Starbucks is returning to holiday albums for the first time in more than a decade with Holiday Blend, a seven-track collection featuring Brandi Carlile, Leon Thomas, Coco Jones, Magnus Ferrell, TRÍADA, The Womack Sisters and boy band JYT.

The album arrives Wednesday, Nov. 4, on streaming services and Starbucks coffeehouse playlists through Interscope Records and Universal Music Group. Billboard first reported details of the project.

Holiday Blend combines new interpretations of seasonal songs with one original: JYT’s “This Christmas.” The release also marks Starbucks’ first holiday album since 2012’s Holidays Rule, which included The Shins, Fun., The Civil Wars and Paul McCartney, among others.

Seven Artists Put Their Stamp on the Season

Carlile takes on Joni Mitchell’s “River,” whose opening lyrics set the scene as Christmas approaches with trees coming down, reindeer going up and songs of “joy and peace.” Thomas moves in a funkier direction with his rendition of James Brown’s “Soulful Christmas.”

Ferrell covers the “Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season” medley released by Andy Williams in 1963. He said joining the compilation offered an opportunity to create something “both new and nostalgic.”

“I grew up hearing these songs, so getting to record them in my own way was a pretty special experience,” Ferrell said.

Jones also revisits a Williams recording from 1963, performing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” She said she was “honored and excited” to offer her own version of the holiday standard and hopes it adds “a little extra joy” to listeners’ celebrations.

JYT supplies the album’s only newly written song. The quintet’s “This Christmas” includes the lyric, “It’s just you on my wish list/ All I need is your peppermint kisses.”

“The idea that someone could be ordering a Refresher and hear our song playing is actually crazy,” the group said in a statement.

“This Christmas” was written and produced by Freddy Wexler, with Elliah Heifetz serving as co-writer and Gian Stone as co-producer.

TRÍADA contributes the collection’s only Spanish-language track, a cover of Luis Miguel’s “Llegó La Navidad,” itself a variation on “Winter Wonderland.” The Argentine trio said singing the song in Spanish allowed its members to connect with it in their own way while aiming for a result that feels “familiar and fresh at the same time.”

The Womack Sisters complete the lineup with Stevie Wonder’s 1967 hit “What Christmas Means to Me.” The R&B trio said the song was a natural choice because the holidays represent togetherness for their family.

The Complete Holiday Blend Track List

  • “Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season” — Magnus Ferrell
  • “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” — Coco Jones
  • “This Christmas” — JYT
  • “Llegó La Navidad” — TRÍADA
  • “River” — Brandi Carlile
  • “What Christmas Means to Me” — The Womack Sisters
  • “Soulful Christmas” — Leon Thomas

The project also incorporates a charitable component, with a $500,000 donation to World Central Kitchen in support of humanitarian relief efforts around the world.

“Music has always been part of the Starbucks experience, and we are building on that legacy in a way that feels fresh for today,” said Erin Silvoy, Starbucks’ senior vice president of global marketing and channel development.

Silvoy said the album brings artists together to reinterpret familiar songs, adding that she hopes it becomes part of listeners’ seasonal soundtrack both inside Starbucks coffeehouses and elsewhere.

A Renewed Chapter in Starbucks’ Music History

The company’s involvement in music stretches back to its 1999 acquisition of retailer Hear Music and continued through exclusive releases made in partnership with Concord Music Group. In 2006, annual album sales through Starbucks were reported at 3.6 million units, representing approximately $65 million in music revenue.

Starbucks stopped selling CDs in its coffee shops in 2015, but its music activity continued, including a longstanding partnership with Spotify. Holiday Blend now brings that history into a streaming-focused release while also placing the songs directly into the company’s coffeehouse playlists.

ShowBiz Take

Holiday Blend matters because it is more than another set of seasonal covers: It ends a holiday-album gap stretching back to 2012 and reconnects Starbucks with a part of its business that once generated millions of annual album sales.

The lineup also gives the project a clear balance between recognition and reinvention. Familiar compositions associated with Joni Mitchell, James Brown, Andy Williams and Stevie Wonder sit alongside a Spanish-language selection and JYT’s brand-new song. Combined with its streaming rollout, in-store presence and $500,000 World Central Kitchen donation, the album represents a broad return to holiday music for the company rather than a simple revival of its former CD business.