The holiday season is for spending time with family and friends. What better thing to do then listen to some great holiday music while you do just that. Holiday music has been around for many years dating back to the 13th century. Today many talented artist create new holiday music or give their voice to old classics. Through the years there have been lots of holiday albums, but we are going to count down our picks for our “Top 10 Best Holiday Music Albums Ever.”  

10.  Noel: Josh Groban

His one and only holiday album, Josh Groban brings the spirit to you this season. Released in October of 2007 Noel is one of the best selling holiday albums and best selling albums ever. Selling over 3 million copies in 2007 it is easy to see why people love it so much. The melodious vocals of Groban complement the piano that is usually present and the choir in the background perfectly. Highlighted by the “The First Noel (with Faith Hill)” this album makes you feel in the mood to relax with family and friends on a cold day.

9.  Christmas Portrait: The Carpenters

This album was The Carpenters only Christmas album, and was released on October 13, 1978. Since the album’s release, there has been about 1,950,000 copies sold, and the album has reached a peak position of number 93 on the Billboard 200 in 2015.

8. The Beach Boys’: Christmas Album

Released in 1964 at the peak popularity of The Beach Boys, this album will make you say “Merry Christmas, Baby!” With almost all original songs, this album brought a lot to the table. Highlighted by the hit single “Little Saint Nick” the Beach Boys tight knitted harmony and swinging beats translate perfectly into great Christmas music.

7. Michael Buble: Christmas

The album Christmas is Michael Buble’s second Christmas album. It was released October 21, 2011. This album has reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, and was his third album to reach this position.

6. Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas

Mariah Carey is very well known for her Christmas music, and this album has been one of her biggest claims to fame. The album features the song “All I Want for Christmas is You,” which is  one of the most popular Christmas songs to this day. The album was Mariah Carey’s fourth Christmas album recorded, and was released November 1, 1994.

5.  Charlie Brown Christmas

Accompanying the classic Christmas movie a Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi’s melodies make wonderful holiday music. These songs have gained a good reputation, and many people love listening to this music during the holiday season.

4. A Christmas Gift For You: Phil Spector

A Christmas Gift For You is an album where Phil Spector collaborated with some of the best musicians of the time to create one good holiday album. Phil Spector, most famously known for his role in creating the Wall of Sound, recorded a rockin’ Christmas album in 1963. Highlighted by The Ronettes rendition of “Sleigh Ride” this album will get you rockin’ and rollin’ this holiday season.

3. White Christmas: Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album is a wonderful trip back in time when vocals were all you needed. This smash hit of an album headlined by the songs “White Christmas” and “Mele Kalikimaka” is a measuring tool for all other Holiday music albums.

2. The Christmas Song: Nat King Cole

The Christmas Song is one of the all time classic albums for Christmas. Headlined by the Christmas anthem “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” this album has reached critical acclaim in the music world.

1. Christmas Album: Elvis

Elvis is most well known for his rock and roll music, but he did release a very popular Christmas album in 1957. This was his first of two Christmas albums, his second was released in 1971. Since its release, the album has sold around 15 million albums worldwide. It shows some of the best music from Elvis even as a Christmas album. Some say it was his last “real” album.

Are these T.V. shows worth the hype?

The X Files:

The X Files is a show that started in the 1993, and is still playing today. This T.V show is a sci-fi thriller that follows the lives of two FBI agents, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. These two agents are best known for their work on cases that showed signs of non-human forces at play, aliens, god, monsters, ect. While agent Mulder was a strong believer in such forces, agent Scully had her doubts.

Now that you know what the show is about you may want to know is it really worth watching? Well we are here to tell you YES!! This show is definitely worth watching. In this show everything is real and committing crimes from God to werewolves to aliens to psychics and much more. The X Files brings to light many thing that you may or may not believe in; whether you do or don’t, in this show, it does exists, which is why it’s so good.

This show combines real world work like the FBI, with extraordinary phenomenons like shape shifters. The X Files is thrilling, funny and a bit steamy and romantic all at the same time. If you have never seen The X Files or are contemplating watching it, then our suggestion to you is GO FOR IT, you won’t be sorry and if you are, well then we don’t know what to tell you.

Another great thing about this show is that it has an abundance of seasons, so you won’t watch it super quickly. The X Files is a show that is 100% worth watching.

Scandal:

Scandal is another interesting show that began in the April of 2012. The show revolves around a character by the name of Olivia Pope. Pope is a former White House Communications Director who starts her own organization to solve the crises of the wealthy and well known. Olivia and her team of gladiators are so good at what they do that people hurry to them, before the police. Olivia can bury someone’s deepest secrets and ultimately solve any chaotic problem placed in her path.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this series is the dirty political vendettas among the people of Washington D.C., along with the continual backstabbing that comes with them. The series is undoubtedly alluring and quite addictive. If, and only if, you’re prepared for a road of enormous secrets and uncanny events, Scandal is the show to watch.

