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Sufjan Stevens Releases First New Christmas Song in Nearly 15 Years: Stream
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
Sufjan Stevens has released “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)”, his first newly written, produced and performed Christmas song in nearly 15 years. The song focuses on admitting past mistakes and asking forgiveness, which Stevens says can help break through conflict and misunderstanding.
The release precedes *Worst Christmas Ever!*, a 15-track compilation due on 6 November through Asthmatic Kitty Records. Stevens began recording Christmas songs for friends and family in 2001, building a catalogue of more than 100 tracks across two earlier box sets that together run nearly five hours. The new song’s video features 6,000 hand-painted still images.
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In short
- Stevens has released his first new Christmas song in nearly 15 years.
- The song centres on apology and forgiveness.
- A 15-track seasonal compilation is due on 6 November.
How this story developed
- 1 hour ago Sufjan Stevens has released “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)”, his first newly written, produced and performed Christmas song in nearly 15 years.
- 2 hours ago Sufjan Stevens has released “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)”, his first newly written, produced and performed Christmas song in nearly 15 years. The song focuses on admitting past mistakes and asking forgiveness, which Stevens says can help break through conflict and misunderstanding.
Full account
Sufjan Stevens has released “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)”, a newly written, recorded and performed Christmas song that arrives ahead of the compilation Worst Christmas Ever!. The album is due on 6 November through Asthmatic Kitty Records and gathers music from Stevens’ long-running seasonal catalogue alongside the new track.
The song takes a reflective approach to the holiday, with Stevens asking forgiveness for past words and actions. He has described the idea of apologising at Christmas as a way to ease conflict and misunderstanding, and framed the track as a prayer for greater understanding. A music video accompanies the release, made by Stevens, Michael O’Neal and Cubby Graham, with Hannah Cohen; the reports say it uses 6,000 hand-painted still images.
Stevens began making Christmas recordings in 2001 as gifts for friends and family. The tradition expanded to more than 100 songs, many collected on Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold. The forthcoming compilation draws on that material, including familiar selections such as “Sister Winter”, “Put the Lights on the Tree” and “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!”. Both reports list a 16-track release, with carols, Stevens originals and alternate versions of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Angels We Have Heard on High”.
The release follows a period in which Stevens has had limited public performance activity. He appeared with pianist Meg Lui at her Kingston, New York, show in September, which both reports describe as his first public musical performance in more than eight years. Stevens disclosed in 2023 that he had Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare immune disorder affecting the nerves. The coverage also places the song within his continuing release history: one report notes recent anniversary reissues and a collaboration with Mina Tindle, while the other focuses on the Christmas collection and its video.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The first report calls the track Stevens’ first newly written, produced and performed Christmas song in nearly 15 years. The second describes it as a newly unearthed vault track, so the accounts differ on whether it is newly made or previously recorded and newly surfaced.
The first report says Worst Christmas Ever! contains 15 tracks, but the second provides a 16-song tracklist. The supplied tracklist contains 16 entries.
The first report foregrounds the song’s message of apology and forgiveness, quotes Stevens explaining that idea, and details the handmade video. The second gives more attention to the compilation’s tracklist and Stevens’ recent reissues and releases.
The reports use different descriptions of the compilation’s contents: the first calls it a 15-track distillation of the earlier collections, while the second says it brings together standards and originals and includes material from both Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold.
Explained simply
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter known for making both quiet folk music and ambitious recordings with orchestral and electronic sounds. Christmas songs have been a recurring part of his work: he began recording them for friends and family in 2001, and later collections gathered more than 100 tracks.
His Christmas music often draws on religious themes and personal reflection. The new song’s focus on mistakes and forgiveness sits within that tradition, while the long-running collections have made his seasonal recordings a distinct strand of his career.
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