It’s a country Christmas
It was just a couple of weeks ago that NBC put its chips on Blake Shelton’s Not-So-Family Christmas special, and with his other NBC show, The Voice, lighting up ratings charts left and right, the bet paid off. Thanks to an episode of The Voice as its lead-in, Blake Shelton’s special drew 8.8 million U.S. viewers.
Tonight, ABC and, on the icier side of the border, CBC, hope to score big with their country music-themed holiday specials. The alphabet network is going with the proven: its CMA Country Christmas, hosted for the third year running by Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of Sugarland, the band for those with a sweet tooth. The two-hour show — sure to boast enough Christmas lights to power a small country — features songs and fireside chats with acts including Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, The Band Perry and Keith Urban. CMA Country Christmas is the gift that keeps on giving for ABC. Last year, the broadcast took in nine million U.S. viewers, a 23-per-cent boost from the previous year.
CBC, meanwhile, decks its halls with Home for the Holidays, a joint effort with the Canadian Country Music Association, CMT and CBC Music. It’s a holiday music special that’s just about as Canadian as a beaver wearing a tuque while playing hockey with a Mountie. Most of the performances were taped during rehearsals at the CCMA Awards, which were broadcast in Saskatoon in September. Among those making appearances are Alberta’s Paul Brandt, Gord Bamford and Terri Clark, Nova Scotia’s Jimmy Rankin, Ontario’s Johnny Reid, British Columbia’s The Tenors and Dean Brody — the latter a top winner at the CCMA Awards. Token international acts include Irish singer Beverly Mahood and the U.S.-bred The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum and Billy Ray Cyrus, he of those famous achy, breaky cardiac muscles. (CMA Country Christmas: ABC —10 p.m.; Home for the Holidays: CBC — 9 p.m.)
Glee is pre-empted for the season finale of The X Factor, in which someone will take home a $5 million recording contract with Syco/Sony. It’ll take two hours to announce one name, but don’t worry — the overly dramatic music will make it seem like only an hour and a half. (Fox, CTV — 9 p.m.)
If you’re more in the mood for a feel-good holiday movie, Baby’s First Christmas re-airs tonight. It follows former co-workers who reunite on Christmas Eve, only to realize that their married siblings are hard up for cash. (CTV Two — 8 p.m.)