Billy Porter Releases New Single 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas'
Porter puts an upbeat twist on the bittersweet Christmas standard, joining an impressive list of folks who have covered the classic.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Nov. 29, 2021
Billy Porter, who last month released "Children," his anthemic debut single for Island Records UK/ Republic Records in the US, dropped his new single "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," on November 19th. The track, long one of Billy's favorite Christmas songs, and produced once again by Justin Tranter (Britney Spears, Camilla Cabello, Justin Bieber etc.), is a festive gift for Billy's fans and a positive message as we approach the holidays.
Listen below!
Porter puts an upbeat twist on the bittersweet Christmas standard, joining an impressive list of folks who have covered the classic: Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Phoebe Bridgers, Coldplay, Sam Smith, Christina Aguilera, to name just a few.
"I grew up in the church, I'm a choir kid, so I have a deep love of Christmas music," said Porter. "I know the holidays can be tough for a lot of people, but I always want to land on joy so I put this jaunty spin on the classic hoping it will infuse a little mirth into everyone's season."
Porter is a holiday-season staple. He's performed at the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting twice (with Cyndi Lauper in 2014 and with Idina Menzel in 2019), at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade twice, and has hosted and performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve twice. His previous holiday song releases include his arresting turn on "O Holy Night" from the Rosie O'Donnell Christmas album and 2019's "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" duet with Idina Menzel.
Billy will end the holiday season this year with a performance at the National Christmas Tree Lighting airing on CBS December 5th.
The official video for "Children" is set to drop shortly along with remixes by Melé and Magician later this month.Speaking about his return to music Billy says: "Music is my first love. When I first put out commercial music in 1997, the industry was not ready for all this Black Boy Joy! But luckily the world has caught up. I could not be more thrilled to entrust this next chapter of my music career to the Island/Republic team. Make way children! Daddy's back."
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