Today's Pick

Well! It's certainly a very merry Christmas in Leona Lewis' world, as the 28-year-old English songbird has been getting in the holiday spirit lately and has released the music video for her festive new holiday single "One More Sleep," the lead single from her debut Christmas album and fourth studio album, "Christmas, with Love," a ten-track album featuring covers of seven yuletide classics and three originals - came from label boss Simon Cowell, a man who knows that Christmas albums sell by the bucketload in America.
"One More Sleep" is a Motown inspired song and its hook consists of a Christmas countdown, whereby Lewis sings "Cause I got five more nights of sleeping on my own/ Four more days until you're coming home/ Three more dreams of you and mistletoe/ Two more reasons why I love you so." Lewis "trills" the lyrics "I've got five more nights of sleeping on my own/ Four more days until you're coming home" over the Motown inspired beat of xylophone phones and jingle bells. Waiting the return of her partner to come home on Christmas Day, Lewis adopts an "angelic tone" as she sings "Three more dreams of you and mistletoe/ Two more reasons why I love you so."
The wonderfully old-fashioned tune is more heart-warming and sweet than a Christmas pudding, and "One More Sleep" may have narrowly missed landing at No.1 on Sunday but it's entry into the Top 5 had nonetheless made the former X Factor contestant a record breaker. Which means Lewis has more than enough reason to celebrate this Christmas, now that she officially has more Top 5 hits than any other British female solo act in history. "The support from my fans has been tremendous," Lewis told OfficialCharts.com. "I could not do this without them!" The singing sweetheart is making us feel warm and toasty like hot cider this holiday season! Between the adorbzies choreography and her precious vocals, we're about ready to explode with Christmas cheer!
As for the "One More Sleep" video, it's very appropiate. An extra-beautiful Lewis rocking a red lip in the snow and arrives to her cabin in the snowy woods, prepares everything, decorates her sweet holiday home, and welcomes her lovely family and friends, which included her boyfriend Dennis Jauchs. They will have dinner, and exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. Lewis looks certainly breathtakingly stunning. Lewis said the video "came from an idea we did a little while ago where a camera crew came into the studio and shot me and my friend just kinda messing around and just in the studio being me."

Colbie Caillat celebrates Christmas on the beach in her recently released new video for the fun-loving Christmas track, "Christmas In the Sand," the lead single and title track from her debut Christmas album, "Christmas in the Sand."  Whether we want to admit it or not, Christmas is right here and other than gift giving and receiving, the Christmas tunes are the best part.
Having lived in sunny southern California her entire life, Caillat has quiet experienced the so-called joys of "white Christmases," the 27-year-old Malibu-born and two-time Grammy winning singer songwriter brings her easy going rhythms and breezy style to this album, which breaks from traditional (and boring) compilations in that it features four original Christmas songs and eight holiday standards. It's not the same old renditions that have been playing for 60 years, and Caillat provides a low-level musical hum that induces feelings of happiness, warmth, and joy.
Caillat told Billboard she wrote this upbeat and fun track during her vacation on a small album in Bali, "I was thinking, what do they listen to over here [Hawaii] at Christmas time? I bet they don't always want to hear songs about white Christmases and bundling up 'cause it's cold outside. They want to have a holiday song they can relate to." Caillat teamed up with frequent writing partners Kara DioGuardi and Jason Reeves to craft the bubbly and admittedly silly track, "Kara started coming up with all these funny lyrics about Santa falling off his surf board and Rudolf playing reindeer games on me," she says.
Filmed in Malibu and directed by Roman White, throughout this sunny take on a Christmas song, the lovely California girl rocks a typical California look and makes it look pretty darn appealing as she bounces around on a beach singing in a breathy voice about Santa in his bathing suit. Caillat's voice is strong, yet sweet, and the song is definitely fits to my kind of warm California Christmas. The upbeat tune of the song makes you want to sway in your seat. Her voice reminds me of fellow singer songwriter Sarah Bareilles so if you're a fan of hers you'll definitely be pleased with this album.

Justin Bieber dropped the video for "Fa La La" with Boyz II Men, who were one of the most successful acts of the 1990s. There are no reindeer or presents under the tree; instead, the 17-year-old Bieber and the Philadelphia R&B outfit he credits as one of his music idols team up sing of a warm love that will endure through the holiday season. The clip actually manages to heighten the already-transcendent experience of listening to Bieber and the Boyz' honey-dipped R&B harmonizing.
"Fa La La" is the latest single from Bieber's new holiday LP, "Under the Mistletoe," but director and company didn't overload the video with Christmas themes as to so implicitly tie it to December 25, and after all, true love should last all year 'round. The song is definitely a holiday love song, but the video doesn't have the singers belting out the lyrics surrounded by mistletoe, Christmas trees and snow – unlike his heavy holiday themed first video off the album, "Mistletoe."
The black-and-white clip showcases Bieber's heartfelt singing with his idols. It begins with Bieber singing alone in an empty loft, with his arms flailing and face slightly scrunching every time he hits those heartfelt notes. Bieber's solo intro leads way to a collaborative bridge, where Boyz II Men join in that looks straight out of a '90s Boyz II Men video, Bieber and the group belt out the lyrics from the stoop on the front porch of a brick house. At the end of the video, which was directed by Colin Tilley, the crooners seem to have a friendly sing-off, each doing their best vocal run.
No elaborate set needed. With an empty city as their backdrop, the four crooners throw down in an old-fashioned sing-off. As the track builds, Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris really gets into it, pounding his chest and kicking one leg up to accentuate his performance. Bieber, who is dressed in a white tee and slim-cut leather jacket, tugs on his collar to let you just how much his words mean to him. Maybe some of Boyz II Men's subject matter was a bit mature for the pint-size Bieber, but they influenced him nonetheless.

Ready for the holidays? Justin Bieber kicked off the Christmas season two months early when he sat down with MTV News Tuesday night during "MTV First: Justin Bieber" to talk about his new holiday-themed album, "Under the Mistletoe," hits CD shelves on November 1st, and premiere his video for the album's lead single, "Mistletoe." Bieber spreads early Christmas spirit in this new video, and is announced to ring in 2012 New Year's Eve with Lady GaGa.
"Mistletoe" is a slow ballad that has a sound reminiscent of Bruno Mars or Jack Johnson. Unlike many traditional Christmas songs, the music has a reggae vibe and rhythm to it, which definitely gives it a unique sound. If this is the musical direction that Bieber is taking on this new album, then he might grow his fan base even more. The 17-year-old admitted he's never shared a special moment under the holiday plant.
Here is the story about the kissing-under-the-mistletoe tradition: "At Christmas time a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, cannot refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect not to marry the following year. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry."
The Roman White-directed video was shot in Franklin, Tennessee last month. It features Bieber decked out in holiday finery and frolicking in the snow as he sings about spending time under the mistletoe with his leading lady, Allie Williams. The Canadian singing sensation is seen spending the holiday with the girl of his dreams, buying her gift and taking her to a romantic date every girl could have ever hoped for. Bieber sings his little heart out on a snow-covered street while taking steps to show the lady in his life that she's the only one for him. They cruise away and the video fades out with them dancing and kissing under the mistletoe.