First Listen: How Christmas Radio Sounds in 2025

Of the stations that flipped to Christmas on (or before) November 1, the one I had to listen to first this year was WQFM (92 Mix FM) Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Last year, that station got a lot of attention by doing Classic Hits with a staff of format veterans trying to recreate the sound of CHR in the ’80s under consultant Gary Berkowitz. This year, it jumped into holiday music ahead of heritage AC WMGS (Magic 93).

When I listened to 92 Mix FM on November 1, it was jockless and straightforward, not unlike the holiday presentation that Berkowitz might have done for one of his AC clients. But I went back on November 4 to hear afternoon host Jack Diamond, and the energy and elements of the retro presentation were back. It wasn’t quite the screaming Mike Joseph-era “Hot Hits” Christmas that’s fun to imagine now, but it was different compared to the holiday stations I heard in the first few days of my Christmas radio listening.

Ross on Radio’s holiday-radio coverage always kicks off in early November with a listen to the early format switches. The intent is to look for any subtle changes in music — different versions, songs elevated in the holiday canon — particularly among the major groups’ outlets. Since the COVID Christmas of 2020, I’ve also been looking for any changes in presentational tone that might speak to listeners’ overall mood.

I wrote last year that the holidays sounded a little more uptempo. So far, what I’ve heard has been pretty straightforward — I have encountered some stations where the presentation is essentially “’listener sweeper,’ ‘Santa sweeper,’ ‘kids sweeper,’ ‘device promo,’ repeat.” In that regard, WQFM stands out, too. (WQFM also gets the “best local ad” award, having gotten a local beverage manufacturer to congratulate employees on their anniversaries with the company on-air!)

Here’s WQFM on November 1 at 9:30 a.m.:

• Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
• Madonna, “Santa Baby”
• Andy Williams, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
• Dean Martin, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”’
• Chipmunks, “The Chipmunk Song”
• Jackson 5, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
• Train, “This Christmas”
• Burl Ives, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
• Nat King Cole, “The Christmas Song”
• Barry Manilow, “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays”
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24”
• Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”

iHeart Radio used its first few flips to launch two new Christmas outlets this year. WRNW (B97.3) Milwaukee had just gone to AC before flipping to holiday music, replacing the previous format change on Classic Hits sister WRIT. Here’s WNOH (105.3 the Breeze) Norfolk, Va., recently switched itself to Soft AC, doing its version, which will pit it against Audacy’s WWDE (2WD). 

The Breeze had the first mention of a local holiday event that I came across: the upcoming 39^th annual Grand Illumination Parade. Here’s the station at 3 p.m., November 3, with Chris Davis:

• Lindsey Stirling, “Carol of the Bells”
• Nat King Cole, “The Christmas Song”
• Jose Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad”
• Taylor Swift, “Santa Baby”
• Michael Bublé, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
• Ray Conniff Singers, “Jingle Bells”
• Peabo Bryson, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
• Andy Williams, “Winter Wonderland”
• Harry Connick, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
• Bobby Helms, “Jingle Bell Rock”
• Mannheim Steamroller, “Faeries”
• Johnny Mathis, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
• Leroy Anderson, “Sleigh Ride”
• Lady A, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”

Connoisseur’s Soft AC WXMA (The Rose) Louisville is one of two stations in the market already doing holiday music. (Summit’s Hot AC WVEZ [Mix 106.9] has been covered here in previous years.) When I heard, they were addressing the early start directly with a sweeper that asked “too early for Christmas music? I believe it’s right on time!” 

Here’s the Rose at 3:30 p.m., November 3:

• Bing Crosby, “White Christmas”
• Wham!, “Last Christmas”
• Mary J. Blige, “This Christmas” — the first moment of music-scheduling grace
• Elvis Presley, “Here Comes Santa Claus”
• Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Linus and Lucy”
• Nat King Cole, “Silent Night”
• Jessica Simpson & Rosie O’Donnell, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
• Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Jingle Bell Rock”
• Tony Bennett, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
• Taylor Swift, “Santa Baby”
• Burl Ives, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
• Josh Groban, “Believe”
• Frank Sinatra & Cyndi Lauper, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
• Lindsey Stirling & Sabrina Carpenter, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
• Amy Grant, “Winter Wonderland”
• Dean Martin, “Silver Bells”
• Ray Conniff Singers, “Jingle Bells”

KELO Sioux Falls, S.D., swapped frequencies with its CHR sister, just ahead of its holiday flip. Owner Midwest Communications usually shows up in these pages for the distinctive and very successful version of CHR it does on WIXX Green Bay, Wis., and elsewhere. KELO (the heritage calls rhyme with “hello”) had a little different take on Christmas, too — a little more Country, some newer titles, and more variety overall.

