NOTE: This is Part 2 of the Episode! For Part 1, featuring the Round 1 discussions in which we go from a Top 32 to a Santa 16, click here!
So this is Christmas. What have you done? Well we’ve already knocked out half of the songs in our bracket, AND we’ve gotten drunk. What have you done, Karen? God. Say, what’s in this drink? Welcome to Part 2 of the Great Pop Culture Debate on the Best Holiday Pop Songs released between 1980 and 2020.
Host Eric Rezsnyak and panelists Curtis Creekmore, Heather Maclean, and Kate Racculia get into the holiday spirit by debating the holliest, jolliest holiday songs of the past 40 years.
If you want to listen to the Top 32 songs (plus some extra picks by our panel!), here’s a playlist. If you want even more modern holiday pop songs, we made a separate playlist featuring song suggestions by our listeners!
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The Round 2 match-ups are:
Match-Up 1: “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey vs. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by John Legend & Kelly Clarkson
Match-Up 2: “Hard Candy Christmas” by Dolly Parton vs. “White Christmas” by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
Match-Up 3: “Last Christmas” by WHAM! vs. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by the Pointer Sisters
Match-Up 4: “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses vs. “The Chanukah Song” by Adam Sandler
Match-Up 5: “Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Whitney Houston vs. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by U2
Match-Up 6: “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues vs. “Mele Kalikimaka” by KT Tunstall
Match-Up 7: “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by NSYNC vs. “Merry Christmas Baby” by Bruce Springsteen
Match-Up 8: “Carol of the Bells” by Pentatonix vs. “Dick in a Box” by The Lonely Island & Justin Timberlake
Want to play along at home?
Find the listener bracket for this episode by clicking here. Download a copy, make your own choices, and see how you stack up against our panelists!
Looking for more related content?
Check out these other episodes from Great Pop Culture Debate:
Best Holiday Pop Song (1980-2020) Part 1
Best Holiday Album
Also make sure to check out our Visual Puzzle featuring iconic Movie Santas!
Have a say in future episodes!
Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!
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EPISODE CREDITS
Host: Eric Rezsnyak
Panel: Curtis Creekmore, Heather Maclean, Kate Racculia
Producer: Mike Rapin
Editor: Jeffery Perry