''The West Christmas Ever'' is the third

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by American drag performer

Nina West Nina West is the stage name of Andrew Robert Levitt, an American drag queen, activist, actor, and singer-songwriter based in Columbus, Ohio. She rose to national prominence with her appearance on the eleventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', ...

, which was released by Producer Entertainment Group on November 8, 2019. The

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

EP has five original songs and three interludes featuring

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as th ...

; The Vox Ensemble of the

Columbus Gay Men's Chorus The Columbus Gay Men's Chorus (CGMC) was formed in 1990 by five people. The non-auditioned chorus maintains the vision of its founding members to foster increased recognition, understanding and acceptance of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and trans ...

are featured on "Santa Will Be Gone". "Jingle Juice" has a music video. The EP peaked at number five on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Comedy Albums Comedy Albums is a ''Billboard'' chart that lists the "top-selling spoken word and musical comedy albums" each week, as ranked by sales data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Top Comedy Albums in October 2004 (simultaneously wit ...

chart, and had a generally-positive reception.

Development

(Andrew Levitt's drag persona) began work on the project in July 2019. She completed five songs, which she described as "very different" and representative of "all of these different parts of Andrew and Nina respectively, and my sensibilities around the holidays, both in and out of drag". She met American voice actor and singer

in August, at a D23 event through Cummings' ex-wife and daughter, who are fans of '' RuPaul's Drag Race'', the American reality television series in which Nina West competed (

season 11 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

). Needing someone to voice

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

and tie the songs together, West recruited Cummings. In a ''

'' interview, she recalled that he agreed to participate "without batting a lash". West described herself as a "lifelong Disney fan" who was "hyper aware of Jim for a long time": "His voice is synonymous with so many Disney characters that you likely are a fan of his without knowing it". She said about working with him:

Composition

The EP includes five original songs and three "whimsical" interludes with Cummings ("Santa's Not So Little Helper", "Nina the Extra Elf", and "The West Christmas Ever"). ''Billboard'' Stehen Daw wrote, "The new project sees the star tackling all the genres she can, from country-rock to classic choral Christmas, all while playing up her character as Nina the Elf, and not-so-helpful helper of Santa Claus." "Jingle Juice" was described as a "honky-honk holiday hoedown" by Hollywood Life's Jason Brow. West said that the song was her favorite to sing and record for the EP, and described "Jingle Juice" as having a "rockabilly, Chris Stapleton, stomp-clap, Christmas at a saloon in the North Pole kind of vibe". She said about the song: "Christmas Arrow" commemorates one of West's favorite singers. In "Cha Cha Heels", she declares John Waters '' Female Trouble'' (1974) a Christmas film; West said that the song allows her to connect with her appreciation for

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

, "like it's a weird extension of ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''". In "It's Chris, Miss", she asks Santa Claus for some Hollywood "hunks" under her

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

. West described the song as "ridiculousness" and "really really fun ... because lyrically, it is just so dumb". "Santa Will Be Gone" features the Vox Ensemble of the

Release and promotion

''The West Christmas Ever'' was released by Producer Entertainment Group on November 8, 2019, following her previous EPs ''

Drag Is Magic ''Drag Is Magic'' is a Children's music, children's Extended play, EP by American Drag (clothing), drag performer Nina West, released by Producer Entertainment Group on May 17, 2019 alongside her comedy and political EP ''John Goodman (EP), John ...

'' and ''

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...

'' (both released on the same label on May 17, 2019). "Jingle Juice" music video sees West bring the holiday spirit to people "stuck without really celebrating the seasons". She said that the video has "a mix of the Wild West themes" and was influenced by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, '' Hee Haw'' and

Lady Bunny Lady Bunny, originally known as "Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock" (born Jon Ingle, August 13, 1962), is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasion ...

, one of her favorite entertainers. The video also refers to ''

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, written and co ...

'' (1989). According to West, "the idea of going to a town where it was kind of isolated and stuck in a certain time" was an inspiration for the video. To commemorate West being named National Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year, her foundation launched "The West Christmas Ever — 25 days of Christmas" to present $1,000 grants to

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

+ organizations across the U.S. every day from December 1 to December 25.

Reception

Randy Shulman of ''

Metro Weekly ''Metro Weekly'' is a free weekly magazine for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Washington, D.C., United States. It was first published on May 5, 1994. ''Metro Weekly'' includes national and local news, interviews w ...

'' called the collection "as festive and funny as you'd hope", and Decider.com's Brett White said that the EP "is sure to spice up your holiday plans with a bit of that Nina West magic, which is kind of a mix of cinnamon and a warm hug". Jason Brow wrote for Hollywood Life, "Nina gives Santa Claus a run for his money when it comes to spreading the holiday spirit ... her trademark humor is ever-present ... hich.. reminds us that we need to carry this moment of 'peace on earth, goodwill to all' beyond December". According to Brow, "Jingle Juice" "will put the rocking back in your stocking", described its music video as "joyous", and called "It's Chris, Miss" "hilarious". The EP peaked at number five on ''Billboard''

chart.

Track listing

Track listing adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

and the Apple Store

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:West Christmas Ever, The 2019 EPs Christmas EPs Comedy albums by American artists Nina West albums Producer Entertainment Group albums