Brett Eldredge tried to take a day off on Christmas. He just wanted to enjoy family, the church service and a restful holiday. His family wouldn't let him.

"They got so mad at me," Eldredge says, mostly exaggerating when talking about a conversation he tried to have about breaking a yearly tradition. Everyone would crowd into his family church and at some point, the singer would sneak into the choir loft to sing "O Holy Night." It's something he'd been doing since he was a child.

"I would look down from the choir loft and see my whole family, and they're all looking up there, smiling and crying and just loving that moment every year," Eldredge recalls.

"Now, some Christmas mornings I'll sit by the tree and sing with my guitar."

So, they reached a compromise. The truth is, Eldredge isn't mad about it. Getting him to sing Christmas music is a little like getting Cookie Monster to sample a plate of chocolate chip.

"Christmas is far and away my favorite holiday, and recording the music for [my Christmas album] Glow was a dream come true," he says. "I’ve been inspired for this record from a very young age, and I dreamt of the day I could record all these classic songs that I’ve loved since I was a little kid."

In 2020, Kelly Clarkson enlisted Eldredge for a new Christmas duet, "Underneath the Mistletoe." It's part of a two-pack of holiday songs the original American Idol winner released to bring a little joy in a trying year.

Let Laine Hardy's "Please Come Home for Christmas" Be Your Holiday Soundtrack:

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