Okay, let’s tumble into Apryll Aileen's “Under My Tree,” shall we? It’s not your grandma’s sleigh-bell jingler, not by a long shot. Aileen, this classically-trained pianist, decides to cloak herself in a Christmas-themed R&B haze, like wrapping a finely-made watch in soft flannel. It’s the kind of thing that makes you tilt your head. https://open.spotify.com/track/6BBE2fTRte3f7HW7NZkTwm?si=JDkhIyolRLeIJS9r8m7PVA The song feels like staring at a snow globe, the tiny...

Norway's many fjords are responsible for the birth of a celebrity. Ella Lockert, with her boundless vitality and undoubted skill, has always been a force to be reckoned with from the day she was born. Imagine a little Ella illuminating the stage as the smallest Santa possible in the song "Putti Plutti Pott." Add to that her singing in the children's chorus at the Norwegian Opera,...