Mariah Carey releases "Fall in Love at Christmas" and leaves me wondering if every other male R&B singer was busy. Because...Khalid!?

It's November y'all. Which means Mariah's Christmas powers kick in. Along with the announcement of another Christmas special on Apple TV+, Mariah has graced us with a new song which features Khalid and Kirk Franklin, called "Fall in Love This Christmas".

Why was there a guy at a piano playing the start of the song, when in the music it's a guitar?

HENNYWAY.

What is it with Khalid getting these high profile collabs with artists that don't always made sense!? He seems to be the latest go-to for when artists want a young Black unproblematic cis-male singer. And I've got nothing against Khalid, but every now and then he'll feature on a song, the pairing will seem mismatched to and I can always think of artists I'd rather hear in place of him. P!nk's "Hurts 2B Human" needed somebody like a Chris Stapleton. Victoria Monét's "Experience" needed somebody like Ne-Yo. And Mariah Carey's "Fall in Love at Christmas" needed a Brian McKnight or a Tank. Somebody closer in age to Mariah to really sell the intimacy of the song, who also has a richness to their voice which comes with that age. This sounds ageist as hell. I know.

Mariah Carey & Khalid - Fall in Love at Christmas | © 2021 Mariah, RCA Inspiration, Sony Music Entertainment

I get Khalid will make 'the kids' get into the song, but I think Mariah's so past that point now. The kids are never gonna check for her like that. And this song would have been better with one of the aforementioned.

Wonderments at Khalid aside, "Fall in Love at Christmas" is a really nice song, and not what I was expecting at all. One thing I really admire about Mariah when it comes to Christmas songs, is that she never does the same thing twice, even though it would be so easy and understandable for her to do so.

What may go against "Fall in Love at Christmas" becoming a Christmas classic is that it doesn't sound like a typical Christmas song, which is the one thing I actually really like about it. It would've been so easy to throw some bells and Christmas associative note and chord progressions on this shit to make it sound mo' Christmas, but it's basically just a nice ballad with a Christmas sentiment. This could easily be a song on any standard Mariah album. And it's been a while since Mariah has given us a song with this "My All", "After Tonight" type of vibe. The last time we got a song like this from Mariah I think was with Charmbracelet's "I Only Wanted". But it still gives Christmas. 

I like the trend of artists not always going for typical Christmas sounding songs. Sometimes there's so much focus on ticking boxes to ensure that the song sounds like Christmas to the ear, that writers and artists get lost in that, and forget the key ingredient of a good melody, solid lyrics, heart and sentiment - the things that ACTUALLY make a Christmas song. Just go listen to Sia's Everyday Is Christmas. That shit is checkbox Christmas album at its finest and also worst.

"Fall in Love at Christmas" feels less like Mariah trying to chase a Christmas number 1, which is part of what made last year's "Oh Santa!" a bit icky. The mix was a mess. Jennifer Hudson was so misplaced. And the original vocals were better. But it got people talking, I guess.

I'm sure this song will be featuring in the Apple TV+ special and that Kirk Franklin and Khalid will be making appearances. And we'll probabaly get another recording of a Christmas classic, as we did with last year's "Sleigh Ride" which was such a great cover that I wish Mariah had released properly as a single.

💿 Mariah album reviews: Caution | Me. I Am Mariah... | Merry Christmas II You | Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel | E=MC² | Charmbracelet | Glitter | Rainbow
🦋 Mariah playlists: Merry Christmas, from Mariah | A Gospel Moment | Featuring...