GloRilla and Kehlani spread holiday cheer with new single, ‘Xmas Time’
GloRilla and Kehlani have teamed up to release the fun Christmas-inspired ballad ‘Xmas Time’ ahead of the holidays. Listen below.
Recently, GloRilla teased the duo’s first-ever collaboration by uploading videos to social media. On Instagram, she shared an animation of both artists as bobbleheads in a snow globe. “Good luck with yo Mrs dis as merry as I’m getting,” the rapper wrote in the caption. She then posted a video of her and Kehlani on set dancing to a mashup of Mariah Carey’s Number One smash ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ and Glo’s ‘Whatchu Kno About Me’.
Now, ‘Xmas Time’ has finally been released with an accompanying performance video. In the clip, the song starts with a slow and ethereal instrumental as the two are surrounded by a winter wonderland full of snow, twinkling lights and Christmas trees.
Kehlani kicks off the song by singing the chorus: “Maybe this is all I need, moments like this with my family/ Nothing compares to how it feels, Christmas time.”
GloRilla raps over the same slow beat for her first verse, but – for her second – she picks up the pace, turning ‘Xmas Time’ into a menacing trap tune with jingle bell accents, rapping: “I’m out in that snow today/ New toy look like Santa’s sleigh.”
The song comes two months after GloRilla released her long-awaited debut album, ‘Glorious’. In a three-star review, NME called the record an “empowering if uneven” effort, adding: “There are a handful of certified hits and a bunch of questionable additions that suggest better quality control was needed here […] it’s still worth a listen, even if it doesn’t live up to the expectations that her attention-grabbing singles previously set.”
Kehlani also shared their fourth studio album ‘Crash’ this June, which featured her viral dancehall-inspired lead single ‘After Hours’.
Both artists have been nominated for the 2025 Grammys. GloRilla is up for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for ‘Yeah Glo!’. Meanwhile, Kehlani received nods for Best Progressive R&B Album (‘Crash’), Best R&B Song (‘After Hours’) and Best Melodic Rap Performance for their feature on the remix of ‘Kehlani’ by Jordan Adetunji.
In other news, Kehlani is set to embark on a UK and European tour next year with multi-genre DJ Keyrah and R&B newcomer KWN as their support acts. Fans can see the full dates here and buy any available tickets here.
Meanwhile, GloRilla has two entries on NME‘s 50 best songs of 2024 list: her work on Tyler, The Creator‘s ‘Sticky’ landed the 39th spot, and her summer anthem with Megan Thee Stallion, ‘Wanna Be’, placed at Number 24.
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