"When Christmas Comes" song review

As the creator of "All I Want for Christmas Is You", the only song of the past 20 years strong enough to become a holiday classic, Mariah Carey has an obvious talent for writing festive songs for the season. On "When Christmas Comes", she joins John Legend for a sultry duet about giving the gift of love. Mariah's voice is strong as she harmonizes with Legend on the lines, "And me and you gon' have ourselves a holiday. And we don't need nobody else to celebrate. And we're gon' kiss our worries and our cares away. I can't wait. Because this Christmas time, get together. It's gonna be so nice, better than ever. And baby you're the one, special treasure." "When Christmas Comes" features horns and piano accenting a simple R&B groove. Before the final chorus, as the singers freelance on a few bars of "Jingle Bells", listeners are treated to notes from the upper reaches of Mariah's five-octave range, which she rarely shows off anymore. Some of the cutesy imagery falls flat, like, "I can't wait to unwrap your love." But otherwise, it's hard to find fault with the holiday duet from two of pop music's most powerful vocalists. The song is an improved version of the track that Carey performed solo on 2010's "Merry Christmas II You". (PopCrush)