Title: Santa's On His Way
Length 2.43
Genre(s): Christmas, Pop
Label: Kaleidoscope Records
Release Date: December 15th 2014
Written By: Evalyn Dixon
Produced By: Max Martin, Jason Vasello
Sounds Like: Santa Clus Is Coming To Town'Santa's On His Way' is a Christmas single by indie/alternative singer-songwriter Evalyn Dixon, the song will be released via Kaleidoscope Records on December 15th, the song has a typical Christmas feel and sees Evalyn be more pop in sound that normal but still has indie elements throughout the song, the song itself was written by Evalyn herself and was produced by world renowned producer Max Martin, along with Evalyn's friend Jason Vasello whom also provides a backing vocal for the song, the song is about the excitement leading up to Santa's arrival in town.
'Santa's On His Way' is also being used as a way to promote the Kaleidoscope Records EP, which will feature some if not all of the record labels artists, as Evalyn submitted her song first her label thought it would be a perfect time to release the track to the public in time for Christmas and also help boost the sales of the eventual EP by Kaleidoscope Records, this single however does stand as a stand alone single for Evalyn as herself as she hasn't chosen to add to her upcoming debut album.
The song starts with a festive beat as Evalyn starts singing in a higher key with a rather soft tone to her voice she stays in this key for the entire first verse showcasing a great deal of control in the higher range of her voice, as she begins to sing the bridge the beat changes and slows down to a more pop sound, Evalyn then can be heard singing with again the soft high range tone in her voice again showing control in her vocals there is also backing vocals provided here by Evalyn's friend and producer Jason Vasello, as the bridge ends the beat once again picks up again to a more Christmas like sound as Evalyn begins to sing the chorus this time she sings in a lower key and her voice becomes slightly husky instead of the soft tone that was used in previous verses, her vocals are not as controlled in the lower range but the tone in her voice was still there after the chorus the beat changes slightly a more pop sound as Evalyn begins to sing the second verse of the song once again with the higher more soft tone to her voice and the control is maintained once again, after this verse again there is a bridge section with the beat once again changing to a more Christmas sound however Evalyn this time sings the bridge still in a higher key but towards the end sings in a lower key again Jason Vasello provides backing vocals, the beat changes once again to an new wave beat as Evalyn sings the final chours once again in the higher range of her vocals however this chours is slightly different due to the faft that Evalyn seems to drop in and out between her high and low register, then is another bridge section again with Evalyn singing in the lower key but this bridge section however has no backing vocals by Jason, the beat then changed again to a more pop beat as Evalyn sings the chorus once again with the higher key and again drops in and out of her high and low range after this Evalyn finishes singing, the beat plays out for ten more seconds before the song ends.
CRITICAL RECEPTION/REVIEWS'Santa's On His Way' acclaimed by music critics. Parisien called the song "well-crafted", complimenting its instrumentation and melody. Steve Morse, editor of The Boston Globe, wrote that Evalyn sang with a lot of soul. According to Barry Schwarz from Stylus Magazine, "to say this song is an instant classic somehow doesn't capture its amazingicity; it's a modern standard: joyous, exhilarating, loud, with even a hint of longing." Schwartz praised the song's lyrics as well, describing them as "beautifully phrased," and calling Dixon's voice "gorgeous" and "sincere." Kyle Anderson from MTV labeled the track "a majestic anthem full of chimes, sleigh bells, doo-wop flourishes, sweeping strings and one of the most dynamic and clean vocal performances of Evalyn's career". While Becky Bain from Idolator called the song a "timeless classic" and wrote, "We love the originality of the song to pieces—we blast it while decorating our Christmas tree and lighting our Menorah." In his review, Thomas Connor from the Chicago Sun-Times called the song "a simple, well-crafted chestnut and one of the last great additions to the Christmas pop canon". Shona Craven of Scotland's The Herald, said, "it's a song of optimism and joy that maybe, just maybe, hints at the real meaning of Christmas." Additionally, she felt the main reason it was so successful is the subject "Santa" in the lyrics, explaining, "Perhaps what makes the song such a huge hit is the fact that it's for absolutely everyone who loves Christmas." Craven opened her review with a bold statement: "Bing Crosby may well be turning in his grave, but no child of the 1980s will be surprised to see Eavlyn Dixon's sublime Santa's On His Way bounding up the charts after being named the top festive song of the moment." Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker said, the "charming" song was one is Evalyn's biggest accomplishments, calling it "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". Dan Hancox, editor of The National, quoted and agreed with Jones' statement, calling the song "perfection". Jasmine Bebo reviewed the song calling it a "holiday standard."
