For decades, the holiday music landscape was a static tableau of Bing Crosby’s crooning and Mariah Carey’s high-frequency dominance. However, as we move through the 2025 season, a seismic shift has occurred in the yuletide canon. The traditional aesthetic of velvet and tinsel has been replaced by a sharper, more personalized pop sensibility, led by a new generation of icons who refuse to play it safe with the classics. From Sabrina Carpenter’s tongue-in-cheek flirtations to Phoebe Bridgers’ yearly descent into beautifully curated melancholy, the Christmas playlist is no longer just a background track for gift-wrapping—it is a statement of artistic identity. This year, artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande are proving that holiday music can be as edgy, vulnerable, and sonically adventurous as any summer blockbuster. As the glitter settles on another December, we examine how these modern maestros have successfully deconstructed the Christmas spirit to create a soundtrack that resonates with the complexities of the modern era.
The New Guard of Christmas Classics
The 2025 holiday season marks a turning point where the “modern classic” is no longer an outlier but the standard. Historically, pop stars released Christmas albums as a late-career pivot or a safe play for seasonal longevity. Today, however, the approach is vastly different. The current vanguard of pop—artists who have come of age in the streaming era—treats the holiday single as a tactical extension of their personal brand. They are not merely covering songs; they are terraforming them to fit their existing sonic universes.
This evolution is driven by a desire for authenticity over artifice. Where holiday music once required a certain degree of theatrical performance, the 2025 staples are characterized by a “low-fi” or “intimate” feel. Production choices have shifted away from the over-the-top orchestral swells of the 1990s toward polished, synth-heavy arrangements or stripped-back acoustic renderings. This allows the artists to maintain their “cool” while participating in a tradition that was once considered the pinnacle of “uncool.” The result is a playlist that feels less like a department store PA system and more like a curated late-night conversation.
Sabrina Carpenter: Sweet, Sour, and Seasonal
Sabrina Carpenter has arguably done more to revitalize the holiday genre for Gen Z than any other artist in recent memory. With the continued success of her fruitcake EP and the viral resurgence of “A Nonsense Christmas,” she has carved out a niche that is equal parts sugary pop and razor-sharp wit. Her approach to the holidays is famously irreverent; she leans into the “Christmas as a comedy” trope, utilizing the season as a backdrop for the same lyrical playfulness that made her a global superstar.
In 2025, Carpenter’s influence is seen in the way she blends the aesthetic of vintage pin-up holiday specials with the biting humor of modern internet culture. Her holiday tracks don’t just ask for a lover under the tree; they detail the awkwardness of seasonal romance with a wink and a nudge. By treating Christmas music with a sense of levity rather than forced reverence, she has made the holiday playlist feel “in” on the joke. Her presence in the 2025 rotation serves as the necessary spark of energy, providing the “party” half of the December duality.
Olivia Rodrigo: Emotional Integrity Under the Tree
While others might lean into the joy of the season, Olivia Rodrigo has mastered the art of the “Holiday Heartbreak.” For the 2025 playlist, Rodrigo’s contributions—whether through unreleased gems that have found new life or her more recent high-fidelity covers—focus on the isolation that often hides behind the festive lights. She brings the same diary-entry honesty to the holidays that she brings to her studio albums, reminding listeners that the end of the year is often a time of intense reflection and, sometimes, profound sadness.
Rodrigo’s holiday tracks often strip away the jingle bells in favor of distorted guitars or haunting piano melodies. By doing so, she taps into a specific demographic of listeners who find the forced cheer of December to be overwhelming. Her covers of 20th-century classics often subvert the original’s intent, slowing down the tempo to highlight the lyrics’ inherent longing. In 2025, her music provides the emotional anchor for the season, proving that you can have a “Blue Christmas” that still feels incredibly contemporary and relevant.
Ariana Grande’s Eternal Holiday Residency
No discussion of modern Christmas music is complete without the woman who arguably holds the crown for the most successful holiday hit of the 21st century. Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” has achieved a level of seasonal ubiquity that rivals “All I Want for Christmas is You,” but it is her Christmas & Chill body of work that truly defines her holiday legacy in 2025. Grande’s holiday music is defined by its R&B-infused “trap-pop” sensibilities, a sound that she pioneered and has now become the blueprint for other artists.
Grande’s secret lies in her ability to make holiday music feel “cool” enough to play in a club while remaining “festive” enough for a family gathering. Her 2025 presence is felt through a series of reimagined live versions and orchestral remixes that highlight her vocal prowess. She has essentially created a “Holiday Residency” in the digital space, where her tracks become the gold standard for how to modernize the genre. Her music isn’t just about the holidays; it’s about the feeling of winter luxury, a sonic equivalent of a cashmere blanket and expensive champagne.
Phoebe Bridgers and the Art of the Melancholy Cover
Phoebe Bridgers has turned the “Sad Christmas” into an annual event that fans anticipate with the same fervor as a blockbuster release. Her tradition of releasing a somber, beautifully produced cover for charity has become a cornerstone of the alternative holiday experience. In 2025, her renditions of tracks by artists like Tom Waits or the Handsome Family continue to stand out for their starkness. Bridgers avoids the tropes of the season entirely, opting for a sound that is as cold and crisp as a winter morning in the desert.
The power of Bridgers’ holiday music lies in its restraint. There are no sleigh bells, no soaring choruses, and no festive platitudes. Instead, she offers a space for mourning and quietude. This “Sad Girl Christmas” aesthetic has become a massive trend in 2025, with many other indie artists following her lead. By connecting her holiday releases to charitable causes, she also reinforces the “spirit of giving” in a way that feels tangible and urgent, rather than performative. Her voice is the ghost of Christmas present—haunting, beautiful, and deeply human.
Streaming Culture and the Future of the Yuletide Hit
The ultimate reason for the diversity of the 2025 holiday playlist is the democratization of music through streaming algorithms. In the past, radio programmers decided which ten songs we would hear for 31 days. Now, personalized AI-driven playlists allow for a mix of high-energy pop, indie folk, and classic soul. This has encouraged artists to take more risks with their holiday offerings, knowing that there is an audience for every possible sub-genre of Christmas music.
Looking forward, the trend suggests that the “Christmas Album” as a concept is being replaced by the “Christmas Era.” Artists are no longer dropping one-off projects; they are building holiday brands that they return to year after year, updating their sound to match current trends. As we listen to the voices of Carpenter, Rodrigo, and Grande this year, we are hearing the sound of a tradition that has finally caught up to the present. The 2025 playlist is a reflection of a world that is messy, vibrant, and constantly evolving—much like the holiday season itself.
