The 2015 Holiday Release Round-up!

K-pop and Christmas are a match made in heaven; both over-the-top, a little cheesy, cheerful — and fueled by consumerism and over-enthusiastic fans. As your resident Christmas enthusiast, I’m back again this year to bring you all the corny K-pop holiday magic you may have missed just in time for the big day. So pull out your hot cocoa and candy canes, and let’s get started.

Starship Entertainment kept up their tradition of Season’s Greetings with this year’s “Softly.” The track and MV feature the company’s many talents including: Sistar, K.Will, Boyfriend, Mad Clown, Junggigo, Jooyoung, Monsta X, Yoo Seungu, BrotherSu, and EXY. Watch the starship family get cozy together around the Christmas dinner table! Starship also released a cover of the Mariah Carey classic, “All I Want for Christmas is You” performed by their upcoming girl group, Cosmic Girls.

Jellyfish Entertainment also dropped their fourth annual holiday company single, “Love in the Air” featuring VIXX, Seo In-guk, Park Jung-ah, and Park Yoon-ha. The artists aren’t featured in the MV. Insead the MV tells the story of a woman (and her pet cat) preparing for Santa’s arrival before she falls asleep on Christmas Eve.

Got7 had their own holiday celebration with “Confession Song” — released as part of their Mad winter repackage. Technically the song isn’t about Christmas, but the MV is filled with all sorts of holiday magic. Since Christmas is a couple holiday in Korea, the song and MV are perfectly appropriate for the season — plus, the member’s ridiculous joy is contagious.

Keeping with JYP, 2PM‘s Taecyeon dropped his third annual Christmas track, “Be My Merry Christmas” as part of OKCAT’s Lonely Christmas Event. Unfortunately there’s no MV, but you can still enjoy his special Christmas gift song and the rest of the holiday album!

SNSD sub-unit TaeTiSeo not only released the wonderful holiday single “Dear Santa” but also a holiday winter album of the same name. While it might not have been the comeback fans were hoping for, “Dear Santa” is one of the most memorable K-pop Christmas releases in quite a while. Even better for us international fans, there’s an English version! The ladies of TaeTiSeo also performed a lovely acoustic version of their track, “Winter Story.”

SM kept the Christmas releases coming with their single project Winter Garden made up of three new Christmas singles: f(x)‘s “Wish List,” Red Velvet‘s “Wish Tree,” and Boa‘s “Christmas Paradise.” The holiday treat was complimented with the sentimental story MV series Smile For You — Happy Smile.

Brown Eyed Girls‘ Ga-in surprised fans with two special Christmas releases, “When it Hits Midnight” (featuring Eric Nam), and a cover of Kim Yong Joon‘s “Must Have Love.” Ga-in’s vocals and jazzy instrumentals create a sultry Christmas atmosphere that might be a nice change of pace for those wary of over-the-top holiday cheer.

Songstress IU showcased her sweet vocals in a lovely cover of  D.ear‘s “December 24th.” Her breathy vocals are perfect for the slow and sentimental holiday track.

For those who enjoy a more hip-hoppy Christmas: Singer Lee Moonsae released a new album New Direction 15 ‘Winter Special’ with the lead title “This Christmas.” Lee Moonsae is joined in the track by Roy Kim and Hanhae (Phantom).

Keeping with the hip-hop, Brand New Music dropped “Candle, Heat it Up,” performed by Bumkey, Verbal Jint, San E and Kanto. The track is advertised as a special winter release to warm the heart, but I’m pretty sure it’s an extended metaphor about heating up other things. Whatever gets you in the (holiday) mood, I suppose.

DSP‘s rookie girl group April released the cutsey track and MV for “Snowman.” The song uses the metaphor of a snowman to discuss falling in love with a cold person. The MV follows through with the teaser’s promises of lots of wintery imagery and the ladies of April being adorable during the holiday season.

Lastly, the boys of B1A4 released their first holiday track, “It’s Christmas” written by member Jinyoung. The track falls in line with their most recent comeback “Sweet Girl,” but with a nice, festive ring.

(YouTube: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. Images via SM Entertainment.)