By Nolan Feeney
In addition to being one of the best pop albums of the year, Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album E•mo•tion is also a loving tribute to mid-1980s synth pop. So it shouldn’t come as a total surprise that the “Call Me Maybe” singer’s foray into holiday music would be a cover of Wham!’s 1984 classic “Last Christmas”—it’s the kind of brokenhearted yet warm and sweet song she excels at. It’s also one of the better cases for why Christmas music should be acceptable before December.
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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com