Michael Giacchino at the 2017 US premiere of Coco in Hollywood, California.
Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney
Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Rogue One — composer Michael Giacchino boasts a rich and wonderful CV of original scores, made for some of the biggest films on the planet. So when you hear he has a Christmas song out, available on YouTube now, your heart starts to tingle.
Christmas Number One probably best channels Giacchino’s score for Up — yes, he’s worked with Pixar too. Listen to the wholesome earworm, featuring Itchy Teeth, a UK-based band who performed in Danny Boyle’s Yesterday, below.
Giacchino wrote the catchy song with Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson of excellent Apple TV Plus musical series Central Park. Originally performed at the Christmas Variety Show at the Royal Albert Hall in London last December, the recorded version of the song seemed a nice way to cap off this year with a positive vibe.
“As this difficult year unfolded, we all felt that we could use a little holiday spirit,” Giacchino said in a statement (via Collider).
The band, including Xav Clarke on guitar and bass, Charlie Hannah on guitar, keyboard and lead vocals and Oli Booker on drums, recorded the tune remotely at Kore Studios in London.
“Interestingly, the lyrics, while written pre-pandemic, really resonate for this particular year,” Giacchino said.
