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December Baby is the first Christmas album and the fifth studio album by American singer JoJo. It was released on October 30, 2020, through Clover Music and Warner Records. It is JoJo’s first holiday album, and was recorded during quarantine over a three week period with Agápē producer and writer Austin Brown, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks. The album contains cover versions of popular Christmas standards such as "The Christmas Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" alongside original songs which incorporate R&B elements.

To support the album, JoJo made a promotional appearance on The Tamron Hall Show and hosted her own online live performance special called the "December Baby Livestream Concert Special", presented by No Cap, which aired live from The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles. The album saw her reunite with previous collaborator JordanXL, who worked with JoJo on her 2010 mixtape Can't Take That Away From Me and on the 2018 re-recordings of her earlier studio albums. BLVX handled additional production on the album, which produced three singles "The Christmas Song", "Wishlist" featuring PJ Morton and the albums title track "December Baby".

Promotion
On December 18, 2020 JoJo performed a livestream concert of the album from The Roxy in Los Angeles to promote the record while maintaining COVID-19 protocols.

Background
Following the release of the deluxe edition of JoJo's fourth studio album, Good to Know. JoJo later announced that in mid-2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was working on her first Christmas album. On social media, JoJo noted that she has always wanted to release a Christmas album.

Music & Lyrics
1. Opening the album with a short 43-second version of “Noelle” featuring Jacob Collier is such an epic way to introduce us to this album. JoJo sets the tone immediately, meeting and exceeding our expectations of what a JoJo Christmas album would look like with the very first song. Full of so much soul and incredible vocal runs – which is totally JoJo’s signature style right now – “Noelle” sounds beyond beautiful, creating a sparkle of Christmas that we know we’re going to feel throughout the rest of the album. Jacob Collier adds harmonies here and there, with the track feeling very church-like. This snippet of a track completely excites us for the rest of the album… We’ve been waiting for a JoJo Christmas album for years and she certainly won’t disappoint.

2. The start of this track has R&B vibes before JoJo’s soulful voice kicks in, which throws us back to the ’00s when R&B was at its height. Laidback and beyond beautiful, JoJo really brings it for her simply-gorgeous cover of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. This version puts us right in the Christmas mood and it is one track that needs to be in Christmas playlists across the board. We can see this being played every single year, one that becomes a constant popular version as each Christmas comes by.

3. Fans of JoJo’s mixtapes from years ago will rejoice in hearing this interlude as it is reminiscent of the interludes found on Agápe. Powerful in every way, JoJo shines on this short clip of “O Come All Ye Faithful”, showcasing how brilliant her vocals are and making us wonder – again – how she isn’t a chart-successful global superstar. With her awesome vocals, we’re sure she will be soon, now that she can consistently release music again.

4. Time for the title track, “December Baby”, and it’s the first of a handful of original Christmas tracks by JoJo. It has been written by JoJo with Brian Wiggins and Nathaniel Austin Brown, while BLVK produced it. Containing brilliant elements of a traditional Christmas song, “December Baby” wins over listeners easily and effortlessly, to the extent where it feels like a lost Christmas anthem that we’ve only just discovered. JoJo’s vocals are pure soulful perfection spun in a pop sound. We’re not surprised it was chosen as the title track as it certainly stands out for all the right reasons, and could totally become a Christmas hit for JoJo, if not this year then definitely in the upcoming years.

5. Another original track that has been written and produced by the same people as “December Baby” (Songwriters: Brian Wiggins, JoJo, and Nathaniel Austin Brown, with BLVK as Producer). “Coming Home” is a chilled Christmas song that contains a tonne of Christmas items with the message of returning to the East Coast via plane rather than spending time together through Facetime. It’s a cute track full of deep soul that is chilled throughout. JoJo brings it with earnest, meaning the words she’s singing with conviction.

6. The track from last year that was originally only released on Amazon, “The Christmas Song” had us excited about JoJo releasing Christmas music, although it took a year until she dropped a full Christmas album and we love her for it. Originally this song is very soulful and has been covered by a whole host of well-known singers, and this just suits JoJo’s voice down to a tee. Find out more of what we made of the song, when it was released last year, in our previous article here.

7. Another interlude, this time a cover of “Deck The Halls”, and it is officially the shortest track on the album. It feels like JoJo was just messing about in the recording booth as they recorded this one – which is her usual style when it comes to interludes if Agápe is anything to go by. It feels special, like we’re actually at the recording studio, listening to some behind-the-scenes clips. There’s not much to this, but it is upbeat and switches it up for the listeners. Once again, JoJo brings some effortless but incredible vocal runs to the table, making us hope that one day she’ll record an complete cover of “Deck The Halls”.

