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Christmas in the City (Pentatonix album)

Christmas in the City is a holiday studio album by American a cappella band Pentatonix, released on October 24, 2025. It is their eighth Christmas-themed album and their twelfth studio album overall. The album features collaborations with singers Frank Sinatra and JoJo. The album also marks their first release under their new label, Republic Records.

Christmas in the City debuted at number six on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart.

Background and development

In a press release, Pentatonix described the album's title and concept as inspired by the "magic of Christmastime in New York", with the group aiming for a "whimsical, jazzy, cozy and classy" sonic representation of a spontaneous trip to the snowy city. Christmas in the City is Pentatonix's first album released under their new label, Republic Records.

The concept for Christmas in the City originated when group member Scott Hoying was inspired by a holiday ornament he saw while visiting a festive market in New York City. In an interview with the theatre news website BroadwayWorld, Hoying said that the group wanted to capture and commit to a "big band orchestral sound" that Dean Martin previously made. He also included Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole as inspirations for the album.

Hoying also added that while the album remains "vocal-heavy", it does so "in a Manhattan Transfer way, where there's instruments throughout". He further characterized the project as genre-fluid, stating that it "has no rules", featuring material ranging from songs that "sound like [they're] from a Fosse musical" to "a ton of original music". He further described the album as "fun and bold and theatrical and camp".

iHeart described Christmas in the City as bringing Pentatonix's "signature vocal magic into a wintery New York-inspired holiday soundscape", blending original songs with "jazzy takes on classics" in a "cozy, whimsical, and classily arranged" collection that expands the group's "seasonal legacy".

Composition

Christmas in the City is a 16-track album of original songs and holiday classics. The album features their single "Bah Humbug", an original song described as a "witty retelling" of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, specifically revolving around the character Ebenezer Scrooge. The band also featured JoJo with the song "Snowing in Paris" and a posthumous appearance of Frank Sinatra with the song "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm".

Reception

Maria Sherman from Associated Press included Christmas in the City as one of the "best new holiday music releases for 2025", noting that the album "celebrates the magic of cosmopolitan life around the holidays" and "showcases the group’s vocal athletics". Writing for the German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Jan Gebauer described the album as one of the highlights of Christmas albums releases in 2025, noting the group's use of "multi-part arrangements, rhythmic precision, and stylistic diversity". Marc Uytterhaeghe from the Belgian newspaper L'Avenir featured the album in its 2025 holiday music recommendations.

On the other hand, Eric Saeger from the newspaper Hippo gave the album a rating of B–, calling the original tracks "mostly awful" but appreciated the group's covers of traditional carols.

Track listing

Notes

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted via Tidal and Apple Music.

Musicians

Pentatonix

Others

  • Doug Tornquist – bass trombone (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15), tuba (2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Dave Pierce – drums (tracks 2, 5–6, 10, 14), keyboards (2, 5, 10, 14), accordion (6), vibraphone (6)
  • Wayne Bergeron – trumpet (tracks 2–6, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Andy Martin – trombone (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Ido Meshulam – trombone (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Dan Rosenboom – trumpet (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Rob Schaer – trumpet (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Dan Higgins – woodwinds (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 15), flute (13)
  • Chad Smith – woodwinds (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Greg Huckins – woodwinds (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Sean Franz – woodwinds (tracks 2–5, 9–10, 13, 15)
  • Ross Gasworth – cello (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Timothy Loo – cello (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Marcia Dickstein – harp (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Alyssa Park – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Jessica Guideri – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Marisa Kuney – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Mark Robertson – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Sara Parkins – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Sarah Thornblade – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Shalini Vijayan – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–7, 9, 15)
  • Ina Veli – violin (tracks 2–3, 5–6, 9, 15)
  • Luke Maurer – viola (tracks 2–3, 6–7, 9, 15)
  • Meredith Crawford – viola (tracks 2–3, 6–7, 9, 15)
  • Stefan Smith – viola (tracks 2–3, 6–7, 9, 15)
  • Dylan Hart – horn (tracks 2–3, 5, 9, 13, 15)
  • Laura Brenes – horn (tracks 2–3, 5, 9, 13, 15)
  • Teag Reeves – horn (tracks 2–3, 5, 9, 13, 15)
  • Michael Stever – trumpet (tracks 2–3, 5, 9, 13, 15)
  • Miles Foxx Hill – bass (tracks 2, 5–6, 10, 14)
  • Miles Black – piano (tracks 2, 5–6, 10, 14)
  • Chuck Berghofer – bass (tracks 3–4, 9, 13, 15)
  • Peter Erskine – drums (tracks 3–4, 9, 13, 15)
  • Tom Rainier – piano (tracks 3–4, 9, 13, 15)
  • Marcus Lomax – bass (track 4), piano (4)
  • Gian Stone – drums (track 4), piano (7)
  • Charlie Tyler – cello (tracks 9, 15)
  • Jonah Sirota – viola (tracks 9, 15)
  • Ana Landauer – violin (tracks 9, 15)
  • Charlie Bishrat – violin (tracks 9, 15)
  • Kyle Gilner – violin (tracks 9, 15)
  • Tammy Hatwan – violin (tracks 9, 15)
  • Harper James – guitar (track 4)
  • JoJo – vocals (track 6)
  • Sean Douglas – piano (track 7)
  • Frank Sinatra – vocals (track 11)

Technical

  • Randy Merrill – mastering (all tracks)
  • Adam Greenholtz – mixing (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 8–16), engineering (1–11, 13–16)
  • Ed Boyer – mixing (tracks 1–6, 8–10, 12–16)
  • Dave Pierce – mixing (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 8–16)
  • Rob Kinelsi – mixing (tracks 4, 7)
  • Josh Bowman – immersive mixing (tracks 1–3, 5–16)
  • Eli Heisler – mixing assistance (tracks 4, 7)
  • Sean Phelan – engineering (all tracks)
  • Danny Garcia – engineering (tracks 1–3, 5–11, 13–15)
  • Adam Michalak – engineering (tracks 2–3, 5, 9, 13, 15)
  • Ryan Enockson – engineering (track 2, 5–7, 10, 14)
  • Stirling Trig – engineering (track 14), additional engineering (6)
  • Gian Stone – engineering (tracks 4, 7)
  • Marcus Lomax – engineering (track 4)
  • Tyler Graham – additional engineering (tracks 1–10, 13–15)

Charts

Release history

References