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Entering the holiday spirit with Thanksgiving just around the corner, YouTuber jschlatt and a Christmas song cover are two phrases that certainly weren’t together on anyone’s 2024 wish list. However, released on Nov. 7 was a teaser for his upcoming Christmas album “A Very 1999 Christmas” — a cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time the American YouTuber has released music. Along with the Minecraft content he makes — and the fierce sideburns the man is known for — jschlatt, also referred to as Schlatt, has a talent for singing that he showcases to his fans by covering popular songs from iconic artists like Frank Sinatra, including a cover of Sinatra’s “My Way.” Upon popular demand from his fans to make a full Christmas cover album, he has been working on exactly that, and the first song is out for the world to enjoy.
Upon the first listen of the cover, Schlatt’s voice has a striking resemblance to that of Frank Sinatra. It encompasses the same jazzy, big-band style that Sinatra was famously known for throughout the 20th century — which makes sense, given that this cover is a recreation of the singer’s own rendition of the Christmas tune.
While music-making is a completely different field than releasing music videos, Schlatt brings a refreshing and reposeful perspective to the industry, reviving the vocal jazz era of music that Sinatra helped make prominent during his prime time by bringing it to a new audience — the viewers of his YouTube channel. It certainly would not harm Schlatt to make more music in the future, as he has proven himself to have a voice worthy of an audience with the release of this cover.
Though Schlatt’s cover is, in the end, just a cover of Sinatra’s own take on the popular Christmas song, the YouTuber has an extremely powerful baritone voice that contrasts heavily with Sinatra’s more airy, light method of vocalizing. Schlatt’s voice pairs well with the heavy brass parts in the instrumentals. He also does not incorporate as many embellishments as Sinatra’s finely-tuned vocal skills were able to, but for an elementary music career, it is definitely impressive.
The surprisingly rich quality of Schlatt’s cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” will undoubtedly keep listeners on their toes for the release of the rest of “A Very 1999 Christmas.” With high hopes for this upcoming release, hopefully jschlatt will not let his fans down.