8. Another original written by Brian Wiggins, JoJo, and Nathaniel Austin Brown with BLVK as producer, “Wrap Me Up” is a total R&B Christmas song that is giving us teenager JoJo vibes. We imagine that this is the sort of song JoJo would’ve sang during her first two albums, and it sort of has a “Baby It’s You” vibe about it. It’s great to hear this brilliant song from JoJo, it’s totally sing-along-worthy. The track is pure love and how another person can be all the presents you need on Christmas day

9. “North Pole” is also an original song by the same songwriters and producer. Verses dominate in this chorus-free track, which is all about the North Pole. JoJo experiments with vocal runs and melodic rhythm. It’s an interesting track that feels like a bridge into the next songs. Experimental JoJo is something we are living for and “North Pole” sets a precedent for what else we may expect from her in the future. This works well within the album and showcases JoJo’s brilliant artistry.

10. This one opens with JoJo knocking on a door stating that she’s trying to bring Christmas cheer – once again hitting some comedic elements in her interludes. This is then followed with a beautiful violin instrumental version of “What Child Is This?” to which she proclaims is the saddest Christmas song she has heard. It’s hard not to like these interludes that break up the album, and this one, in particular, has someone answering the door she knocked on.

11. WOW! If there’s one song we’ve always wanted to hear JoJo sing, it’s “Silent Night”, and she certainly doesn’t disappoint at all, however she still manages to surprise us with this rendition. There are a hundred different ways JoJo could’ve sang “Silent Night”, in fact, we’ve probably heard all those different ways from the massive amount of artists who have covered this song but instead, JoJo tackles the track by putting her own stamp on it and switching it up into a soulful yet chilled number. Her vocal runs are pure perfection and she nails the track in every way without over singing it – which many artists have done in the past. Held back and chilled, this version of “Silent Night” impresses us on a whole different level.

12. This awesome original track, “Wishlist”, was written by Billy Steinberg, Brian Wiggins, Joanna Levesque, Josh Alexander, Nathaniel Austin Brown, and PJ Morton, with BLVK acting as producer. The track is a powerful and soulful ballad with JoJo impressing non-stop vocally, and PJ Morton bringing the fire to the song completely. This is just one perfect song that we could listen to over and over again, as JoJo and PJ Morton’s voices mesh brilliantly together. Vocal runs and harmonies from these brilliant artists totally send the emotions this song contains, to its listeners. We can hear how much they want the one they loved back in their arms for Christmas, whether that is a lover or a friend or a family member, as their single and only wish to Santa, and it has an air of heartbreak written all over the track. Touching us right inside, this is such a great but sad Christmas song.

13. An interlude to end this album, and it’s another epic Christmas carol cover, this time of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”. What a way to end the album, JoJo keeps up the pretense of Christmas carolers as she once again knocks on a door, which is subsequently opened with a massive creak, before she launches into this fantastic cover. Her voice suits this song amazingly and she clearly enjoyed singing this one – “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” is just such a happy song it’s impossible not to sing this with some sort of joyousness. Unforgettable in every way, this interlude will certainly make you want to listen to the whole album again and listen to JoJo’s amazing vocals. This track just blows us away, and once again we hope she will release a full cover of this track one day.

Promotion
December Baby live at the ROXY nocapp, love stream concert. JoJo Tamron Hall, Wishlist live with PJ Morton.

Featured in Christmas film

Singles
Following the release of JoJo's third album Mad Love. in 2016 on Atlantic Records, JoJo transferred to Warner Records and had issued her first commercially released Christmas song "The Christmas Song". The song was digitally released as the albums lead single on December 13, 2019 exclusively through Amazon Music as a part of a slate of holiday-themed Amazon Original songs. The songs accompanying music video was released alongside the single release.

Wishlist featuring PJ Morton first single on November 15, 2020

December Baby second single

Track listing
Credits adapted from the Spotify's song credits.

Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic and the album liner notes.


 * Benjamin Backus – Arranger
 * Dale Becker – Mastering
 * Ralph Blane – Composer
 * BLVK – Producer
 * Austin Brown – Guitar, Mixing, Recording, Vocals (Background)
 * Jacob Collier – Featured Artist, Recording, Vocals
 * William C. Dix – Lyricist
 * Brian Gardner – Mastering
 * Ryan Gladieux – Mixing, Recording
 * JoJo – Primary Artist, Vocals, Composer
 * Brian London – Keyboards, Mixing, Recording, Vocals (Background)
 * Hugh Martin – Composer
 * PJ Morton – Featured Artist, Vocals, Composer
 * Joel Smallbone – Arranger
 * Luke Smallbone – Arranger
 * Tedd Tjornhom – Arranger
 * Mel Tormé – Composer
 * Traditional – Composer
 * Robert Wells – Composer
 * Jordan XL – Producer, Programmer