Following the success of her all-original 2018 Christmas album Celebrate, her upcoming album ‘Tis the Season embraces more of the unbridled fun displayed in her most popular seasonal song, “Jingle Jangle,” which secured seven placements in various feature films and tv shows including Noelle (Disney +), The War with Grandpa, Black Christmas, Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen (Hallmark) and more. “If Celebrate is the album you enjoy with a glass of wine by the fire, ‘Tis the Season is the album you play in the morning over a cup of coffee while baking cookies, wrapping gifts – and the whole family is hanging out together with bed-hair,” says Rehya. The powerhouse singer-songwriter calls it her ‘romancing the madness of the holiday season’ album. “It’s sheer joy and celebration,” she says. ‘Tis the Season slips eight all-new, original Christmas songs under the tree along with 3 covers of beloved classics.
Compared to Rudolph’s bright-red nose, “The Old Red Sleigh” is blinding; the track is decorated with a bouncy western rhythm section, barbershop-style vocal arrangements and gritty hollow-body guitars by Gene Siegel. “Marry Me for Christmas” harkens back to the Brill Building era of Carole King/Gerry Goffin with a modern twist; the girl proposes to the guy while singing, “You’re looking so tight, Mr. Right – like the star of a movie show / And I’m all dressed up in white / tonight, there’s no better place to go.” “Christmas is Coming Soon” features lush chamber orchestration with lyrics that seemingly fuse the stylings of “The 12 Days of Christmas” meets a festive ole’ Irish drinking song. The 60’s inspired “Santa, Won’t you Hurry” blazes in the spirit of the love-sick holiday hits “All I Want for Christmas is You” (Mariah Carey) and “Baby, Please Come Home” (Darlene Love), while “Wonderland of Winter” nestles in blissful poetry as an ode to winter’s wonders with a gentle harp, lush strings and a kid’s choir to chase away your bah-humbug blues.
Stevens welcomes a stellar cast of collaborators on this new collection with Grammy-nominated producer/co-writer Tom Keane (Chaka Khan, Chicago, Barbra Striesand, Nathan East, Mack Keane), Jon Kubis (DWTS, Showtime at the Apollo, Quincy Jones, Dolly Parton), Michael NOMAD Ripoll (Tommy Sims, Walter Afanasieff, Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban) and Gardner Cole (Madonna, Amy Grant). With the title track already gracing the screen in Noelle (Disney +), and Victoria’s Secret 2020 in-app holiday ad, ‘Tis the Season is jingling merrily down the lane for all to enjoy this Christmas and many more to come.
Rehya Stevens is not only a gifted and highly praised singer-songwriter, she’s also an insightful observer when it comes to a vast spectrum of human emotions. Granted, it’s a rare artist who can fully plough through the tangled web of feelings and experiences encountered during the often confounding journey that encompasses life’s entirety, but Rehya has been given the gift of not only perception, but also sensitivity, and with that – the ability to make music that is readily relatable to everyone fortunate enough to find it.
Rehya is especially adept at writing music that enhances the joys of the holiday season – and in so doing, rekindles the sentiment and kinship that’s so integral to that precious time of year. It’s especially important now, given the distancing, distrust and trepidation that have become so commonplace of late. Thankfully, Rehya’s music provides a formidable space to reinforce the bonds of brotherhood and fellowship that are so essential, not only at Christmas, but every day of the year.
No stranger to musical success, Rehya’s previous holiday album Celebrate, garnered a number of accolades, including nine film/tv and ad placements (combined) in Noelle (Disney+), The War with Grandpa (theatrical release), Black Christmas (theatrical release), Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen (Hallmark), All Rise (CBS), The 12 Dates of Christmas (HBO MAX), Victoria’s Secret and more.
Hollywood Music in Media awarded her stand-out track “Jingle Jangle” ‘Best in Holiday’ in 2019, and her smooth jazz single “Happy Holiday” reached #2 on the Billboard charts in 2018.
“I think the love of music has always driven me to figure out what makes me, and what makes other people tick — emotionally and spiritually,” she figures. “It’s allowed me to express our common yearnings, and, in turn, offer what I hope is a valuable form of therapy through music.