For tonight though, we have 19 of the best songs from Top 16s of previous seasons to pick from. Four of them will join our bracket this year for a chance to be declared the best of the best. This isn't just any group of average songs. We have two versions of White Christmas, two different versions of The Christmas Song, two rocking songs in Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin around the Christmas Tree. Any four of those would be excellent selections. So take a few months and decide which songs should be in the final bracket of the season!
Have you had a chance to decide what songs will be on your list this year? If not, you still have a chance to get in on the action while we figure out what songs are the best of the best of the past 10 seasons. All you have to do is fill out the form located here!
For tonight though, we have 19 of the best songs from Top 16s of previous seasons to pick from. Four of them will join our bracket this year for a chance to be declared the best of the best. This isn't just any group of average songs. We have two versions of White Christmas, two different versions of The Christmas Song, two rocking songs in Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin around the Christmas Tree. Any four of those would be excellent selections. So take a few months and decide which songs should be in the final bracket of the season!
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It is hard to believe that this competition has been going on for 10 years. While it may be starting later than usual this year, and a bit different than any previous season, you're in for some excellent music. Instead of bringing back last year's Top 16, and forcing you to sit through a bunch of new music, you're getting all of the best. All 76 former Top 16 songs are back to choose from. Different versions, multiple songs by the same artist, all of the rules are out the window!
If you've followed along here before, you might be wondering how that is going to work. After all, doesn't the standard bracket only go out to 64 songs? You can't cram 76 songs into that song showdown! Who are you to tell me what to do? My mom? Well, either way you'd be right, we can't do that. All 76 songs have been randomly divided into four different groups. Each of those groups will go up in a free for all vote for a few nights. The Top 4 songs that get the most votes in each group (tie breakers to be settled upon a roll of the dice) of each group will become the Top 16 for this year. After that, we'll enter our standard random bracket. So how can you participate this year? First of all, you can still do the Top 16 Challenge. Though, yet again, it is set up a bit different this year. You'll have all 76 songs to choose from, and you can pick whatever you want. Want to have 16 different songs? You've got it. Want to pick White Christmas - Bing Crosby 16 times? You can do that too. Split the difference and pick 8 different songs and 8 White Christmas - Bing Crosby? You better believe you can do that. Have your Top 16 any way you want it. All you have to do is fill it out HERE and click submit. After that? On the 5th we'll start with the first randomly selected group of free-for-all rounds. Pick out the songs that deserve to be considered the best of the best, and we'll see what ends up in our final competition. Need a reminder of what has made it to the Top 16 in the past? Here you go: 12 Days of Christmas - Muppets A Christmas Carol - Scrooge Cast A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives A Holly Jolly Christmas - Dolly Parton A Holly Jolly Christmas - Lady Antebellum All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth - Spike Jones All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey Believe - Josh Groban Carol Of The Bells (Instrumental) - Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love Christmas Canon - Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Canon Rock - Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Time - Bryan Adams Christmas Tree Farm - Taylor Swift Christmastime Is Here - Mel Torme Christmastime Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Cool Yule - Bette Midler December the 25th - London Palladium Cast Do You Hear What I Hear? - Bing Crosby Do You Hear What I Hear? - Whitney Houston Good King Wenceslas - Bing Crosby Good King Wenceslas - Irish Rovers Happy Holidays - Andy Williams Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (w/ The Harlem Community Choir) - John Lennon Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Amy Grant Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Mel Torme Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Michael Buble Here Comes Santa Claus (Down Santa Claus Lane) - Elvis Presley Home For The Holidays - Perry Como I Have a Little Dreidel - Barenaked Ladies I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas - Gayla Peevey I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm - Ella Fitzgerald It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Perry Como It's Christmas Time All Over the World - Sammy Davis Jr. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Andy Williams It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year - Kylie Minogue Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Michael Buble Little Saint Nick - The Beach Boys Mele Kalikimaka - Bing Crosby Must Be Santa - Mitch Miller O Holy Night - Josh Groban O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Twisted Sister Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby & David Bowie Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Sinatra Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Temptations Sleigh Ride - Boston Pops Orchestra Sleigh Ride - Pentatonix Snoopy's Christmas vs. The Red Baron - The Royal Guardsmen Snow - White Christmas Cast Snowfall - Doris Day The Chanukah Song - Adam Sandler The Chanukah Song - Neil Diamond The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) (Rock Version) - The Chipmunks The Christmas Song - Michael Buble The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) - Al Jarreau The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) - Nat King Cole The Man with All the Toys - Beach Boys The Twelve Pains of Christmas - Bob Rivers Ugly Christmas Sweater - Garth Brooks Underneath The Tree - Kelly Clarkson We Need A Little Christmas - Angela Lansbury Where are You Christmas - Faith Hill White Christmas - Bing Crosby White Christmas - The Drifters Winter Wonderland - Dean Martin Winter Wonderland - Johnny Mathis Wonderful Christmastime - The Shins You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft Need more song showdown style writing? Go check out www.neversaydice.com Merry Christmas you filthy animals! Another year of wonderful and strange music at the holiday song showdown. Thank you to everyone who participated in the new bracket challenge. What did you think? Perhaps you want to know the winner first. Thank you as well to everyone who stopped by and voted this season. There were a handful of shut-outs and quite a few close matches.
