Welcome to the latest instalment of our most recent blog series Top Tens, which is posting roughly every Sunday, Australian time. Last week we talked about our top 10 traditional Christmas carols. This week we’ll talking about our top 10 original Christmas tunes by some of our favourite artists (in reverse order)!

Hallelujah Light Has Come

Artist- BarlowGirl

Most impacting lyric: Hallelujah,
We’ve been found
A child is born
To save us now
Hallelujah light has come
A Savior who will set us free
A Promise for those who believe

What I love about this song: Alyssa, Lauren and Rebecca sing exquisitely and powerfully together, and there’s an epic crescendo with loads of orchestral instruments. The subject matter of this Christmas song doubling up as a worship praise song is pretty cool as well!

Born In Bethlehem

Artist- Third Day

Most impacting lyric: Baby Jesus, do you know you’ll die for all our sins?
Don’t be afraid, for in 3 days, you will rise again.

What I love about this song: Mac is his usual captivating self vocally, and this Christ-centred song about praising God because He was born, is pretty simple yet effective in the message. Driven by drums and a weird guitar thingy that Mark is playing below, this song is also one of my favourite Third Day songs as well!

He Has Come For Us

Artist- Meredith Andrews

Most impacting Lyric- All the angels sing “Hallelujah! Jesus Christ is born!”
All the children sing “Hallelujah! He is Christ the Lord!”

What I love about this song: Though not an official original song, the added chorus and bridge is one of my favourites and one of the most impacting, with Meredith’s raw emotion and heart for Jesus and lifting His name up, being so contagious and winning me over as well. I’m also immersed in the song when I hear the majestic piano and guitar brilliantly combing with Meredith’s serene vocals too!

This Christmas

Artist: TobyMac

Most impacting lyric: Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas, this Christmas
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas, this Christmas

What I love about this song: There are two versions of this holiday themed rap song, and let’s face it who doesn’t love TobyMac, one third of dc Talk? Toby always surprises us with his diverse music, which is sometimes pop, sometimes rap, sometimes rock! Toby can really rap, just listen to the two versions here and here!

We Are The Reason

Artist: Avalon

Most impacting lyric: I’ve finally found the reason for living
It’s in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do every word that I say
I’ll be giving my all just for Him, for Him

What I love about this song: Originally recorded by and written by David Meece, it is the vocals that really capture my attention. Janna, Michael, Jody and Cherie passionately sing in unison, and  their harmony is definitely God breathed, as I sit, or stand, in awe of why Avalon is still one of today’s most enjoyable vocal groups. Lyrically this song is very inspirational as well, as it explicitly speaks about Jesus’s birth, life, death and resurrection, as being the reason why we all can live in freedom and hope now!

Christmas Day

Artist: Michael W Smith

Most impacting lyric: Oh, Merry Christmas, joy to the world
For every nation, for every boy and girl
Let’s light a candle, for peace we pray
Oh, Merry Christmas, it’s Christmas day

What I love about this song: There are two versions of the song, one sung with Mandisa (below) and one sung with Jennifer Nettles (live version here), and both are stunning. While the song doesn’t reference Jesus explicitly, we are reminded of the joy of Christmas and the feeling of hope, peace and community through this ballad. We are also shown a lot of imagery and metaphors used to describe Christmas, and it’s very cool for us to be reminded about the reasons we love Christmas. There are also vivid and clear descriptions of Christmas traditions and what it looks like for Americans, and people around the world!

All I Really Want For Christmas

Artist: Steven Curtis Chapman

Most impacting lyric: ‘Cause all I really want for Christmas
Is someone to tuck me in
Tell me I’ll never be alone
Someone whose love will never end
Of all that I could ask for
Well, there’s just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas
All I really want for Christmas is a family

What I love about this song: A heartfelt, personal and emotional track sung from the point of view of a little boy who’s writing to Santa hoping that he will be adopted into a nice loving family, this track fits so in line with the mission of Steven’s organisation Show Hope, a movement to care for orphans around the world. Steven has children adopted from China, so this not for profit organisation that he started is what he really believes in. Going back to the song, it really chokes you up, and everyone will definitely cry just a bit!

Heaven Everywhere

Artist: Francesca Battistelli

Most impacting lyric: It’s funny how it takes a holiday
To show us how the world could truly change
If we all took the time to really care
There’d be a little more of heaven everywhere

What I love about this song: “Heaven Everywhere” is about showing Jesus to everyone at any time, regardless of whether it is Christmas or not. Led by big booming drums and giving us an anthemic feel, this ballad and eye opening song shows us how each one of us is more ‘human’ and kind around the holidays, yet some of us are like Scrooge the other 364 days. But as Francesca describes the feeling that we receive at Christmas in the choruses, for me, that’s what I want to act like all year round, showing the love of Christ to others in need!

Jesus Is Alive

Artist: Josh Wilson

Most impacting lyric: Sin you have no sting
Hell you have no power
Curse you are no more
This is your final hour
Because the son of God
Has not left us alone
He’ll live and die and rise again
And then he’ll bring us home
The old will pass away
And we will become new
This baby boy is making all sad things untrue

What I love about this song: It’s straight to the point, there’s no fluff- Josh Wilson knows how to sing a song full of hope that is encouraging. Singing a song about Jesus being alive today so we all can sing out and praise His name, I love that this song can double up as a worship song and be sung all year round! The presence of the Christmas bells and the glockenspiel, as well as the prominence of the keys on this song is pretty cool as well!

Baby Boy

Artist: for KING and COUNTRY

Most impacting lyric: See, the King is coming down
And He’s here without a crown
The Baby Boy without a bed
Giving life back to the dead
And hear the angels shout it out
As the people come and bow.
Unexpected majesty
Alleluia, what a King

What I love about this song: I’ve literally got no words for this very poignant and inspirational song, as the music, lyrics and split vocals of Joel and Luke is beyond description, and is 5 stars! The worshipful and poignant chorus is probably the best lyrics and original Christmas song of the past few years, and singing about the magnitude of how God came to save us through a baby boy, in a way no one expected is very ingenious, as it shows us that God’s ways are higher than ours, and He cannot be put into a box!

5 that missed out- The Night Before Christmas (Brandon Heath), This Is Christmas (Kutless), The Heart Of Christmas (Matthew West), Born Is The King (It’s Christmas (Hillsong), Christmas Is Coming (Jason Gray), How Many Kings (downhere)

So there you have it, my top ten favourite original Christmas melodies. So, what are yours? Let me know so that we can compare and have a healthy discussion!