Brandon Heath's "Christmas Is Here"

By Kim Jones Sep 17, 2013 05:20 PM EDT

(Photo : Provident)
Brandon Heath - Christmas Is Here

Brandon Heath, the Emmy Award-winning, five-time GRAMMY nominated Christian singer, has announced the release date for his first Christmas album. On October 15, 2013, fans can get a jump start on the holiday with Christmas Is Here, a release he calls "a nostalgic journey" through the most wonderful time of the year. In a press release, Heath shared his hopes for the album, saying, "I want people to just hear a song and slip back into the past. Good Christmas music is really about sparking people's memories."

When writing and choosing songs for the project, Brandon's desire was to craft a timeless album that fans would want to pull out and listen to year after year. He looked to his own Christmas memories, listening to some of his personal favorite Christmas albums, for inspiration, focusing on recordings by Nat King Cole, Harry Connick, Jr., Patty Loveless and Kenny & Dolly. Christmas Is Here is a reflection of those influences. The album features three original songs and seven classics that were all recorded with a little help from friends like Sonja Isaacs, Ellie Holcomb and Matt Wertz.

Two of the three new tunes truly share the witty personality that has made audiences fall in love. "The Day After Thanksgiving" makes fun of the commercialism of Christmas and how the hype usually sets in at the end of summer, leading most to completely overlook fall (which happens to be one of Heath's favorite times of year). "Momma Wouldn't Lie to Me" is a fun and lighthearted tune that finds Brandon putting his parents on the spot for the truth about Santa. Based in truth, the song mirrors a real-life conversation from his childhood. Don't worry, Heath promises that no child-like beliefs will be harmed due to the listening of the song!

On the third new song, "Just A Girl," Brandon uses his trademark storyteller fashion to share the story of a lesser known character in the Christmas story - the innkeeper who turned Mary and Joseph away. Using a little creative license, the song tells what happened through the innkeeper's eyes, with Mary just being an ordinary girl. He explained, "There's a story about when a non-believer asked a Catholic, 'Why is Mary so crucial to the Christmas story?' And the Catholic says, 'She's just a girl who said yes.' I think that says a lot for us. God is often giving us opportunities we don't realize the significance of, but we just need to say yes. God can do things though ordinary people. Mary was just a girl, but she was also a catalyst in a huge event in the rest of history."

Christmas Is Here Tracklist: