Christmas in the City (Pentatonix album)

Christmas in the City
Studio album by Pentatonix
Released	October 24, 2025 (2025-10-24)
Genre	Christmas a cappella
Length	46:05
Label	Republic
Producer	Pentatonix Ben Bram Dave Pierce Gian Stone Marcus Lomax Charles Pignone
Pentatonix chronology
The Greatest Christmas Hits (2023) Christmas in the City (2025)
Singles from Christmas in the City
"Bah Humbug" Released: September 24, 2025

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. ^{[1] [2]}

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. ^[3] 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. ^[4] He also included Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole as inspirations for the album. ^[5]

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". ^[4]

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". ^[6]

Composition

Christmas in the City is a 16-track album of original songs and holiday classics. ^[7] 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. ^{[8] [9]} 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". ^{[10] [11]}

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". ^[12] 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". ^[13]

Track listing

Christmas in the City track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocal(s)	Length
1.	"Snow"	Irving Berlin	Pentatonix	0:21
2.	"Christmas in the City"	Dave Pierce Scott Hoying	Hoying Mitch Grassi Matt Sallee Kirstin Maldonado	3:20
3.	"Holly Jolly Christmas"	Johnny Marks	Grassi Hoying Maldonado Sallee	2:54
4.	"Santa Be Good to My Baby"	Grassi S. Hoying Pierce Marcus Lomax Gian Stone	Hoying Grassi Maldonado	2:59
5.	"Bah Humbug"	S. Hoying Pierce Mark Hoying	Hoying Sallee Maldonado Grassi	3:50
6.	"Snowing in Paris" (featuring JoJo)	M. Hoying S. Hoying Pierce	Hoying JoJo	3:41
7.	"Christmas Movie"	S. Hoying Lomax Sallee Stone Sean Douglas Kevin Olusola	Sallee Grassi Hoying	3:05
8.	"Caroling, Caroling"	Alfred Burt Wihla Hutson	Pentatonix	0:35
9.	"The Love Medley"	Berlin Frank Pooler Hugh Martin Kim Gannon Ralph Blane Richard Carpenter Walter Kent	Hoying Maldonado Sallee	4:40
10.	"Silver Bells"	Jay Livingston Ray Evans	Hoying Maldonado Grassi Sallee	3:19
11.	"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (with Frank Sinatra)	Berlin	Sinatra Maldonado	2:27
12.	"Moody Rudy"	S. Hoying Maldonado Marks Olusola Sallee Chuck Berry Joseph Garland Marvin Brodie	Hoying	2:42
13.	"Blitzen"	S. Hoying Pierce	Pentatonix	1:42
14.	"Elf"	S. Hoying Maldonado Olusola Pierce	Hoying Maldonado	2:52
15.	"Humankind"	S. Hoying Pierce	Hoying	4:15
16.	"Christmas Classics Medley"	Berlin Blain Carpenter Gannon Kent Martin Pooler	Grassi Hoying Maldonado	3:22
Total length:				46:05

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. ^{[14] [15]}

Musicians

Pentatonix

• Scott Hoying - baritone vocals (all tracks)
• Mitch Grassi - tenor vocals (all tracks)
• Kirstin Maldonado - alto vocals (all tracks)
• Matt Sallee - bass vocals (all tracks)
• Kevin Olusola - vocal percussion (tracks 2–7, 10–15), 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)	Peak position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [16]	28
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard) [17]	6

Release history

Christmas in the City release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	October 24, 2025	CD LP digital download streaming	Republic	[15] [18] [19]

References

1. Dresdale, Andrea (September 24, 2025). "Pentatonix announces new album, 'Christmas in the City'; hear 'Bah Humbug' now". ABC Audio . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
2. "Christmas in the City CD". Republic Records. October 24, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
3. Atkinson, Katie; Caulfield, Keith (December 2, 2025). "Pentatonix Talk 'Christmas in the City' Album & Gift of a New Frank Sinatra Vocal: 'They Blessed Us With His Voice'". Billboard . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
4. Sharpe, Josh (October 17, 2025). "Exclusive: Scott and Mark Hoying on Creating Their New Holiday Book and Family Album". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
5. Graff, Gary (December 1, 2025). "Pentatonix at Little Caesars Arena, 5 Things to Know". The News-Herald . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
6. Fields, Taylor (November 4, 2025). "Pentatonix To Bring 'Christmas In The City' To Life With Festive Show". iHeart . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
7. Sharpe, Josh (September 26, 2025). "Pentatonix to Release 'Christmas in the City' Album; Listen to New Track 'Bah Humbug'". BroadwayWorld . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
8. Christensen, Thor (October 22, 2025). "Pentatonix's eighth holiday album features virtual collaboration with Frank Sinatra". Dallas Morning News . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
9. Barth, Susan (October 6, 2025). "Pentatonix gehen auf Europatournee und kommen für vier Shows nach Deutschland" [Pentatonix are going on a European tour and will be coming to Germany for four shows]. Eventim (in German). Retrieved November 4, 2025.
10. Denis, Kyle (October 22, 2025). "Florence + the Machine, Offset & More: Which New Music Release Is Your Favorite This Week?". Billboard . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
11. Caulfield, Keith (November 6, 2025). "Pentatonix Celebrates 11th Top 10 on Holiday Albums Chart With 'Christmas In the City'". Billboard . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
12. Sherman, Maria (November 25, 2025). "The best new holiday music releases for 2025". Associated Press . Retrieved December 7, 2025.
13. Gebauer, Jan (December 1, 2025). "Neue Weihnachtsalben 2025 – Das sind unsere Highlights" [New Christmas albums 2025 – These are our highlights]. Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved December 7, 2025.
14. Pentatonix. "Christmas in the City | Credits". Tidal . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
15. "Christmas in the City - Album by Pentatonix". Apple Music (US). Retrieved November 4, 2025.
16. "Pentatonix Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
17. "Pentatonix Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
18. "Christmas in the City CD". Pentatonix . Retrieved November 4, 2025.
19. "Christmas in the City Vinyl". Pentatonix . Retrieved November 4, 2025.