One of my biggest pet peeves is pop artists remaking holiday music. I personally do not want to put on a holiday playlist, shuffle it, and then have to keep skipping songs in frustration because all I keep hearing is the same song over and over and over again. 

There’s only so much “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” or “Baby It’s Cold Outside” that I can take! I definitely don’t need ten artists singing the same lyrics in a row.

Here are my top five original albums or EPs that I listen to in order to escape the prison that is Christmas covers.

Fruitcake: Sabrina Carpenter

“Fruitcake” is, without a doubt, one of the best Christmas EPs I have had the privilege of listening to. Each of the original songs, including my personal favorite, “buy me presents,” where Sabrina Carpenter threatens to leave her boyfriend for Santa (an odd concept, but you need to trust the process), has a great mixture of holiday cheer and Sabrina’s lyrical wit. This EP also shows this through its opening with a holiday-flavored remix of Sabrina’s breakout song, “Nonsense,” full of Christmas-themed double-entendres (“A Nonsense Christmas”). Perhaps I am a bit biased because I am a Sabrina fan, but I do think that even if I wasn’t, I still would have enjoyed the EP. It’s short and sweet, and each of the five original songs (the sixth is a remixed rendition called of “white xmas” that I don’t really care for) are unique: “is it new years yet,” for example, focuses less on Christmas cheer, and instead is more about the fatigue that comes with celebrating for too long. If there was one EP to listen to during the holiday season, I would definitely recommend this one. 

Christmas & Chill: Ariana Grande

Released a decade ago, “Christmas & Chill” sounds just like a typical Ariana Grande album of that era: pop-like, bubbly, and, similar to “Fruitcake,” full of slightly inappropriate lyrics. This time, Grande’s EP is simply Christmas-coded, making it perfect for those times when you want pop music, but also feel in a festive mood. “Wit It This Christmas,” “December,” and “Winter Things” are my personal favorites. The first two are full of trap beats and subtle Christmas bells that combine the best of both worlds. “Winter Things” stood out to me because of its lack of heavy beats, and also because of its relatively calm lyrics: “Take me to the ice-skating rink downtown (No, no, no, downtown) / Even though it’s 100 degrees, gotta get out / Ain’t no ice or no chills, no snowmen to build.” This small EP is fun to listen to, and stands out among the slower songs of Christmas past. 

Wrapped in Red and When Christmas Comes Around: Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson might just be one of my favorite holiday artists–something I think everyone agrees with too. Kelly’s skillful renditions of classic holiday songs often are in Apple Music-curated Christmas playlists (yes, I use Apple Music—the shame) over the original song itself. Yet, I think her own original songs are worth listening to as well. Her full-length Christmas albums dial it back compared to Sabrina’s or Ariana’s shorter EPs. They have less double-entendres and instead are similar to the “classic” sound associated with holiday music, such as “Underneath the Tree” from her first Christmas album, “Wrapped in Red.” It’s practically a Christmas classic itself! Her other original songs are fun to listen to as well: for example, “Wrapped in Red” is about finally taking a shot at love (“But this Christmas, I’m not afraid to fall” she belts out gracefully), while “Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song)” is about not believing she finally has someone to celebrate the holidays with. “4 Carats” takes a completely different turn–originally an original pop song, Kelly spins it to be an “à la ‘Santa Baby’” song where she wishes for a “diamond ring / Just a little something from Tiffany’s.”

“When Christmas Comes Around,” her second album, contains even more original songs. This album also includes some more modern classics, such as “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You),” where she declares that she is done mourning her ended marriage; “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me,” featuring Ariana Grande, combines both Kelly’s and Ariana’s wide vocal range that makes this song impossible to do karaoke with; and “Under the Mistletoe,” which features Brett Eldridge. Her bonus track, “Christmas Eve” is also undeniably a classic.

Any Christmas album: Pentatonix

I have a bit of a soft spot for Pentatonix. I remember, as a toddler, that Pentatonix was my favorite because I liked it by myself—I wasn’t following along with what my parents liked or disliked. Instead, it was something I liked on my own (I know, I know. Autonomy? As a toddler?!). I loved their a cappella renditions of “Mary, Did You Know?” or “The Little Drummer Boy:” a rare occurrence where the cover was enjoyable to me. They also released a couple of original songs throughout different Christmas albums such as “That’s Christmas to Me,” which definitely moved me to tears when I was little, and “Good to Be Bad,” which is about how the singer received coal instead of presents. As a cappella songs, they stand out among the others in this list. If you find the previous artists too peppy, or you prefer calmer Christmas songs, I definitely recommend Pentatonix.

Bonus: Merry Christmas: Mariah Carey

No Christmas compilation is complete without the undisputable queen of Christmas–just like there is no Christmas complete without her trill saying that, indeed, “It’s time!” to celebrate the holiday season. There is little to say beyond this: while one can argue that the song “All I Want for Christmas is You” is itself a classic, I deem it still as contemporary. It is untouchable: other covers of this song are irrelevant. 

Snow time like the present: this Christmas season, let’s strive to not listen to the same songs over and over. Branch out and listen to something new–spruce things up! You might just discover your next favorite song.