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Mariah Carey (feat. Khalid & Kirk Franklin), 'Fall in Love at Christmas'

Lambs, our Christmas queen has blessed us again. Mariah Carey has given unto us two Christmas albums, a holiday special and, of course, the eternal classic "All I Want for Christmas is You," but never a snowflaked slow jam. "Fall in Love at Christmas" is a carol for grown folks several seasons into their love and the kind of sumptuous torch song that Carey hasn't sung in a minute. She delivers topline melody and sinuous runs in classic Carey form, and Khalid turns out to be a great duet partner: The 23-year-old R&B singer knows no one can outdo Carey, so his harmonies add just the right amount of tinsel. But recognizing that lovers long into a relationship gotta balance romance with the little ones, "Fall in Love at Christmas" cleverly turns on a dime to a full-on Kirk Franklin stomp, as Carey's melisma decorates the gospel rave-up.

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