"Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" is a song by American boy band

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

. It was released on November 29, 1998 as the first and only single from their second studio album, '' Home for Christmas'' and was also featured on the end credits of the 1998 Disney Christmas movie ''

I'll Be Home For Christmas "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song. Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longed ...

''. The song charted at #37 on the

Top 40 Mainstream Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

chart. The single was also the second from NSYNC's

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an seasonal album, '' The Winter Album''. A cappella group

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements wit ...

covered the song in their 2016 Christmas album, '' A Pentatonix Christmas''. The song has also been covered by American singer

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American singer and songwriter. At the age of ten, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years ol ...

for the deluxe version of his album ''

Winter in the Air ''Winter in the Air'' is the seventh studio album and second Christmas album by David Archuleta, released on November 2, 2018. A deluxe edition was released on November 14, 2019, which included three bonus tracks "The Christmas Song", "Merry Chri ...

'' in 2019, and by singer-songwriter

Betty Who Jessica Anne Newham (born 5 October 1991), known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian musician and singer. After independently releasing her debut single, "Somebody Loves You (Betty Who song), Somebody Loves You" (2012), and her debut ...

for

Spotify Singles Spotify (; ) is a Swedish audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services, with over 678 million monthly active users com ...

in 2020. In 2021, popular Christian singer

Tauren Wells Tauren Gabriel Wells (born April 7, 1986) is an American Contemporary Christian music singer and pastor from Houston, Texas. Wells was the frontman of former Christian band Royal Tailor. After the group's disbandment in 2015, he released ''Unde ...

covered "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" as a non album single.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed the song in the context of ''Home for Christmas'', and gave the following review:

It's always a sign that a group is hot if they release a holiday album mere months after their debut. That's the case with *NSYNC. Their debut was released in America in late March, and in early December, Home for Christmas hit the shelves. Much of the album is devoted to newer material, such as the anthemic "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays", and only a handful of songs qualifying as standards: "The Christmas Song," "The First Noel," and "O Holy Night." All of it is given the familiar *NSYNC sheen, alternating between slickly produced adult contemporary ballads and lite dance-pop.

Music video

The video was directed by

Lionel C. Martin Lionel C. Martin is an American music video director, film director and VJ from Queens, New York. While he is known primarily as a music video director, he has also directed the films '' Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' (1997) and '' Longshot'' (2 ...

and filmed in a day. All five members of

had creative input for the direction of the video, as they wanted it to "be pop, fun, and energetic." This also included their request to include

Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor, known as a high-profile child star of the late 1970s and 1980s. Born in Zion, Illinois, Coleman grew up with his adopted parents, and a kidney disease; due to the co ...

as an elf in the video, which Martin described as "a little tricky" to secure on board. The classic sitcom ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...

'' is referenced when NSYNC ask "Whatchu talkin' about, Gary?", based on Coleman's catchphrase; "Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?". Coleman's agent didn't approve of him saying the line, as it was owned by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. The video debuted on ''TRL'' on December 14, 1998 and became the band’s third video to reach number one on the countdown at the time.

Track listing

# "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" – 4:12 # "All I Want Is You (This Christmas)" – 3:16

Charts

Certifications

Release history

David Archuleta version

In 2019, David Archuleta covered “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” for the deluxe version of his Christmas album ''

''. The accompanying music video features NSYNC members

Chris Kirkpatrick Christopher Alan Kirkpatrick (born October 17, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, podcaster, and actor. He founded the pop group NSYNC, in which he sang countertenor. The band has sold over 70 million records, becomin ...

and

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...

in cameos.

References

{{'N Sync 1998 singles NSYNC songs JC Chasez songs Issues (band) songs American Christmas songs Music videos directed by Lionel C. Martin Songs written by Justin Timberlake