Christmas in the City is a holiday studio album by American a cappella band Pentatonix, released on October 24, 2025. It is their seventh 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.
A deluxe edition is set to be released on October 30, 2026.
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".
On August 6, 2026, Pentatonix announced a deluxe edition of Christmas in the City, set for release on October 30, 2026, alongside a new North American leg of the group's Christmas in the City tour. The deluxe edition expands the original 16-track album with 10 new songs, two covers, and seven live recordings. Its announcement included the single "Get Happy / Happy Days Are Here Again", a mashup that group member Kirstin Maldonado said was written as a tribute to "the classic Christmas tunes of Hollywood's Golden Age and the timeless jazz era".
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 "The Love Medley" is a medley of "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "I'll Never Stop Loving You", "I'll Be Seeing You", "Unchained Melody", "L-O-V-E", and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". "The Love Medley" is not contained on any physical release of the album. "Moody Rudy" is a mashup of "In the Mood" and "Run Rudolph Run". "Christmas Music Medley" is a medley of "Merry Christmas, Darling", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "White Christmas", and "Snow".
Credits and personnel Credits are adapted via Tidal and Apple Music.
Musicians Pentatonix Scott Hoying – baritone vocals (all tracks), gang vocals (3, 12) Mitch Grassi – tenor vocals (all tracks), gang vocals (3, 12) Kirstin Maldonado – alto vocals (all tracks), gang vocals (3, 12) Matt Sallee – bass vocals (all tracks) Kevin Olusola – vocal percussion (tracks 2–7, 10–14), wind sounds (15), baritenor vocals (2, 5, 9, 15–16)
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 +Chart performance for Christmas in the City Chart (2025) Peakposition
Release history + Christmas in the City release history Region Date Format Label Various October 24, 2025 Republic
References