocalist
  • John Nathaniel – mixer, studio personnel
  • Laura Cooksey – background vocalist
  • Matt Melton – bass
  • Paul Nelson – cello
  • Loren Ferard – electric guitar
  • Brandon Collins – strings contractor
  • Elizabeth Lamb – viola, violin
  • David Angell – violin
  • David Davidson – violin

Charts

Chart performance for "Here This Christmas"
Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Finland Airplay (
Radiosoittolista)[51]
 33
US Holiday Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[47] 5

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Here This Christmas"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United States October 23, 2020
  • streaming
 Interscope [29]

References

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  2. ^ Willman, Chris (December 15, 2017). "Holiday Albums Reviewed: Sia, Gwen Stefani, Cheap Trick, Fantasia Lead Parade of Christmas Releases". Variety. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Savage, Mark (December 6, 2017). "Gwen Stefani wants an enduring Christmas hit like Mariah Carey". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  4. ^ a b You Make It Feel Like Christmas (CD liner notes). Gwen Stefani (Deluxe ed.). Interscope Records. 2018. 02577-07279.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  6. ^ Myers, Justin (October 16, 2018). "Christmas albums released in 2018". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
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  10. ^ a b Ng, Philiana (October 23, 2020). "Gwen Stefani Records New Holiday Song 'Here This Christmas' for Hallmark Channel: Listen". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  11. ^ McAfee, Tierney (July 21, 2020). "Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Are Releasing a Quarantine-Inspired Love Song Called 'Happy Anywhere'". Country Living. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
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  30. ^ "Gwen Stefani/Danica McKellar/Lauren Akins". Home & Family. Season 9. Episode 58. December 4, 2020. Hallmark Channel.
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  41. ^ King, Cody (November 15, 2020). "Best new 2020 Christmas songs to add to your holiday playlist". KSAT. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  42. ^ Kitnick, Sara (November 13, 2020). "You Should Add These 15 New Albums to Your Holiday Playlist Now". SheKnows. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  43. ^ Wang, K.L. Connie (November 14, 2020). "The 35 Best New-ish Christmas Songs You Need to Add to Your Holiday Playlist This Year". Parade. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
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  48. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani: Here This Christmas" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  49. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Here This Christmas (Theme To Hallmark Channel's 'Countdown To Christmas')". YouTube. November 17, 2020. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  50. ^ Blistein, Jon (November 17, 2020). "Gwen Stefani Offers Behind-the-Scenes Look at Making of 'Here This Christmas' in New Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  51. ^ a b Dawn, Randee (November 17, 2020). "Gwen Stefani's new video for 'Here This Christmas' is full of holiday cheer". Today. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Here_This_Christmas&oldid=1192355113"