Why do the Grammys hate Christmas?

Jaime Rodriguez
·5 min read

Everyone loves Christmas, right? If you’re a Grammy voter, the answer is … a bit mixed. Considering all types of music is allowed at the awards, a lot of artists have seized the opportunity to submit their Christmas work for consideration. After all, it’s not uncommon for the Grammys to nominate holiday material, although a few factors have to be taken into account.

If you’re looking for Christmas music at the Grammys, the first place to find it is in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. Considering the category tends to honor jazzier standards, it makes sense that Christmas music would be a perfect fit most years. In 2003 Barbra Streisand’s “Christmas Memories” became the first holiday recording to get a nomination in the category. Sarah McLachlan’s “Wintersong” followed in 2007. Since then, there has been a Christmas album nominated in most years, with notable contenders including Michael Bublé’s “Christmas,” Josh Groban’s “Noel,” Susan Boyle’s “The Gift” and Kelly Clarkson’s “When Christmas Comes Around…,” among others. Oddly enough, though, no holiday music album has ever won.

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While you might think that’s a coincidence, it seems to be a bit more than that. For example, Bublé is a category favorite, winning five times. He won almost uninterruptedly in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2014, and then recently in 2022. What was the interruption in that near-perfect streak from ’08 to ‘14? “Christmas.” Keep in mind, “Christmas” is not only Bublé’s biggest album, but one of the bestselling albums of the 21st century, period. Furthermore, it was nominated in a three-person lineup, and the album that beat it (Paul McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom”) wasn’t particularly acclaimed and was definitely not a bigger hit.

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But if you’re still not convinced, perhaps an even greater example is Tony Bennett. The late singer is the biggest winner in the category, taking home a whopping 14 Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album trophies during his lifetime. Bennett only ever lost three times. And unsurprisingly, if you’re following along, his only nomination for a Christmas album was one of those three losses, and was actually the first time he lost a nomination in the category. What beat him? A live recording of a Bublé concert. Not exactly the kind of album you’d expect to beat a then-undefeated legend.

Outside of Traditional Pop, you’ll find Christmas music nominated sporadically. The Erwins’ “What Christmas Really Means” was nominated in the Best Roots Gospel Album category, while Take 6’s “He is Christmas” won for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Similarly, CeCe Winans’s “Something’s Happening – A Christmas Album” was nominated for Best Gospel Album.

For Best Choral Performance, you’ll find a rendition of “Bach: Christmas Oratorio” by the Monteverdi Choir and the Gächinger Kantorei nominated, as well as “Bach: Christmas Cantatas” performed by the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir. Another classical music category, Best Small Ensemble Performance, has also got a couple of Christmas nominees, namely “In a Seraphic Fire Christmas” by Seraphic Fire and “Creator of the Stars – Christmas Music for Earlier Times” by Pomerium.

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Over in the Best Arrangement, Instrumental or Acapella category you’ll find nominated arrangers for “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” (Pentatonix), “White Christmas” (Herb Alpert), “Silent Night” (Mannheim Steamroller) and most recently “Angels We Have Heard on High” (Just 6) at the 2024 Grammys. The first of those actually won the category. For Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals, Jacob Collier’s 2021 rendition of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)” got a nomination.

But the most successful Christmas recording at the Grammys is not what you’d expect. No, it’s not Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” or Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” or José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad.” It’s actually Alvin and the Chipmunks’ “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” That’s one of just three Christmas songs to ever reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100, doing so in 1961. At the very first Grammy Awards it won three categories: Best Children’s Recording, Best Comedy Performance and Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical, in addition to getting a Record of the Year nomination. No other Christmas recording has done so to date.

So in conclusion, Christmas music does somewhat well at the Grammys if all you care about is the nomination. Wins are far more scattered. That is, of course, as of this year. It wouldn’t be a surprise, for instance, if Mariah Carey releases a new Christmas album that becomes so iconic it wins a Grammy or two. Until then, just expect the usual one or two nominations per year, especially in Traditional Pop Album.

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