Seasonal Streaming: Birdy, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Welcome to “Seasonal Streaming,” where – with an awareness of the holidays on the horizon (yes, we’re still in early December, but they’re literally getting closer every day) – we take a look at a tune from the Rhino digital catalog that, if it isn’t already on your radar, certainly should be.

Her full name is – hang on, we’re gonna need to take a deep breath first – Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde, but you probably know her better as Birdy...or perhaps you don’t know her at all. Certainly, she’s massive in her native UK, having started her rise to fame in 2008 when she won the 2008 Open Mic UK at age 12, and she’s an even bigger deal in Australia, where her self-titled debut album climbed to the #1 spot, and both of her subsequent albums have been top-10 hits. In the US, she’s still finding her footing, but her second album, FIRE WITHIN, hit #24, making it her highest-charting album to date.

But enough about her back catalog: we’re here to talk up her latest single, a cover of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Arguably one of the saddest holiday tunes of all time, with the line “if the fates allow” causing the tear ducts to well up every blessed time, Birdy’s gentle acoustic version is just as moving as you’d expect, filled with the emotion that everyone’s feeling right about now, wondering whether or not they’ll be able to spend the holidays with their families.

If you like what you hear, give our Birdy playlist a shot, won’t you? You won’t be sorry!