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Christmas & Chill (commonly abbreviated as C&C or CC) is the second Christmas extended play by American singer Ariana Grande released on December 18, 2015 by Republic Records as a follow-up to her 2013 Christmas EP Christmas Kisses and her 2014 Christmas single "Santa Tell Me". The EP features six original R&B-inspired Christmas tracks written and produced by American producers and frequent collaborators Tommy Brown, Mr. Franks, The Magi, Travis Sayles, Victoria Monét, and Peter Lee Johnson. Over the years, the EP has gained somewhat of a cult following amongst fans and Grande. She has referred to it as her "favorite body of work" on numerous occasions.

Christmas & Chill was re-released exclusively in Japan on November 18, 2016, including one new bonus track: the Alex Ghenea remix of "Into You" featuring Mac Miller. Additionally, the EP was included on the Japan-exclusive "christmas edition" of Dangerous Woman (2016). In November, 2023, the explicit version of "Santa Tell Me" was added to the EP on all streaming services.

Background[]

On December 7, 2015, Grande teased several snippets of new music on her Snapchat (later revealed to be "December" and "True Love").[1] The last snippet she posted was captioned with: "👀❄️", indicating it was Christmas music. That same day, Grande posted lyrics on to her now-defunct Twitter account. Grande had previously stated on Twitter that if she said something was "coming soon", it would be released within ten days. With Grande liking a Tweet asking if "True Love" would be released "soon", she indirectly confirmed that new music was on the day. She later clarified that fans would be getting "more than one song", indicating the possibility of a Christmas EP or album.

On December 16, 2015, Grande tweeted that she would release the EP "tomorrow", however, it was released officially on iTunes two days later.[2] Christmas & Chill was originally only available via digital download, though on November 18, 2016, the EP was reissued on CD in Japan with a new artwork and a bonus track; the Alex Ghenea remix of "Into You". The EP gained renewed interest when it pressed on vinyl for the first time in November 2019. Grande's Christmas medley during the Sweetener World Tour, in which she sang most of the songs off the EP, also helped the EP surge in popularity.

Critical Reception and Chart Performance[]

Christmas & Chill received favorable reviews from music critics. It debuted at number 34 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at number 3 on the Billboard Holiday Albums ranking in the United States with 35,000 copies sold in its first week of release in the US and has sold over 180,000 copies worldwide. Jaleesa M. Jones in USA Today called it "a festive ode to winter romance." Emma Garland from Noisey said the EP "basically sounds like a Cassie album ... but with sleigh bells and lyrics like 'tis the season for some love giving!' It's basically the perfect festive romp." Two years after its release, MTV's Sydney Gore and Brian Anthony Hernandez revisited the EP, calling it "a new holiday classic" and "a catalyst of original Christmas carols for the so-called doomed millennial generation". Billboard ranked the EP as one of the Best Christmas Albums of the 21st Century: "Grande’s second holiday EP eschews traditional sounds of the season, opting instead for contemporary R&B grooves, trap synths and punny innuendo".

Recording[]

Christmas & Chill was recorded entirely at Ariana Grande's home studio between late-November and early-December, 2015. Through various leaks, we can archive the exact dates that certain songs were created:

Trivia[]

  • The first song recorded for the EP was "December".
  • The longest track on Christmas & Chill is "True Love" with a length of two minutes, 46 seconds, while the shortest track is "Intro" with a length of one minute, five seconds.
  • The first time Grande performed these songs live was during the 2016 Z100 Jingle Ball.
    • During this performance, she accidentally sang the wrong lyrics during "December."
  • In late-2019 when the EP was first pressed on vinyl, an alternate version of "Santa Tell Me" with alternate, explicit lyrics in the bridge, dubbed the "naughty version", was added to the end EP as a secret/hidden track.
    • This version of "Santa Tell Me" was later added to the EP on streaming services in 2023. Prior to this, and the vinyl release, the "naughty version" was originally only available in Japan.
  • During the final leg of the Sweetener World Tour, the Yours Truly/My Everything medley during the second act of the show was replaced by a Christmas medley, featuring every song on the EP except "Intro" and "Not Just on Christmas".
    • Additionally, those two songs have never been performed live.
  • After performing these songs on the Sweetener World Tour in 2019, Christmas & Chill gained a new popularity online and subsequently went semi-viral.
  • In 2019, to celebrate the EP's anniversary, Grande posted pictures of her in the studio as well as an article titled "Remembering Ariana Grande's Merry, Horny Christmas Record."
  • A photoshoot Grande did for T-Mobile at the T-Mobile Arena was later used as the cover of the 2016 re-issue of Christmas & Chill.
  • The background of the original cover for the EP was made by graphic designer Kaspri, and can be found on stock image sites such as Shutterstock and DepositPhotos.
  • Various songs on the EP had completely different titles prior to being released:
    • "Intro" was originally titled "Welcome to Christmas"
    • "Wit it This Christmas" was originally titled "Are You Wit it This Christmas?"
      • Another working title for the song was "Wit It (Milk & Cookies)," as shared by Grande via Snapchat when she was originally teasing the songs in 2015.
    • "December" was originally titled "Merry Christmas Here I Am"

Merchandise[]

Physical Releases[]

Videos[]

Gallery[]

Recording[]


Japanese Edition Booklet[]

Japanese Edition Calendar[]

Photoshoot[]

Track listing[]

Standard Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"Ariana Grande, Victoria McCants, Tommy Brown, Travis Sayles, Steven Franks, Michael Foster, Ryan TedderMr. Franks, Magi, Sayles, Brown1:05
2."Wit It This Christmas"Grande, McCants, Brown, Sayles, Foster, Tedder, Peter Lee JohnsonMr. Franks, Magi, Sayles, Brown2:41
3."December"Grande, McCants, Brown, Sayles, Franks, Foster, TedderMr. Franks, Magi, Sayles, Brown1:56
4."Not Just on Christmas"Grande, McCants, Brown, Sayles, Franks, JohnsonSayles, Brown2:02
5."True Love"Grande, McCants, Brown, Sayles, Franks, Foster, Tedder, JohnsonMr. Franks, Magi, Sayles, Brown2:46
6."Winter Things"Grande, McCants, Brown, Sayles, Franks, JohnsonSayles, Brown2:39
Total length:13:09
Re-release Japanese CD (bonus track)[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
7."Into You" (Alex Ghenea Remix)Grande, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund, Ilya SalmanzadehIlya, Martin, Alex Ghenea3:38
Total length:16:47
LP version hidden track / 2023 re-issue
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
7."Santa Tell Me" (Naughty Version)Grande, Savan Kotecha, Ilya SalmanzadehIlya3:24
Total length:16:34

References[]

Christmas & Chill
December 18, 2015 • 13:09 • Republic Records
Songs
DecemberIntroNot Just On ChristmasSanta Tell Me (Naughty Version)True LoveWinter ThingsWit It This Christmas
Artists
Ariana GrandeMac Miller
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