Madeline Edwards is ready for an imperfectly Perfect Christmas. On Friday (November 3), the rising country star dropped the three-song EP that features a pair of original tracks alongside a cover of Kenny Loggins,’ “Celebrate Me Home.” The title track is a bluesy number where the “Perfect Christmas” is anything but, as Edwards details family fights and a house on fire with plenty of booze to go around. It’s a tale as old as time / So don’t forget the wine / Well it’s just another perfect Christmas, she sings over an electrifying baseline.
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“Me Missing You” is a piano ballad about a melancholy woman who’s feeling the blues in the aftermath of a breakup during the most festive time of the year. Maybe it’s the champagne glitter / New Year’s Eve balloons / Maybe it’s the lonely music dancin’ around the room / Every color I see is just a different shade of blue / Maybe it’s just me missing you, she croons in the descriptive number.
She leads into “Me Missing You” with a brilliant cover of the holiday jewel, “Celebrate Me Home,” her smoldering voice and the presence of bold drums and guitars giving the familiar song a new life.
“This EP is special to me because it shows the beauty in the mess. … even during the holidays,” Edwards said in a release. “It’s a message that hits close to home for a lot of us. Welcome to my chaotically wonderful home for the holidays. I hope you enjoy the décor.”
Edwards recently participated in Apple Music’s Lost & Found Radio program that pairs artists with songs written by some of Nashville’s top songwriters. Edwards recorded a cover of Pink‘s “More,” which was co-written by Jetta and the late hit songwriter Busbee and was included on the Japanese edition of Pink’s 2019 album Hurts 2B Human.
“I don’t usually take outside cuts because I love writing for myself,” Edwards told American Songwriter about “More” backstage at the 2023 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival. “But I heard the song and I just had to cut it because it’s such a powerful vocal first and foremost, which is a challenge for me and I really love that. Especially when you have two singers that have sang this previously, like Pink and Jetta. Their voices are so insane.”
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
