Lauren Daigle: The Christmas Song Review

By: Bea Willis
Lauren Ashley Daigle is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter from Lafayette, Louisiana. Daigle is signed to the Centricity Music label. Her first full-length album, How Can It Be, was released in April 2015 and went on to achieve Platinum Record status. Daigle was awarded the New Artist of the Year title at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards, with her single “How Can It Be” winning the Song of the Year.   Additionally, The next year, she went on to win the Dove Awards for Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Best Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, with her single “Trust in You.” In 2016, Daigle’s album How Can It Be was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album; her single “Trust in You” was nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song and “You Say” was just nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

Daigle has a holiday single out “The Christmas Song,” exclusively on Amazon with the new pilot program titled Amazon’s Originals.  It allows listeners to call up the tune on Amazon’s Alexa device.   Daigle has a deeply weathered voice on this classic tune, added to the fact it is approached in a brushed slow-tempo ballad, her voice is reminiscent of Billie Holiday, not in timbre but moreover in her articulation of the lyric.  Her vocal approach is approached like a seasoned horn player would – flavoring the track in a more matter of fact approach, allowing the voice to organically convey the emotion of the tune.  Her emotional alto voice is evocative in its delivery, and the instrumentalist offering a touching, yet sparse rendition of the tune, adding to its emotional impact. The addition of subtle backing voices adds the right amount of tenderness to the track.  At the halfway point the ensemble picks up the pace to a mid-tempo swing before bringing it back down to a brushed ballad for Daigle to expound up, before once again lifting the tempo to a mid-swing with a brightened feeling.

Overall, Daigle has created a wonderfully nostalgic sound.  Her approach on “The Christmas Song,” transports you to a 30s speakeasy in the late hours of the silence in the wee hours.  A wonderful rendition of a classic tune. Amazon, this time you got it so right.

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• Release Date: November 23, 2018
• Label: Centricity Music (CEY)

About the author

Bea Willis

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