Production on an album of Christmas music started in 2021, after a suggestion from Michele Anthony of Universal Music Group prompted Fallon to record a holiday song.[3] He recorded a cover but was dissatisfied with it, and felt that established singers would be able to sing them better; instead, he opted to write his own original Christmas songs.[4] "Chipmunks & Chestnuts", which draws influences from Roy Orbison, Slim Whitman, and Monty Python, was the first song written for the project.[5][6] In December 2021, "It Was a... (Masked Christmas)" with Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion was the first single released from the album. The song started out as an idea in August 2021 when Fallon was recording at Electric Lady Studios; his intention behind the track was to cheer people up during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, he approached Grande to sing the hook but did not hear back until October; she then got in touch with Megan Thee Stallion to record the rap.[7]
"Almost Too Early for Christmas" with Dolly Parton was released in November 2022, accompanied by a lyric video featuring cartoon versions of the two performers; the song refers to the phenomenon of the Christmas creep.[8][9] The two, who had previously collaborated on a cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" for Parton's A Holly Dolly Christmas (2020), performed the song on the holiday special, Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, which aired on December 1, 2022.[9][10] "Almost Too Early for Christmas" has a psychedelic introduction and was originally intended for a Harry Styles collaboration.[4] "Wrap Me Up" with Meghan Trainor was released in November 2023; the two promoted the single with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and a music video released the following month.[11] In September 2024, Justin Timberlake teased his duet with Fallon, "You'll Be There", on an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; Timberlake was responsible for much of the instrumentation on the track.[2][5] Fallon revealed that Timberlake's touring commitments was the reason he was the most difficult guest to have on the album.[12]
Fallon recorded covers of "Silent Night" and "The Little Drummer Boy" at Electric Lady during a blizzard in 2023;[6] they are included on the track listing for the album's deluxe edition.[14] The deluxe edition features Christmas songs that are not necessarily comedic in nature, including a cover of Harry Nilsson's "Remember (Christmas)" with pianist Lang Lang.[4] Fallon estimates that around 25 original songs were written for the album.[4]
Promotion and release
The album was announced on October 10, 2024, and released on CD, vinyl, and digital formats on November 1, 2024.[15] In March 2023, Fallon had told E! News that the plans were for his album to be released that year.[16] Merchandise accompanied the release of the album, including a Christmas sweater, a Christmas stocking, and oven mitts.[5] In addition, a gift box of holiday seasonings was launched, which includes a hot chocolate blend created in collaboration with Fallon and his two daughters.[17][18] A limited-time channel, Holiday Seasoning Radio, was launched on Sirius XM featuring holiday songs selected by Fallon as well as a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the album.[19] In December 2024, Crumbl launched a candy cane chocolate brownie inspired by Holiday Seasoning, developed in collaboration with Fallon.[20]
"Holiday" was released as a single and was a minor radio hit in the U.S., becoming Fallon's first song to top the country's Adult Contemporary chart.[27][28][29] Its music video features the Jonas Brothers trapped in a snow globe, and the song's remix features rapper LL Cool J.[2][14] "Holiday" was released as a single in Italy on December 13, 2024.[30] Fallon and the Roots performed "Hey Rudy" at the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 28,[31] and again for 2024's last episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, accompanied by the Radio City Rockettes.[32]Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular, an accompanying holiday special, aired on December 4, 2024 on NBC, featuring a number of guests from the album.[5] A deluxe edition of Holiday Seasoning was released on December 6, 2024, featuring nine additional tracks.[14]
In a three-star review, Marcy Donelson of AllMusic praised the affectionate "Holiday" and "Almost Too Early for Christmas", but doubted some of the songs would fit in with other holiday music, noting they could be used as background music.[33] Maria Sherman of the Associated Press and Gary Graff of Cleveland.com included Holiday Seasoning on their lists of 2024's best holiday albums.[35][36] In addition, "Holiday" was included on Billboard's list of best new Christmas songs of 2024.[37] On the other hand, Will Hodgkinson of The Times called Holiday Seasoning "one of the most annoying Christmas albums in history", and said Fallon's vocals sounded like they were AI-generated.[34]
In the U.S., Holiday Seasoning debuted atop Billboard'sComedy Albums chart and at number 2 on the Top Holiday Albums chart, with almost 13,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, according to Luminate, becoming Fallon's second number-one on the former. In addition, the album debuted at number 3 on the Top Album Sales chart and number 9 on the Vinyl Albums chart, with nearly 12,000 copies sold.[38] The album has spent four weeks atop the Comedy Albums chart.[29]
