"Living in LA now away from most of my family, traditions have changed slightly but the core of Christmas still means the same to me and that’s to spend it with the people I love most," she said.Ĭhristmas Blues also sees the singer pair her sultry sounds with a homage to Le Crazy Horse de Paris, a Parisian variety cabaret show known for its dazzling female dancers, which was introduced to her by creative directors p rince & jacob. As a child, she was lucky enough to have parents and extended family that made every year a moment, but the essence of the season still rings true. Growing up, Claudio described her childhood memories as nothing more than "blissful” as her entire family of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent would gather together on Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena, where things got loud and wild. "I've always known that if I were to ever create a Christmas album, these would be the covers I'd want to include," she admitted of the selections, adding that they each have memories attached to them, particularly performing the former during high school concerts and competitions. Part of her recipe for tunneling classics like “Oh Holy Night“ and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" through her lens involved evoking her own sense of nostalgia. I just looked at it more so as a challenge to see what it would feel like to incorporate my sensual sound into a traditionally joyous season." Don't get me wrong, I’m a sucker for the classics and the jolly tunes. "I also just wanted to make a Christmas album that I personally would want to listen to.
"Naturally, it’s almost impossible for me to avoid looking through my lens so as a result, everything I write, whether it be about Christmas, for an album even covering a song, always has that consistent sound," Claudio told iHeartRadio of the set's torchy sonics.
The best part of its creation, according to the star, is that the dreamy project was made free of intent, resulting in “one of the most liberating creative journeys” for the singer. Feeling uninspired to create, her manager, Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, suggested she release a holiday song for the hell of it and she ran with the idea, recruiting Abel and Alicia Keys along the way on original cuts, "Christmas Blues," and "Winter Time," respectively. Interestingly enough, the EP was recorded over the summer, alongside singer-songwriter Nasri Atweh and producer Kaveh Rastegar, after Claudio's opening slot on The Weeknd's "After Hours Tour" was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.