Australian pop music titan, Sia, has gained quite a lot of fame in recent years for her powerhouse vocals, eccentric music videos, and her refusal to show her face on camera. She is never in her own music videos, and she covers her face with wigs and hats whenever she performs, does interviews, or goes to red carpet events. Sia is also the songwriter behind many pop hits like Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts,” Britney Spears’s “Perfume,” and David Guetta’s “Titanium,” for which she also sang the vocals. With all of these commercial and critical successes, it is understandable why many were excited for a new album. Sia threw a curveball, however, when she announced that her eighth studio album would be a Christmas album named Everyday Is Christmas. Penned in two weeks, the album features ten original songs written by Sia herself. Due to her impressive songwriting ability, massive vocal range, and unique style of singing, many people, including myself, were curious to see what she released.

I was not disappointed. This album honestly has something for everyone. Due to her large vocal range, Sia is able to sing many different types of songs with ease. If you are looking for traditional sounding Christmas songs, this album has a couple for you. “Santa’s Coming For Us” and “Candy Cane Lane” both combine upbeat, festive lyrics with bells and impressive vocals to form two traditional Christmas bops that will put you in the holiday spirit. If you would rather hear some sad, meaningful Christmas songs for a change, then “Snowman,” “Snowflake,” and “Underneath the Christmas Lights” are for you. “Snowman” and “Snowflake” are slow piano ballads with restrained vocals reminiscent of the critically acclaimed “Breathe Me.” “Underneath the Christmas Lights,” on the other hand, features hardly any instrumentation and focuses on Sia’s sad, somber, and haunting vocals. The lyrics are repetitive, but the delivery is stellar.

Are you throwing a Christmas party and in desperate need of dance-worthy holiday tunes? Even Sia, famous for her deep lyricism, has the tune for you. “Ho Ho Ho” is an unapologetic party song if there ever was one. It combines unique vocals with eccentric instrumentals, complete with circus-style horns and slide whistles. There’s even a song that is quite obviously geared towards younger children: “Puppies Are Forever,” which is a sweet little song about puppies.

Lastly, a Sia album wouldn’t be complete without some famous anthems. “Sunshine” tells her uplifting backstory, turning her loved one’s problems into sunshine. “Everyday Is Christmas,” which is also the title of the album, flips the premise of “Sunshine” by recounting how a lover saved Sia from depression at Christmastime. “Everyday is Christmas when you’re here with me,” she loudly belts, which is quite different from the opening lyric, where she says, “Oh! Father Time! You and me, and holiday wine.” “Sunshine” ends with some beautiful riffs of the word “sunshine,” and “Everyday Is Christmas” ends with some improvised, wordless harmonies, which is very reminiscent of “Dressed in Black,” the final track on her breakout album, 1000 Forms of Fear, and one of my favorite Sia tracks. “Underneath the Mistletoe,” however, tells the story of a life taken over by love, and features smart lyrical irony like, “It’s Christmastime, so run for your life. Oh Hallelujah!”. These three songs are very much like the songs on her two most recent albums, 1000 Forms of Fear and This Is Acting, and they are some of my favorites. Based on vocals and lyrics, “Everyday Is Christmas” is my personal favorite on the album, followed closely by “Underneath the Mistletoe.”

Overall, this album was exactly what I expected and wanted. It is filled with beautiful vocals, deep lyricism, and some fun, care-free, classic-sounding holiday tunes. There’s something on this album for everyone. It really does have everything. From a personal perspective, I would have preferred most of the songs to be deep and meaningful, but I realize that that’s not what everyone is looking for, especially in a Christmas album. I must say, however, that Sia has once again showed her talent at weaving some legitimately deep lyricism into the most nonchalant of songs. “Ho Ho Ho” might be a party song, but it still toys with the concept of comradery and togetherness among misfits and other people who don’t fit perfectly into society. “Puppies Are Forever” is another example. It might seem innocent, sweet, and even childish at face value, but it still manages to tackle the important topic of pet adoption. Sia urges listeners to adopt from animal shelters and not breeders, while also stressing how big of a commitment owning a dog is. After all, “Puppies are forever, not just for Christmas.”

This album is essentially Sia’s entire musical career converted into Christmas songs and crammed into one album. Each song seems like a taste of a difference Sia “era.” It is very diverse in style and covers various subject matter, ranging from puppies to candy canes to depression. This might rub some people the wrong way, but if you approach this album with an open mind, then I think it will please you, as it did me. It has the standard Christmas fare, some upbeat fun entries, and some truly meaningful ones. You might even cry a little. Sia has songs for every emotion you could possibly be feeling from her 20+ year career, and this album is no exception. It’s quite the emotional roller coaster.