Stream It Or Skip It: ‘CMA Country Christmas’ on Hulu, Featuring Countrified Holiday Tunes And Hosts Trisha Yearwood And Amy Grant  

Trisha Yearwood and Amy Grant return as your hosts for CMA Country Christmas, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. The Country Music Association just celebrated its biggest night with the organization’s 58th annual awards gala, hosted by Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson, and Peyton Manning; now, Country Christmas takes over a Nashville theater for seasonal performances from 2024 CMA Album of the Year winner Cody Johnson, Grammy winner Ashley McBryde, Jon Pardi, gospel legend CeCe Winans, Brittney Spencer, and Christian Contemporary stars For King + Country.

CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS 2024: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: “Please welcome tonight’s hosts, Trisha Yearwood and Amy Grant!” And with a fanfare and phalanx of festive dancers, they launch into the chorus of “Sing Your Praise to the Lord.” Which is actually kind of a deep cut: the song from her 1982 record Age to Age marked Amy Grant’s Christian pop breakthrough. 

The Gist: As its choice of opening number reveals, Country Christmas does not shy away from a full-throated celebration of what it refers to as “the true meaning of Christmas.” But the special has some time for secular seasonal fun, too. “Snuggled up beside me in my red Chevrolet,” Jon Pardi sings in his lead performance. “We can go riding in my 400-horsepower sleigh.” It’s a peppy Christmas-themed country original, which Pardi also included on his 2023 holiday album, and here his vocal matches pleasantly with pedal steel accompaniment. After Pardi, it’s the first appearance from Cody Johnson – his “White Christmas” is stately and traditional – and then Ashley McBryde and Brittney Spencer team up for a big-voiced duet on another deep cut selection, “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man with the Bag,” first made famous by Kay Starr in the 1950s. McBryde and Spencer definitely bring the jazz hands.

With the troupe of costumed dancers who periodically appear on stage, it often feels like Country Christmas will break out a holiday-themed skit or two. But no. That’s for some other holiday special. (‘Tis the season for those, after all.) The CMA’s celebration only runs about an hour, so Yearwood and Grant keep it pretty tight with their introductions, and there’s next to nothing in terms of stage banter. 

There are jingling holiday song medleys, however – as a singer, Trisha Yearwood remains a total pro – and also co-frontmen and CCM siblings Joel and Luke Smallbone pounding on large drums. Further enlivening For King & Country’s rendition of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is the addition of vocals en español by Latin Grammy winning singer Carin León, and Yearwood and Grant also drop in a shameless plug for Unsung Hero, the recent dramatic telling of the Smallbone fam’s life story, in which Grant is featured as a character.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Carrie Underwood’s My Gift, from 2020, still stands as a solid example of keeping Christmas specials timeless. (It streams on Max.) And a few years back, Trisha Yearwood also united with husband Garth Brooks for a lively holiday concert, which these days is available on Paramount+.

Our Take: Confessions: we were not entirely familiar with For King & Country’s game. In 2020, the Australian-American Christian Contemporary group put out A Drummer Boy Christmas, which the arrangement of their featured version of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” in CMA Country Christmas comes from. But playing floor toms with mallets as they sing and lead their group – which also includes rock-style fiddle and a guy on keytar – is not only a style that feels like Imagine Dragons if they were a CCM act. It’s also the theme of FK&C’s current “Drummer Boy Christmas” live tour. So hey, if you can’t make it out that, Country Christmas has you covered with the gift of vicarious holiday cheer.

As we all gear up for December’s onslaught of Christmas programming, it’s always interesting to watch how performers balance style with demand, and in that regard, Ashley McBryde and Brittney Spencer produce equal amounts seasonal joy and personal flair on their duet version of “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man with the Bag.” Their unique rendition, and the For King and Country dudes banging lustily on their drums, make for the highlights of CMA Country Christmas, which at times can also feel like the musical performance cutaways on a holiday parade TV broadcast.

Sex and Skin: Come on. Coal in your stocking for even asking.

Parting Shot: After bringing Cody Johnson back for an encore performance, this time with “I’ll be Home for Christmas” – the standards seem to suit Johnson’s traditionalist style as a vocalist – Country Christmas closes it out with Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, and a gaggle of grinning, knee-knocking kid dancers on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” 

Sleeper Star: The stirring vocals of Mexican singer-songwriter Carin León are a real highlight in CMA Country Christmas. The multiple Latin Grammy winner’s appearance with For King & Country does work well on its own. But León definitely deserves a performance slot that’s all his.

Most Pilot-y Line: “Not only is this my favorite time of year,” Amy Grant says, “but celebrating with Trisha is right at the top of my favorite holiday traditions.” Then TY takes over. “As always, we have a night of great songs, and moments that remind us of what this holiday truly means.”

Our Call: Stream It. As it celebrates the genre and the season, CMA Country Christmas also very much puts the “Christ” back in Christmas. So if that’s your thing, too, this is definitely for you. At the same time, holiday standards it includes are just that, and Country Christmas fits a few real nice performances into its tight run-time. 

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.