For the last Battle of the Bands of 2021, I’ve chosen a couple of new-to-me chanteuses singing Mel Tormé’s classic "The Christmas Song," also known as "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire." One’s a rookie, the other an old pro.
Synne Domért
Synne Domért Gullicksen is a Norwegian model, married to Lasse (who, like Mary, is a knitter), with a Persian cat named Nancy, and that’s as much as I know from her Facebook and Instagram pages. This is the only video on her YouTube channel.
Connie Talbot
Connie’s website tells us she was on Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 (when she was just 6 years old) and "instantly won the heart of the notoriously difficult to please Simon Cowell – yes, that Simon Cowell – as well as the British viewing public." She’s all over social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify).
So, I think everyone knows to do the following:
- Listen to the two songs.
- Decide which song you like the best.
- Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
- Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles:
- Stephen at STMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
- Arlee at Tossing It Out
- Mike at Mike’s Ramblings
- Cathy at Curious As A Cathy
- Mary B at Jingle Jangle Jungle
- Ai at Ai Love Music
Voting ends next Wednesday, December 22, at 12:00 noon Eastern time, so be sure and get your vote to me by then.
The lines are now open. Good luck to Synne and Connie!
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Connie. More jazzy, more depth in her voice, not trying too hard.
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Alright, JOHN, I’m here to officially bust up this shutout and be the Maverick who crashes the In-Crowd’s party!
Although I found Synne Domért a bit hard to watch, I definitely preferred her rendition. For one thing, this is a song I have heard 3 billion, 2 hundred and 14.6 times and, frankly, I appreciated Synne singing it with a little uncommon phrasing, rather than the standard, straightforward (dare I say “trite”?) approach utilized by Connie.
And as if that weren’t enough, we also get some really nice harmonica playing on Synne’s version. I really dig the sound of a well-played harmonica (he sounded a bit like Toots), and when was the last time we heard that instrument on a Christmas standard? Maybe never? (Nuttin’ comes to my mind at the moment… or very often anymore, period.)
So, yes, I’ll be that Maverick guy who unabashedly goes against the grain to stick a fork in the shutout.
~ D-FensDogG
LEARN THE HOLY BIBLE IN 15 MINUTES!
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It’s Connie for me too, John!
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Connie gets my vote on this one.
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Connie gets my vote because she sounds more relaxed and really knows how to use her voice. The other gal is good but she seems to be trying too hard, to me anyhoo.
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I’ll go for Connie. More in line with my vision of a Christmas song presentation I guess.
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Also going with Connie
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Sorry, can’t resist…
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Our apartment in Chicago had a space heater kind of like that stove, and that was where one of our boy kitties used to hang out, as it were, during the winter.
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I like Connie’s performance. She has a pleasant, relaxed, unselfconscious style, as well as a lovely voice.
One of my favorite family stories: Decades ago we had a King’s Singers Christmas LP that contained this song. One day my son, who was maybe five years old at the time, wanted to know why they said that “Santa’s on his way, he’s loaded lots of poison goodies on his sleigh….”
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That’s a chestnut of a song that I’ve heard so many times that I could probably skip a Christmas without hearing it. Won’t be this Christmas however.
Synne was a bit overdramatic for me while Connie was a bit more authentic to my ears. And I prefer Connie’s name.
Give my vote to Connie Talbot.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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Connie gets my vote with Mel Torme not in the running.
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