It Must Be Christmas (RCA Nashville, 2016)

Song selection can sometimes seem fairly inessential whenever chosen by a master singer. Such is the case with "It Must Be Christmas," Chris Young's new holiday collection. He sounds as perfectly comfortable with the jazzy "I'll Be Home for Christmas," where its supper club vibe takes a little of the edge off one seriously sad song, as he does with the Phil Spector rock nugget "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)."

Young is also helped out by a few special guests. Alan Jackson fits perfectly into the duet on "There's a New Kid in Town," as does Brad Paisley (who also adds a distinctive guitar solo) on "The First Noel." Best of all, though, is Boyz II Men, who bring the soulful harmonies to "Silent Night."

There aren't many new songs on this outing. "Under the Weather" is one Young helped write, as is also the title track. The latter finds Young singing passionately. Yep, Young proves himself to be a true believer in Christmas.

So, if you want to hear someone sing - really sing - some fine Christmas songs maybe, just maybe, it must be Chris Young.