‘The Christmas Song’ (which originally included the subtitle (Merry Christmas To You)) is arguably one of the three or four best known Christmas tunes, the title itself giving it something of a definitive quality. It’s been covered hundreds of times (the exact number is unknown) across various genres since 1946. So why did Noah choose to record this ubiquitous song?

“The song is very nostalgic for my generation. Every year without fail whenever I’m on TikTok during the holiday season, I hear three songs over and over: ‘So This Christmas’ (‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’), ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’, and ‘The Christmas Song’ by Nat ‘King’ Cole. When people post about how they felt when they were at middle school during the holiday season and their yearning for those days, this is often the song they chose to express that. And generally, who doesn’t like ‘The Christmas Song’? I love it, and when we were thinking of what songs to record this was the first song that popped into my head. I hope people will enjoy my version.”

Noah’s second Christmas offering is a duet version of ‘Sleigh Ride’, originally recorded and released as an instrumental by the Boston Pops in 1949, with vocal versions by The Ronettes and Johnny Mathis being amongst the best known. For this recording, Noah is joined by fellow Canadian and much praised alternative soul artist Avery Raquel.

“When we were discussing which songs to choose for these Christmas recordings, we quickly decided on ‘The Christmas Song’ and that the second recording was going to be a duet. The trickiest part of duets is of course determining the duet partner. I had some ideas but wasn’t familiar with Avery until she was suggested to me, and I knew as soon as I heard her that our voices would blend perfectly. She was great to work with and for me it’s a perfect pairing – I think when people hear it, they’ll agree!”