SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon Music today announced its kickoff to the holiday season with a slate of brand-new holiday content for listeners, including new exclusive music from chart-topping artists, hundreds of holiday playlists and stations, and much more. Starting today, Amazon Music listeners around the world can hear new, Amazon Original holiday songs from artists including Justin Bieber and his rendition of Brenda Lee’s classic holiday song, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree;” Mary J. Blige today releases her own version of WHAM’s “Last Christmas;” Carrie Underwood and her new, original composition titled “Favorite Time of Year,” which now appears as a bonus track on Amazon Music for her new album, My Gift; UK sensation Jess Glynne shares her take on Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas;” and José Feliciano will soon release a reimagined version of his song “Feliz Navidad,” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the crossover hit. To stream these new holiday songs and more, click here.
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“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ has always been one of my favorite songs to celebrate the holidays, and I’m excited to team up with Amazon Music to share my own version, with my fans,” said Justin Bieber. “I’m so thankful to be able to spend the season with loved ones, and to also use this opportunity to give back to LIFT, Inner-City Arts and Alexandria House: three incredible organizations that I’ve supported in the past. I hope my fans join me in reaching out to the communities and organizations they care about, to help spread joy to those who need it most.”
To spread holiday cheer even further, artists including Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Katy Perry, and Carrie Underwood have teamed up with Amazon and its “Delivering Smiles” holiday campaign, to give back to charitable organizations and the communities they serve this season. These artists have identified non-profits including Alexandria House, Inner-City Arts, LIFT, Westchester Jewish Community Services’ Mary J. Blige Center for Women and Girls, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, to fulfill each organization’s AmazonSmile Charity Lists and donate tens of thousands of items. This is part of a larger Delivering Smiles holiday campaign recently announced, with Amazon donating millions of items through product and monetary donations to over one thousand charities worldwide.
“I’ve always loved how ‘Last Christmas’ walks the line between being upbeat and heartbroken — all while still remaining one of the catchiest holiday songs,” said Mary J. Blige. “It’s one of the most unique holiday songs, and I’m excited for my fans to hear my take on it this holiday season on Amazon Music.”
“’Favorite Time of Year’ is a joyful, super happy and fun Christmas song because it is about all of the things that make you happy this time of year, and it puts you in the mood to celebrate,” said Carrie Underwood. “I can’t help but smile when I sing it, it just brightens my day and I’m thrilled to share it today only on Amazon Music.”
Amazon Music releases Amazon Original songs from a wide range of artists year-round, and continues to enlist both emerging artists and chart toppers to create special holiday songs only for Amazon Music listeners. In addition to new songs from Bieber, Blige and Underwood, this holiday season Amazon Music listeners can now stream a reimagined version of “In The Bleak Midwinter” by Jamie Cullum; a cover of “Merry Christmas Darling” by Lennon Stella; for King & Country’s version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?"; a new holiday original titled “Pub Crawl” from Canada’s top rock outfit, Arkells; and “Zuhause (Christmas Time)" by German singer, Vanessa Mai. In the coming weeks, Amazon Music will release even more Amazon Original songs including a Spanglish rendition of “Let It Snow (Navidad, Navidad, Navidad),” by Lele Pons; “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas (Te Deseo Muy Felices Fiestas)” in Spanglish by Jesse & Joy; as well as a cover of “The Christmas Song” from Amazon Music Breakthrough artist, Kiana Ledé.
“This holiday season, it’s important for us to bring our customers more reasons to smile, and to create ways for them to connect with their favorite artists while at home with family,” said Ryan Redington, VP of Music Industry at Amazon Music. “Our customers are requesting holiday music more and more each year. In the days leading up to Christmas last year, Amazon Music listeners requested holiday music more than 11 million times per day, and nearly 8,000 times per minute worldwide, and we can’t wait to see that trend continue.”
Continuing the holiday celebrations throughout December, Amazon Music will launch a new episodic video series as part of the [Re]Discover initiative on Amazon Music, the global brand developed to support artist catalogs across all music genres. The [Re]Discover series will explore the untold stories behind lasting holiday hits including, “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love and “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano. Kicking off in December, the new content series will unveil never-before-heard details with a mix of archival footage, animations and interviews with the star subjects or those closest to them. Additionally, Amazon Music will feature Darlene Love as the [Re]Discover Artist of the Month for December, launching a new playlist for customers to explore her music beyond her holiday mainstay on December 1. Love will also be featured in a special holiday episode of the Amazon Original podcast, Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums, debuting on December 8. The episode will focus on the remarkable true story of 1963's A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector, and feature original interviews with Love, the Crystals' La La Brooks, and more. In addition, Dolly Parton fans can catch, “Dolly Parton's Comin' Home for Christmas”, an exclusive holiday experience featuring a performance and Q&A for fans with the country music icon at 10am PT/12pm CT on November 13 via the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and Amazon.com/live.
To get started on holiday listening, simply ask “Alexa, play holiday music” in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android or on enabled devices, for a mix of the new singles and classic hits, or check out popular playlists such as Christmas Present and Christmas Past. For a limited time, new Amazon Music Unlimited customers can get three months of the premium streaming tier free to enjoy unlimited access to more than 70 million songs, ad-free and a wide selection of podcasts. To learn more, visit amazonmusic.com.
About Amazon Music
Amazon Music reimagines music listening by enabling customers to unlock millions of songs and thousands of curated playlists and stations with their voice. Amazon Music provides unlimited access to new releases and classic hits across iOS and Android mobile devices, PC, Mac, Echo, and Alexa-enabled devices including Fire TV and more. With Amazon Music, Prime members have access to ad-free listening of 2 million songs at no additional cost to their membership. Listeners can also enjoy the premium subscription service, Amazon Music Unlimited, which provides access to more than 70 million songs and the latest new releases. And with Amazon Music HD, customers have access to the highest-quality listening experience available, with more than 70 million songs available in High Definition (HD), millions of songs in Ultra HD, and a growing catalog of 3D Audio. Customers also have free access to an ad-supported selection of top playlists and stations on Amazon Music. All Amazon Music tiers now offer a wide selection of podcasts at no additional cost, and live streaming in partnership with Twitch. Engaging with music and culture has never been more natural, simple, and fun. For more information, visit amazonmusic.com or download the Amazon Music app.
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Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