It’s interesting to hear “Grown Up Christmas List” or “Mistletoe and Holly” on KELO and realize that those songs, once the regular secondary titles of the format, have faded because so many holiday outlets don’t have secondaries anymore. I’m always careful about spotlighting distinctive titles, lest it come off as an accusation of not-playing-the-hits, but I appreciated KELO’s variety, and Midwest has a pretty good track record with doing its own thing. 

Here’s KELO at 8:45 p.m., November 4:

• Laufey, “Santa Baby”
• Elvis Presley, “Silver Bells”
• Dan + Shay, “Holiday Party”
• David Foster w/Natalie Cole, “Grown-Up Christmas List”
• Bing Crosby, “White Christmas”
• Jimmy Buffett, “Mele Kalikimaka”
• Garth Brooks, “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays”
• Band Aid, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
• Train, “This Christmas”
• Nat King Cole & John Legend, “The Christmas Song”
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Christmas Canon”
• Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Jingle Bell Rock”
• Lady A, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
• Frank Sinatra, “Mistletoe and Holly”
• John Legend, “You Deserve It All”
• Kenny G, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
• Norah Jones, “Christmas Don’t Be Late” — aka “The Chipmunk Song”
• Gene Autry, “Up on the House Top”

Group owner Audacy often champions some different versions of the standards, so I again went to its first flip of the season. When I last wrote about it, it was WSPA (Magic 98.9) Greenville, S.C. Audacy has since moved the AC format to WFBC-HD4 and a translator signal, rebranding the station as Magic Upstate. (The station’s Elyse Riley didn’t just encourage you to listen on the station app; she also talked about how to find the station on HD.) Here’s Magic Upstate just before 4 p.m., November 4:

• Perry Como, “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays”
• Glee Cast, “Last Christmas”
• Martina McBride, “O Holy Night”
• Burl Ives, “Holly Jolly Christmas”
• Kelly Clarkson, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
• Bing Crosby, “Frosty the Snowman”
• Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Jingle Bell Rock”
• Jewel, “Winter Wonderland”
• Johnny Mathis, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
• Jackson 5, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
• Dean Martin, “Silver Bells”
• Lindsey Stirling, “Joy to the World”
• Michael Buble, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
• Luther Vandross, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

I tuned into SiriusXM’s new streaming-only Holidays With Anne Murray and Friends just as the channel was playing Blue Rodeo. The Murray-hosted channel isn’t all-Canadian Christmas, but there is a stronger presence of Canadian artists on both the playlist and in the artist drops. There’s also an interesting mix of both contemporary pop and Triple-A titles. Here’s Holidays With Anne Murray at 9:45 p.m., November 4:

• Blue Rodeo, “Christmas Must Be Tonight”
• Camila Cabello, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
• Otis Redding, “Merry Christmas Baby”
• Kelly Clarkson & Ariana Grande, “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me”
• Drake Jensen, “Christmas in My Heart”
• Brian Setzer Orchestra, “Dig That Crazy Santa Claus”
• William Prince, “The Sound of Christmas”
• Donny Hathaway, “This Christmas”
• Taylor Swift, “‘Tis the Damn Season”
• Kendra Kay & Jason Benoit, “How Great Thou Art”
• Backstreet Boys, “Christmas in New York”
• Anne Murray, “Silent Night”
• Pentatonix, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
• Anne Murray & Michael Bublé, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”
• Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas is You”
• Ella Fitzgerald, “Holiday in Harlem”
• Jojo Mason, “Santa Came Anyway”

I’ve written about the UK’s AC Magic Radio for the past two years. I try to change up the coverage each year, but I went back because the already-launched Magic Christmas side channel has new jingles from TM Studios, which also has new packages on two of Magic’s other brand extension outlets. Magic (like rival Heart Christmas) is now heard nationally on the UK’s DAB+ band.

The first listen to UK Christmas is always fresh because of the UK’s differing holiday libraries — always more rock and somewhat less ’50s/’60s MOR. The surprise this year was Johnny Mathis’s “When a Child is Born,” now obscure in the U.S., but a hit in the UK, and always a personal favorite. That song’s lyric — each newborn could be the savior a troubled world needs — was an unusual take in 1975. It’s pretty devastating now.

Here’s Magic Christmas just before 11 a.m., November 4:

• Darlene Love, “All Alone on Christmas”
• Johnny Mathis, “When a Child Is Born”
• Jess Glynne, “This Christmas”
• Elton John, “Step Into Christmas”
• Dean Martin, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
• Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run”
• Jona Lewie, “Stop the Cavalry”
• Wizzard, “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday”
• Whitney Houston, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
• Mariah Carey, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
• Madonna, “Santa Baby”
• Pogues & Kirsty MacColl, “Fairytale of New York”
• Bing Crosby & David Bowie, “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy”
• Band Aid, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
• Spice Girls, “Two Become One” — not holiday-themed, but a holiday No. 1
• Bon Jovi, “Please Come Home for Christmas”
• Leona Lewis, “One More Sleep”
• Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas”
• John Williams, “Carol of the Bells” — from Home Alone