Gossip Girl:

As the show that gave actress Blake Lively her rise to fame, Gossip Girl (2007-2012) has gotten an array of reviews from its audience, and is labeled by many as a “must watch” show. The series centers on the socialites of the Upper East Side of New York, following the scandalous lives of Serena Van Der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Nate Arichbald, Dan Humphrey and fan-favorite Chuck Bass.

Going into the show, we expected plain, annoying rich kids arguing over popularity, but was greeted with a much different tale. We can’t reveal too much, but, the twists and turns make the seemingly boring plot interesting. With several different storylines regarding each character, it’s hard to get bored of the same old thing.

The comedy throughout, gives watchers a break from the intense hardships the group faces. We are into binge watching shows, as it takes a lot to keep us interested, but Gossip Girl had us staying up all night waiting for the next ambush. We would highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a Netflix binge session.

We all love going to the movie theater to enjoy a good movie, some popcorn and spending time with people you like, even though you do have to be quiet during the movie. Evelyn, a couple of our friends, and I had the great opportunity of being able to see an advanced screening of The Space Between Us directed by Peter Chelsom.

This movie is about a boy named Gardener, who was born on Mars, who starts talking to a 16-year-old in Colorado named Tulsa. They have an online friendship until Gardner finally gets the chance to go to earth. While he is on his way to earth, he stops talking to Tulsa because there is no way to contact her. She thinks his story is crazy because she doesn’t believe he’s really from Mars.

Once they meet their connection only grows. While Gardener is having the time of his life on earth scientists discover that his organs can’t withstand the atmosphere and he has to go back to Mars. He and Tulsa are on the run from the scientists so he doesn’t have to go back.

While they are on the run from the scientists, they are also trying to find Gardener’s dad, because all he has of him is a picture, and his mom is dead.

“I really enjoyed the movie, it was romantic and cute. I also hated it because it made me cry!” said our friend Michael.

“I liked it because it showed how just because someone is completely different from you that doesn’t mean you just deny them.” said Manuel Perla.

Evelyn and I talked about our thoughts and we really enjoyed it. We both liked how you kinda knew what was going to happen, but it turned out to be something completely different, which was good. We both enjoyed the movie and we both cried.

Overall, we all really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it to anyone! Make sure to check it out on December 16th 2016 when it’s out in all movie theaters.

Movie trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AFjJ7Itetgk

Beyonce came to Minneapolis on Monday, May 23rd, to perform for the Formation World Tour at TCF Bank Stadium. The concert was scheduled to start at 7:00pm, but doors opened at 5:30pm. There was a delay though because of lightning and rain. The stadium was filled! Everyone had to evacuate TCF Stadium and go under nearby shelter. The thunderstorm didn’t stop the show though! Because of the delay, the go-ahead wasn’t announced until 9:00 pm.

Beyonce put on a great concert. She sang a mixture of old songs that everyone could sing along to, and some of her newer songs from her album Lemonade. Wiz Khalifa and other popular artists opened up for her. She also did a Prince tribute, that had everyone there feeling a little emotional, she covered one of his songs and had the whole stage lit up with purple lights.

Her performance was said to be the most satisfying Twin Cities concert ever. This concert was said to be, fierce, personal, and satisfying. There were pictures of her daughter and husband, Jay Z, pictures of her as a child and a teenager throughout the show. The show gave everyone a look into her personal life and her personality. The concert lasted for about 2 hours, the show ended with fireworks, ended with her hit song “Halo” and she was dancing in water.

Keshya Bailey-Phelps (11) and many other Highland Park students attended the concert on Monday night.

“Was the concert worth the waiting?” I asked Keshya.

“Yes! It was a lot of fun and worth the price of her tickets too. It did suck having to leave my seats and having to wait during the evacuation when I was already waiting all day though,” she answered.

“Did you like the mixture of her old songs and her new songs?”

“Yes, because I know so many of her old songs and I still listen to them and enjoy them today,” she said.

“What was your favorite part of the concert?” was my next question.

“The finale. She sang her new song “Freedom” and she was dancing in a pool of water and it looked so cool,” was her answer.

Overall, the concert seemed like it was a lot of fun.

I recently saw the movie Captain America Civil War.

This movie is about how Captain America (Chris Evans) leads a newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to defend and protect humanity. But after another altercation involving the team, government pressure leads to install a system of accountability for the Avengers, when the actions of the team results in some collateral damage.

The new decision divides the members of the Avengers, resulting in two teams—one team led by Captain America (Chris Evans) and his goal for the Avengers to remain free to defend and protect humanity without any government interference, and the other team led by Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) who strongly disagrees and supports oversight.

As the debate escalates it leads to an all-out feud with the others members of the Avengers, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick a side to be on, and the others follow Tony Stark’s shocking decision to support government.

Overall, the movie was great. On a scale from 1-10 I would give it a 8.5 because it was in 3D and it was filled with nonstop action, and fun. This is a must see movie.

I recommend this film to people who like action movies and super hero movies.