Just in time for the start of the Advent season, the finalists of this year’s DSDS season are presenting a joint Christmas album for which they have reinterpreted a whole dozen festive classics and international Christmas pop anthems. Pre-orders for the album “Xmas”, which will be released on November 29, are already possible.

Since mid-September, their exceptional voices have provided incredibly emotional moments and plenty of goosebumps – now the all-stars of this year’s DSDS season are joining forces to present their soundtrack to the festive season: “Xmas” combines 12 songs sung by finalists Nissim Mizrahi, Philip Matas, Tom McConner and new superstar Christian Jährig! For the opening single “Last Christmas”, they also bring five semi-finalists on board – and collectively ring in the most wonderful time of the year.

The grandiose, mature and still so flexible voice of 61-year-old Nissim Mizrahi, the international flair of Tom McConner (23), the sex appeal that resonates every time Philip Matas (25) steps up to the microphone and, last but not least, the incomparably high and gripping exceptional voice of “DSDS” title winner Christian Jährig (30) – these four exceptional voices define the sound of “Xmas”. For the pre-released opening single “Last Christmas”, they also invited five other candidates from the final round to join them in the studio: “… this year, to save me from tears/I’ll give it to someone special”, the DSDS all-stars now promise together, bringing the timeless Wham! milestone, originally called “Last Easter”, into the here and now.

As the multi-faceted album progresses, each of the four finalists is also allowed to present a solo track: The fact that Tom McConners chose Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe” is not at all surprising when you consider his choice of song on the way to the DSDS final. Christmas bells and a guitar with an offbeat swing are all he needs to sing about “the most beautiful time of year” – although the 23-year-old also leaves everything else behind to wait for that one kiss under the mistletoe. Before Philip Matas unfurls the sun-soaked lines of “Feliz Navidad” over an opulent arrangement (including strings and horns) and thus also delivers the New Year’s greeting, Nissim Mizrahi sets off into “Winter Wonderland”. As in the US original (“Winter Wonderland”), which is exactly 90 years old, snowy splendor meets strings, swing feeling meets a cosiness that only spreads in the last weeks of the year: “There’s a little place by the fireplace/That belongs to our kitten…”

DSDS winner Christian Jährig has chosen the moving solo track “Ave Maria (Heut’ sind so viele ganz allein)” by Helene Fischer, based on the timeless Gounod composition, as the finale of the “Xmas” album. “… and sometimes a few words are enough/to not be so alone anymore”, sings the 30-year-old superstar with the unmistakable high voice – an uplifting finale to this album, which otherwise also contains contemporary pieces time and again: Sometimes two (Christian + Tom) team up to wish a loved one under the tree with Kelly Clarkson’s hit “Underneath The Tree”; sometimes Christian and Philip set about paying homage to Mariah Carey’s huge vocal range by passing the balls to each other perfectly on the microphone for “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. Finally, Christian and Nissim get stranded “hopelessly in a traffic jam” when the two perform their deeply relaxed interpretation of “Ich fahr Weihnachten nach Hause”, the German version of Chris Rea’s global hit “Driving Home For Christmas” (which, incidentally, was actually once written in a traffic jam). Driven by maximum anticipation, the two set course for “emotions without pause” – but of course, instead of the colorful lights on the tree, they only see “red lights everywhere…”

Nissim and Tom flirt with rock & roll and song-era jazz for “Jingle Bell Rock” (Bobby Helms, 1957), Tom and Philip begin their “White Christmas” with maximum uplifting and solemnity, which album producer Hens Hensen (Beatrice Egli, Eloy de Jong, Vincent Gross, Andrea Berg, among others) finally transforms into a stadium-sized rock ballad – including lots of fresh snow and fireworks! Philip and Nissim finally ask for even more white winter splendor – with “Let It Snow, Let It Snow”, the swinging Christmas classic (Dean Martin, Michael Bublé, among others), which was actually composed in California on the hottest day of the year in 1945. An absolute highlight of the “Xmas” album is also the opening track by the four finalists, who share the microphone for the opener: Just like John Lennon and Yoko Ono once did, the four “DSDS” alumni also bring a currently so important message of peace into play for “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” when they say: “A very Merry Christmas/and Happy New Year/Let’s hope it’s a good one/Without any fear.”

A lot has happened since the start of the 21st DSDS season in September, where things got off to a flying start with a spectacular strip performance and the first Golden CD. This year’s jury, which included pop titan Dieter Bohlen and his buddy Pietro Lombardi as well as pop queen Beatrice Egli and rapper Loredana for the first time, had a huge, extremely diverse field of candidates to work with at Europa-Park in Rust and also during the recalls (on Schalke & on Crete!) – including a record-breaking age range: the singing talents were aged 16-92.5 years old, with a total of well over 10k applicants. Four men whose CVs and voices could hardly be more different made it through to the final round: the new superstar Christian Jährig, Nissim Mizrahi, Philip Matas and Tom McConner – all of whom were recently in the studio to record their solo debut singles.

They all have stunning voices – each in their own way: Christian Jährig (30) from Reichertshofen owes his landslide victory in the final to his extraordinarily high vocal range, which is due to the fact that he simply never had a voice change. While the new “superstar” was also able to impress on “Das Supertalent” back in 2013 and has since released his first singles, Nissim Mizrahi (61) from Hamburg, who is around twice his age, has already achieved some musical success: Starting with early studio recordings with Udo Lindenberg through to the latest TikTok viral hits. A full-time restaurateur and father of three, Nissim’s voice also resonates with a great deal of life experience and the art of living. The voice of 25-year-old Philip Matas also blew the DSDS jury away: Otherwise a financial clerk, the young man from Heidenheim with the “sexy voice” has always been drawn to the stage – and he has even sung a campaign song for his beloved hometown (“Meine City”). The youngest finalist was Tom McConner (23) from Duisburg, who has already achieved his first streaming success as “tmc”. Inspired by Justin Bieber & Co, he brought a lot of international and ultra-contemporary pop flair to the final round…

The album “Xmas” will be released by TELAMO on November 29, 2024.