For the songs, in case you don't want to go track down the bracket, in 4th place we have Perry Como's Home For the Holidays. That means 3rd place goes to his version of It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas. That brings us to the main event. In second place, with 3 votes in the final round, we have Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee. Good to see that one up there. Even better to see another version of White Christmas make it all the way to the top. Congrats to The Drifters. I'm sure you really want to know the results of the bracket challenge though. You can of course go check it out and see the final scores and ranking on the bracket page. What fun is that though? In third place with a total of 70 points....Nutmeg Eggnog! In 2nd place with a final score of 76 points....Bumbles Bounce! That leaves us with our winner. A former champion of the Top 16 challenge on the site. Not just that, but a multi-year winner. U Forgot Cran3illys Too? Thanks again to everyone. Shall we do it again next year? Either way, join me over at www.neversaydice.com every week for storytelling and games related articles.
With that, we do end up with a Como Coma, but only to battle it out for bronze. Instead, we have a final battle between two classics featured in Home Alone. So what will it be? White Christmas from the Drifters or Rockin Around the Christmas Tree with Brenda Lee? Each are worthy in their own way, but I know where my vote is going. Do you?
Fun Fact: Perry Como released over two dozen versions of holiday songs. For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com
Just a few more days until the big day, and before then we must vote on the final four to decide our finals. This year we have two Perry Como songs in the mix...could we end up with a Como Commotion at the end? For that to happen though, the other challenging songs will have to fall. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and White Christmas - Drifters still both have their sites set on being the number one song this season. The only thing that can get them there are your votes. Believe in the Beve!
Fun Fact: Traditionally on Christmas Beve, celebrators drink 8 ounces of prune juice. For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com
If you were a fan of doing all 8 of those battles at once, I have some good news for you. If you weren't, be glad that we're only doing 4 this time. Once again, we'll narrow things down with round 4 of songs to decide the final four. In this little group, we have two renditions by Perry Como (we limit to two per an artist each year). We also have two songs by former Beatles, although Wonderful Christmas time is being performed by the Shins. I wouldn't count out the Drifters version of White Christmas or We Need A Little Christmas by Angela Lansbury. Which songs will make our final four? That is up to you!
Fun Fact: Santa's Elves were first introduced in literature by Louisa May Alcott in 1856. For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com
Close matches last night, but in the end Christmas Tree Farm - Taylor Swift and We Need A Little Christmas - Angela Lansbury move ahead to Round 3. This takes fan favorite Christmastime Is Here out of the running this year. Did Angela Lansbury's death give the song an extra boost? Or do people just not like the Mel Torme version of Christmastime Is Here as much? Whatever the reason, the Santa Sixteen are decided for year 9 of song showdown.
If you've been following along, you've heard all of these songs before on here if not on your own. To shift things around a bit, all EIGHT battles are being posted TONIGHT. Your entire top 16 of the season are listed in the form below for your votes. We'll leave it up for extra day or so to make sure people have a chance to vote. Fun Fact: Hanukkkah can never begin on a Tuesday. Happy Hanukkah everyone! For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com
As predicted, Home For the Holidays moves into the Top 16 with an easy shutout over Eaken Trio's Dreidel. Joining it will be Kelly Clarkson's Underneath the Tree.
The first battle tonight sees another two former Top 16 songs facing off. Where Are You Christmas and Christmas Tree Farm share the stage. Which one will make it back to the top? Only your votes can decide that. In the second battle, we have another former top song Christmastime is Here - Mel Torme against We Need A Little Christmas. Torme's version obviously isn't as good as the original, but can it still make it back to the finals? Fun Fact: The original title of Where Are You Christmas? was Christmas, Why Can't I Find You? For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com
Mitch Miller squeaked by with a win over Gene Autry. How did he do it? Must be Santa. In a stunning defeat, Drifters complete a shut-out with their version of White Christmas.
There was some controversy previously over putting Underneath the Tree up against Christmas Wrapping. This year though, all of the pairings were randomly generated. Will there be just as much drama tonight with Underneath the Tree facing off against Somewhere in My Memory? The second match should be less controversial with Home For the Holidays by Perry Como the favorite to win. Could he even get a shutout? Fun Fact: How much would the 12 Days of Christmas cost you to put Underneath the Tree? This year, for all 364 items, it would cost you a grand total of $194,951.59. For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com
For your Song Showdown Top 16 you're getting your Two Front Teeth and having a Wonderful Christmastime as well. What new songs will we add tonight?
Starting out in the first showdown we find Gene Autry with Up On The House Top searching for...well...it Must Be Santa and Mitch Miller. The second battle sees Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Ronettes against the Drifters version of White Christmas. Which classy songs do you think belong with our new Top 16? Fun Fact: Santa didn't have a fluffy white beard until the 1880s, Thomas Nast drew a cartoon for Harper's Weekly that depicted Santa as a big man with a lavish beard and a sack full of presents. The image has stuck. For those of you who really love the Song Showdown, come check out our Spotify List of (almost) every single song that has been on the showdown. Over 16 hours of holiday music! And for more Song Showdown style shenanigans, check out www.neversaydice.com |