Before the 2023 CMA Country Christmas special airs next week, the show has revealed its festive song list.
Rising vocal duo The War and Treaty will perform “O Holy Night,” Scotty McCreery will perform “Holly Jolly Christmas” and show host Carly Pearce will deliver a two-pack of holiday favorites: “Man With the Bag” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.”
Carly’s also partnering with bluegrass star Molly Tuttle for a medley of Christmas classics with a bluegrass twist. “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas,” Let it Snow,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’” are all in the mix.
A couple of performers are focusing on the soulful side of the holiday. Maren Morris will sing “Merry Christmas, Baby,” an R&B favorite that has been recorded by the likes of Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Ike and Tina Turner, B.B. King and more. Meanwhile, Old Dominion is performing “What Christmas Means to Me,” a song that many artists have cut, including Stevie Wonder.
Original holiday material gets its due on CMA Country Christmas, too. Dan + Shay are performing two original numbers -- “Holiday Party” and “Officially Christmas” -- and Steven Curtis Chapman will treat viewers to his “Precious Promise.”
CMA Country Christmas airs on Thursday, December 8 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.