All we want for Christmas: 14 new festive songs from ABBA, Duncan Laurence, Alexander Rybak and more

It’s that time of year when we’re all getting into the festive spirit and preparing for Christmas. Amongst the food and presents, music often forms a big part of the Christmas period.

Luckily for us, a plethora of Eurovision stars have taken time this year to release some new festive tunes that we can add to our Christmas playlists. So many in fact, we’ve split the songs up into a trilogy of posts.

As you gather around the tree and finish your final preparations, here’s a selection of the new Christmas songs from Eurovision artists that will help you celebrate the yuletide.

New music from Eurovision artists: Christmas 2021 | Part 1

ABBA – “Little Things”

They already had a New Year’s single in their repertoire, but now ABBA have the entire festive period covered thanks to their new Christmas song “Little Things”. The track comes from the Swedish group’s comeback album Voyage. A soft and charming song, Agnetha and Anni-Frid sing of how small acts can often be some of the most precious at Christmastime: “Little things / Like your sleepy smile / As the brand new day is dawning / It’s a lovely Christmas morning”. The Eurovision 1974 champions have released a music video for the song. In this, we see a group of children become inspired by ABBA’s virtual concert plans and they aim to put on one of their own.

Duncan Laurence – “Wishes Come True”

Moving to a more recent Eurovision champion, and Dutch singer Duncan Laurence has released “Wishes Come True”. It’s a beautiful and delicate ballad that wraps the listener up warm and comforts them on the cold winter nights. The Eurovision 2019 winner sings to his partner and notes just how much the festive season means when they can be together: “Meet me under the mistletoe / Baby, I’m falling for you / Like snow on a Christmas night / When I’m with you / Wishes come true”. Duncan spoke more about the meaning behind the lyrics on social media:

“Ever since I was young, I’ve always loved Christmas for the lights, the presents and the food. But as I’ve grown older things hold different value to me. It’s not as much about materialistic things. It’s about the moments we spend together with the people we love most. It’s hard to wish for more when everyone I love is right next to me.”

Alexander Rybak – “Hold Me”

“Not everyone is happy during Christmas. We hope this song reaches out to everyone who needs it.”, notes Alexander Rybak in the description of his new music video. Norway’s Eurovision 2009 gold medallist delivers a melancholic ballad with “Hold Me”. Rybak sings of the pain he’s going through by not having someone to spend Christmas with and he hopes his former lover will come back to him: “I’m feeling cold, somebody hold me / Again on my own, I’ve gone astray […] What can I do so you forgive me? / I swear I will change if you stay / Or I would always think of Christmas ’21 / When my world had come undone”.

Yulia Savicheva – “Новогодняя”

Countries across eastern Europe that use the Orthodox calendar celebrate their festive holiday in the first week of January. Therefore, throughout these new music posts, you’ll hear artists from such countries singing about “Новый год” or “Новогодняя” (“New Year” or “New Year’s”), rather than “Christmas”. This includes Russia’s Eurovision 2004 star Yulia Savicheva, who has served up a delightfully bright festive pop song. Yulia sings of how everyone across the world gets to experience the peace and kindness of the festive season: “The sky breathes a new year / It’s a holiday on earth / Both in New York and in Paris / And in Moscow”.

That’s not all from Yulia this festive period. The singer has also collaborated with Gruppa SPB for the single “Миллионы Огней” (“Millions of Lights”).

Edsilia Rombley & Niels Geusebroek – “Mary, Did You Know?”

Those in the Netherlands will be gifted an entire programme of new Christmas music from Edsilia Rombley on Christmas Eve. The two-time Eurovision participant (and host) will be part of Kerstduetten – Het Kerstverhaal 2021 (Christmas duets – The Christmas Story 2021). The show is a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, for which Edsilia is acting as the musical accompaniment by singing duets with various other artists. Thankfully, for those of us outside the Netherlands, the Dutch singer has released some of her duets ahead of time. The first of these is “Mary, Did You Know?”, sung alongside Niels Geusebroek.

Edsilia asks a second question in another duet with Elske DeWall, “Where Are You Christmas?”.

Sanna Nielsen – “En jul med dig”

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a new festive song from Sanna Nielsen. This year, Sweden’s Eurovision 2014 bronze medallist gives us “En jul med dig” (“A Christmas with you”). A cozy ballad, Sanna sings about the one wish she has that would make a perfect Christmas: “When the bells are ringing / And the lights of spruces are lit […] Then I know that everything will work out / That soon I may have you here with me / The only thing I wish for is a Christmas with you”.

