Pop stars go for tradition in Christmas sets

Unless you count a hastily released support-the-troops mash-up of "Peace on Earth" and "Little Drummer Boy" by comic actors Jason Segel and Jack Black, there is no triumphant Christmas novelty on the shelves this year. But that's OK, because the roster of traditional music as sung by pop megastars and talented prodigies is thicker than ever - and much of it rises above schlock level. Besides, you can always throw on 1997's classic "Ren & Stimpy's Crock O' Christmas" (available new from Amazon for just $115!) whenever "O Holy Night" gets stale. Here's a roundup:

Jackie Evancho 

ALBUM "O Holy Night"

DETAILS The tiny, blond, 10-year-old runner-up of "America's Got Talent" applies her precocious operatic voice to four truly old-school standards, including "Silent Night" and "Pie Jesu." The package, which includes a DVD of Evancho's "Talent" performances and audition tape, sold 239,000 copies Thanksgiving week.

BOTTOM LINE The girl can sing, and the package is cheap, but it's built for truly orthodox carolers.

PRICE $7

Mariah Carey

ALBUM "Merry Christmas II You"

DETAILS The music matches the so-traditional-it's-bizarre vibe of the cover - traditional, but funky, with some R&B and hip-hop sliding nicely underneath the pop diva's all-pro harmonies. The Greenlawn native turns even chestnuts like "The First Noël" and "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" into her own hip-hop-spiced thing.

BOTTOM LINE The class of this year's holiday albums, even if you can't stand that squeaky, high-register vocal thing Carey never seems to resist.

PRICE $11

Susan Boyle

ALBUM "The Gift"

DETAILS Every grandmother's favorite new singer might have gone straight down the middle with her first holiday album, but "The Gift" opens with (somewhat whitewashed) versions of Lou Reed's pre-punk classic "Perfect Day" and Leonard Cohen's sacrilegious masterpiece "Hallelujah."

BOTTOM LINE Not as subversive as it could have been, given Boyle's clean, high voice and versions of stuff like "O Holy Night."

PRICE $10

Shelby Lynne

ALBUM "Merry Christmas!"

DETAILS "Ain't Nothing Like Christmas," one of the veteran country singer's two originals, is a sexy, Western-swing romp: "I'll bring the nog / You put on the log / It's a Christmas party." The rest is pretty much like every other holiday album, with OK versions of "Silent Night" and "White Christmas."

BOTTOM LINE A missed opportunity to truly reinterpret holiday standards in Lynne's distinctive, understated country-rock voice.

PRICE $11

'Glee' cast

ALBUM "The Christmas Album"

DETAILS The smash Fox glee-club show's secret musical weapon is the arrangements: They give "Deck the Halls" a Beyoncé / "Crazy In Love" house-party vibe, and the show's talented stars add their own perky energy. Country chanteuse k.d. lang shows up for an inspired "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

BOTTOM LINE A terrific holiday release, even if you don't buy the hype from one of TV's biggest shows.

PRICE $12

Katharine McPhee

ALBUM "Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You"

DETAILS Inexplicably not including the ex-"American Idol" runner-up's 2009 smash "I'll Be Home for Christmas," McPhee's holiday debut is heavy on Beautiful Voice and light on Fun Twists.

BOTTOM LINE A pleasant, affordable stocking stuffer for McPhee and "Idol" fans.

PRICE $9

Pink Martini

ALBUM "Joy to the World"

DETAILS The classical-and-pop orchestra from Portland, Ore., applies its jazzy tricks to a wide range of carols in several languages, from an especially drummy "Little Drummer Boy" to the traditional Ukrainian "Shchedryk," known in America as "Carol of the Bells." The album includes one of the few recorded Hanukkah tokens this year: "Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Little Candles)."

BOTTOM LINE Goofy in spots - "Santa Baby" is a keeper - but the classical heft is more than enough to please serious revelers.

PRICE $14