Welcome back to the eighteenth day of 25 Days of Christmas. Here on ai love music, let’s celebrate this warm holiday season by transforming the Daily Feature into 25 Days of Christmas. Each day, we will feature a holiday song from any artist from any genre. Today’s holiday song is “It’s Christmas (So It’s Okay)” by Canadian pop-country duo Broadtree.
What Makes It Christmassy?
It has been a whirlwind year for the Canadian pop-country duo with a handful of releases (including their first album!), went on their first tour, and even appeared at the Canadian Country Music Awards. Recently, they released their new Christmas single “It’s Christmas (So It’s Okay)”. The tune is composed of various memories and emotions. It is a song that many listeners can relate to instantly with its core theme. “All the things that get on your nerves, or even more seriously, make you feel lonely or feel sad. But, we put up with them and that they don’t seem so bad because it is Christmas time.”
Any time we play this song, everyone in the audience has a reaction, which is great. Not a single person grunts, not a single person goes “Ugh, another Christmas song.” At the end, they go “I like that! That song is about me and how much I hate Christmas. And then the person next to them go “That’s me and how much I love Christmas.” We wanted to make it as relatable as possible so no matter who was listening, they can go and say “OMG, this is me!”
Broadtree started to write the song in early October to release it in November. There was one question that they tackled during the writing phase: “What makes a Christmas song sound like a Christmas song?” They listened to many Christmas songs to figure out. “What is that pixie sound that makes it sound like Christmas? Oh, that is glockenspiel! Where can we put a glockenspiel in our song? Where can we put jingle bells? Those little subtle sounds that make it sound Christmassy” Yet, they didn’t want to sound cliche in the lyrics and music by adding too much. (I think they did a great job making it sound like Christmas without overdoing it!)
The Story
Like a true Broadtree tune, this Christmas tune is wrapped around a story with a few characters:
Our way of writing is trying to figure out a way for characters and stories. When we first came up with the idea originally, we said it will be one person talking about her experience of the holidays. Then all of a sudden, we brought in another person into the setting. What if one man is lonely at Christmas, and he kind of sits with his peppermint latte at a city square watching people skate. And then these two people meet. This song is a conversation that they have back and forth about how crazy the holidays can be but we both still love Christmas, so it’s perfectly fine!
Braodtress hinted that the two characters ended up making a new friend by the song’s end. And maybe something more! Stay tuned next year to see if there is a sequel! But for now, enjoy “It’s Christmas (So It’s Okay)” with its positive spin about the ups and downs of the Christmas season. What is your reaction to this? What is something you can relate to?
Make sure to check out Broadtree’s “It’s Christmas (So It’s Okay)” down below. Let me know what you think in the comments!
About the Artist; Broadtree
Broadtree is a Canadian pop-country duo that features Armand Antony and Nicole McCafferty. Both are theatre performers who have been involved with music and drama for a long time. Being involved with different theatre productions, the two performers’ paths eventually crossed when they met at one of these productions.
Then, in 2020, Armand decided to record some music and invited Nicole to sing on a track. When they performed at a show for the single, the two discovered that they had something. “We knew that there was something special, we knew there was something we wanted to continue,” Armand explained. Because of COVID-19 and being currently unemployed actors, Armand and Nicole created Broadtree to be able to discover something new.
Nicole and Armand first started off doing different covers and a Christmas show. They even released an EP with a couple of covers. Then at the end of December, Broadtree decided that they would release some original material. And it was one of the best decisions, the duo said, as each said they worked really well together.
Broadtree’s musical influences are mostly country, but they are influenced by other musical genres and acts. When Nicole was growing up, she often listened to country, but also musical theatre and big musical acts like Barbra Streisand as that was what her mother listened to. As for Armand, he was mostly a classic rock fan and 80’s rock fan when he was growing up