Sanna also has another gift for us and has released the new Christmas album Min Sanna Jul (My Sanna Christmas). It brings together the songs from her previous festive LP, Min Jul, as well as the other Christmas singles she’s released over recent years – “Christmas Candle”, “Decembernatt” and “En jul med dig”.

Victor Crone – “Christmas Time”

“I’ve been waiting the whole year / Now Christmas time is here”. Victor Crone’s year-long wait is finally over now that we’re less than a week away from the big day. Estonia’s Eurovision 2019 singer has given us a country-pop song to fill-up the last few days of waiting.

Anna Bergendahl – “Christmas Day”

“Christmas Day” might just be one day out of 365 in a year, but it’s certainly a special one for many. Anna Bergendahl has taken this sentiment for her festive offering, which is a slow country ballad. Sweden’s Eurovision 2010 star sings of how this particular day of the year always seems to bring a positive mood to life: “It’s only Christmas / But it sure feels like paradise / It’s only Christmas / And it feels so good to be alive / And we don’t know what comes Christmas Day / Somehow we’ll all be OK”.

Paul Kelly (feat. Kate Miller-Heidke et al.) – “Coventry Carol”

“I got to record one of my favourite Christmas carols with some of my favourite people […] I mean, yes it’s about the mass murder of children but what a beautiful melody!” Kate Miller-Heidke is looking past the lyrics of her latest feature. Australian musician Paul Kelly brought the Eurovision 2019 star on board for a rendition of “Coventry Carol”. Kate’s vocals lend themselves very well to the soprano line and she brings a mystifying feeling alongside her fellow harmonisers.

Dmitry Koldun – “Потому что Новый год!”

Dmitry Koldun is spending the New Year in style – passed out on the sofa, having drunk too much. Belarus’s Eurovision 2007 singer is hosting a party and the musical accompaniment is his cheery new single “Потому что Новый год!” (“Because New Year!”). Koldun sings about how we’ll all soon be hearing the clinking of glasses in celebration of the festive period: “Soon in rooms and halls / One will sound in chorus / A glass with a glass, clink / Because New Year!”.

Didrik Solli-Tangen & Oslo Filharmoniske Kor – “O Helga Natt”

Didrik Solli-Tangen has released his take on the classic carol “O Holy Night”, or “O Helga Natt” in Norwegian. A classically-trained singer, Didrik performs the song in a slightly operatic style. The Eurovision 2010 alum really gives it some welly as the song builds into the final third and he delivers a powerful rendition of the carol alongside the Oslo Philharmonic Choir.

Natasha St-Pier & Les Petits Chanteurs à La Croix de Bois – “Ave Maria”

Natasha St-Pier has been undertaking a series of Christmas concerts across France and Belgium. The Eurovision 2001 alumna has been performing alongside the boys’ choir Les Petits Chanteurs à La Croix de Bois (The Little Singers of Paris). One of the songs on the set list is a rendition of “Ave Maria”, which the artists released beforehand as a single.

This version of “Ave Maria” was also one of five festive songs featured at the end of Natasha’s recent album, Je n’ai que mon âme.

Secret Garden – Sacred Night (The Christmas Album)

Last year, Secret Garden released their first ever Christmas album. Whilst we had to wait decades for their first Christmas songs, we only had a one-year interlude before the Irish-Norwegian duo provided us with more. The Eurovision 1995 champions have released a deluxe version of the LP, titled Sacred Night – The Christmas Album, which features five new tracks. Secret Garden provide a mix of Nordic folk and orchestral instrumentation while Cathrine Iversen provides the vocals (she’s also joined by Espen Grjotheim for “‘Cause Of You”).

Efren Beinta (feat. Dave Benton) – “Un Pascu di Tempo bieu”

Although Dave Benton has lived in Estonia for over 20 years, he originally hails from the Caribbean island of Aruba. The Eurovision 2001 winner has incorporated this Caribbean heritage into his Christmas offering by singing in Papiamentu, one of the official languages of Aruba. “Un Pascu di Tempo bieu” sees Benton reminiscing about the Christmases of his past that were filled with family, hope and friendship: “I remember my dad / I remember my mum / I remember all my friends, even the ones who left / Close families and the ones who are far away / That was a Christmas, the old fashion way”.

Which of these new Christmas songs is your favourite? Who are you hoping to see featured in our next festive music roundup? Let us know in the comments below.