Polar bears, partridges, and reindeers are often associated with Christmas, but in Gwen Stefani’s case, exotic animals of a very different stripe first inspired her to write the songs for her 2017 festive album You Make It Feel Like Christmas.“I was at (then boyfriend, now husband) Blake [Shelton]’s ranch in Oklahoma and there are all these exotic animals, like wildebeests – it’s like Jurassic Park,” the No Doubt singer and solo star told Entertainment Weekly in October 2017. “I decided to go for a run and I was thinking to myself ‘if I wrote a Christmas song, what would it be?’ And literally, this whole chorus comes out of my mouth. I was just singing out loud, by myself – with the wildebeests!”
Stefani’s run was the catalyst for several of the original songs for You Make It Feel Like Christmas, which included “Christmas Eve,” “My Gift Is You,” and “Under The Christmas Lights.” But it was the album’s titular song – also released as its first single – that remains the record’s most beloved track.
Listen to Gwen Stefani’s “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” now.
A fun, uptempo pop song with more than a touch of Motown in its driving backbeat, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” features a duet between Stefani and country star Shelton. Yet while the song’s lyric references holiday-themed staples such as snow and “sweet gingerbread made with molasses,” it also reflects on the way Christmas can bring families together (“Like a present sent from God/Sleigh bells singing Hallelujah/Stars are shining on us too”), which is why it’s likely to retain its universal appeal in the years to come.
“I love the idea of being a part of the joy of Christmas,” Stefani told Entertainment Weekly. “And I love the idea of having a record that will be an annual thing. I really hope we hit on something that people want to hear every year.”
The way “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” has since been accepted suggests Stefani’s wish may well be coming true. On release in the fall of 2017, the song was launched with a memorable, retro-flavored video featuring Stefani sporting a ritzy silver dress akin to Marilyn Monroe and it immediately made an impact – not least in Europe where it charted in numerous countries and went silver in the U.K. In the beginning, it was more of a slow-burner in North America (where it initially failed to break into Billboard’s Hot 100), but it’s since made its presence felt in the U.S. where it’s now received a platinum certification and seems poised to become a Christmas standard in the near future. “‘You Make It Feel Like Christmas’ is a modern classic,” the U.K’s Official Charts Company declared in its review of the song. “There’s just the right amount of schmaltz and country-pop festive cheer, so expect to see this one reappear in the coming years.”
Listen to Gwen Stefani’s “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” now.
