Christmas album news: Darren Criss

Singer/songwriter and multiple award-winning actor Darren Criss just released his debut holiday album, A Very Darren Crissmas via Decca Records. The collection features special guest appearances by Adam Lambert, Evan Rachel Wood, and Lainey Wilson. The first single is a whimsical take on the timeless classic, “Happy Holidays / The Holiday Season.”

Watch A Very Darren Crissmas Visual Trailer HERE

Listen to the song and order the album here.

Produced by Ron Fair, A Very Darren Crissmas was recorded in 2020 at Nashville’s Faircraft Studios with local musicians. Lambert joins in on the jazzy “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With the Bag,” Evan Rachel Wood sings on the “Somewhere in My Memory,” and the album’s sole original, “Drunk on Christmas” features country artist Lainey Wilson.

“I always knew that if I ever made a Christmas album, it would have to be much more than just a collection of songs you already knew,” says Criss, in a statement. “I’d want it to be a journey through songs that not only had a personal significance to my life, but also a unique introduction to songs folks had never heard before, and a re-introduction to a few they might think they know- but have never considered differently. Every eclectic choice led this album to feel astutely true to its namesake: a very, indisputably, ‘me’ Christmas.”

Track listing:

Happy Holidays / The Holiday Season

I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas
(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag feat. Adam Lambert
St. Patrick’s Day
River
Welcome Home
All Those Christmas Clichés
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
Somewhere In My Memory feat. Evan Rachel Wood
Drunk On Christmas feat. Lainey Wilson
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
New Year