Holiday LP will feature Christmas classics, including a collaboration with Common on “Almost Christmas”
Christmas carols from one of the greatest voices in music? Sign us up! On Friday, Jennifer Hudson announced that she’ll be releasing her first-ever holiday album, The Gift of Love, on Oct. 18.
The project will feature renditions of Christmas classics such as “O Holy Night,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and “Jingle Bells.” It’ll also include “Carol of the Bells” alongside South African five-piece the Joy and Common on “Almost Christmas.”
“I cannot wait for it to be yours!” Hudson wrote on Instagram with a video of her placing ornaments on a Christmas tree along with a snippet of her piano-backed “Jingle Bells” rendition.
OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder executive produced the project, while Kirk Franklin, David Foster, and Peer Astrom joined as producers. The album will feature a handful of holiday originals, co-written with the likes of Michael Pollack and J Kash.
“Our dream collaboration,” wrote the Joy on Instagram, sharing a photo with Hudson in the studio. “Literally Christmas came early this year @iamjhud invited us to be part of her magical holiday album.
You will love it as much as we love her.”
The Gift of Love will mark the talk show host’s first album since the soundtrack for Respect, in which she played Aretha Franklin in Respect in 2021. Her third studio album arrived in 2014 with JHUD. She dabbled with holiday music that year when she dropped “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Her last single release came last year with “All I Need” from The Color Purple.
The Gift of Love Track List
1. “Hallelujah”
2. “Winter Wonderland”
3. “Carol of the Bells” feat. The Joy
4. “Find The Love”
5. “O Holy Night”
6. “Make It To Christmas”
7. “Santa to Someone”
8. “My Favorite Things”
9. “Little Drummer Boy”
10. “Go Tell It On The Mountain”
11. “Almost Christmas” feat. Common
12. “Jingle Bells (Prelude)”
13. “Jingle Bells”
14. “The Christmas Song”
15. “Auld Lang Syne”