Christmas & Chill is the second extended play and second Christmas EP by American singer Ariana Grande. Republic Records released it on December 18, 2015 as a follow-up to her 2013 Christmas EP Christmas Kisses and her 2014 Christmas single "Santa Tell Me". The EP features six original Christmas tracks composed and produced mainly by Grande and co-writers, most of which have an R&B sound. Grande has called it her "favorite body of work". The project received favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at number 34 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at number 3 on the Billboard Holiday Albums ranking in the United States. The EP sold 35,000 copies in its first week of release in the US and has sold over 180,000 copies worldwide. Originally just available as a digital download, Christmas & Chill was reissued on CD in Japan on November 18, 2016 with new artwork. The EP gained renewed interest when it was reissued on vinyl in November 2019 including "Santa Tell Me" as a hidden track.
Recording and music
According to Tommy Brown, the EP was recorded in four days at Ariana Grande's home studio, in Hollywood. Songwriting credits are shared by Grande with Brown. For Rolling Stones Brittany Spanos, the EP consists of "romantic Christmas ballads over trap beats", commenting that "the one song to stand out from the more R&B-leaning EP is the folky 'Winter Things', where the acoustic track sounds a bit like Jason Mraz, as Grande sings 'My baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things'.".
Critical reception
Jaleesa M. Jones in USA Today called it "a festive ode to winter romance." Emma Garland from Noisey said the album "basically sounds like a Cassie album... but with sleigh bells and lyrics like 'tis the season for some love giving!' It's basically the perfect festive romp." Two years after its release, MTV's Sydney Gore and Brian Anthony Hernandez revisited the EP, calling it "a new holiday classic" and "a catalyst of original Christmas carols for the so-called doomed millennial generation....his EP has the power to melt any trace of snow that's piling up on your front porch.... There's a playful, eflish energy about that makes you want to hang mistletoe everywhere to secure a smooch with that special someone."