AOL music said "Evalyn's newest song, 'Santa's On His Way,' will have people thinking about Christmas even if it'still a few weeks away." Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone and Mike DIver of BBC Music both commented on the beat of the song, with Ganz writing "Evalyn bops to a schoolyard-chant beat on 'Santa's On His Way'," however, even though Diver praised the songs beat, he felt that it was not as good as any other sing by Evalyn to date" writing that 'Santa's On His Way' is a boisterous RnB bopper that makes perfect sense as this set’s lead single from this apprent record label EP– it’s not in the same league as Asome of the Christmas classics, but it’s sure to warrant revisiting 12 months down the line." A reviewer from Idolator likened "Santa's On His Way" to Avril Lavigne 's song "Girfriend" writing, "Presumably, not every track will sound like a North Pole version of Avril Lavigne’s 'Girlfriend' as the boppy “Santa's On His Way” does." Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post listed "Santa's On His Way" as one of the recommended tracks of the Christmas period, as well as writing "There are noble gestures ...'Santa's On His Way,' Dixon's hyperkinetic, stomping team-up with onetime career-saver Jermaine Dupri and the underrated modern soul maestro Bryan-Michael Cox."
RJ Cubarrubia of Billboard first complimented the song, saying that "the bopy sound allows the young superstar to showcase how much she and her voice have grown," and that the chorus sounds "warm and fuzzy." However he said "Dixon's breezy and flat lyrics make 'Santa's On His Way' come off like an uninspiring, Jason Mraz-esque holiday track." Cubarrubia commended Evakyn for attempting to inject her charisma in such a track, but said "shes still far from the classic Christmas pop of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You"." Although he said the song may feel a bit calculated, Bill Lamb of About.com complimented the song's "bopy Jason Mraz vibe, the subtle seasonal touches, and adult sound. Lamb predicted the song to be a likely seasonal hit for Dixon and commented, "The subtle wintry holiday chimes in the backing track make it obvious this is a seasonal release, but it will not be jarring when included on a standard pop playlist." Jarett Wieselman of The Insider.com said the song "is pretty damn good" and went on to say "it's gonna be the biggest song of Christmas 2014." Wieselman said "You can't deny the appeal Britain's new sweetheart gives when dropping a track where she asks the listeners to 'remember to be good'.' Well played young lady, well played."
LyricsIt's Christmas time
The people are cheering
As the sleigh bells start ringing
Getting into that special festive mood
The wine is out and mistletoe is about
As the snow starts falling
Christmas is the time for sharing
Even if money is tight
I got my special gift for the night
The day draws closer and closer
The children start their caroling
As the cheering and the excitement builds
They all knew that santa's on his way tonight
Ready to give children the gifts
The children never sleep tonight
They stay awake to try and see old saint nick
But it never happens because his to quick
But they know santa's on his wayThey leave there milk out for the reindeer
Hoping that the milk is gone come Christmas day
When the big day comes they grow more excited
Today is the day that the gifts from santa are revealed
The children scream and shout
Knowing that they have been good
The way the know is by the gifts from santa
The day draws closer and closer
The children start their caroling
As the cheering and the excitement builds
They all knew that santa's on his way tonight
Ready to give children the gifts
The children never sleep tonight
They stay awake to try and see old saint nick
But it never happens because his to quick
But they know santa's on his wayBut santa also looks to punish the bad kids
That's why when they open there presents
They find nothing but a wooden brick inside
This is how saint nick teaches the bad kids to be good
And the good kids to stay good
They bad kids cry at there gifts
While the good kids cheer
Saint nicks job is done for this year
His back to his grotto for another year
The day draws closer and closer
The children start their caroling
As the cheering and the excitement builds
They all knew that santa's on his way tonight
Ready to give children the gifts
The children never sleep tonight
They stay awake to try and see old saint nick
But it never happens because his to quick
But they know santa's on his waySOUNDS LIKE:
