RuPaul - Ho Ho Ho [2LP]

Ho Ho Ho is RuPaul's third album and first full dive into Christmas, released via VH1 in 1997, camp turned up to a volume the holiday genre rarely allows itself.

By this point RuPaul was already a genuine crossover star off the strength of Supermodel of the World and Supermodel hitting dance charts and MTV in equal measure, drag finally breaking into mainstream pop culture in a way nobody had quite managed before. This record takes that same fearless, glossy confidence and points it directly at the most tradition-bound genre in American music, ten holiday standards and three originals delivered with zero irony about the joy of the material and total commitment to the theatrics around it.

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch gets delivered with real menace and real fun in equal measure, RuPaul clearly relishing the song's villain energy. Santa Baby leans into the song's original sultry wink harder than almost anyone else who's covered it. I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus turns the classic novelty tune into something genuinely funny rather than just cute, exactly the kind of knowing adjustment that makes this whole record work.

Christmas music this openly campy rarely gets made this well. Ho Ho Ho remains one of the genuinely great left-field holiday records, not despite the theatrics but entirely because of them.