NEW RELEASES
Victoria Monét puts her own groovy spin on Christmas classics on her new holiday album, A Jaguar II Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements, which she released on Wednesday (Dec. 11) via Lovett Music and RCA Records.
The eight-track project reimagines her fan-favorite tracks such as the Grammy-nominated hits “On My Mama” and “How Does It Make You Feel” from her critically acclaimed debut album Jaguar II as orchestral pieces and blends them in with timeless festive jingles including “Let It Snow” and “Carol of the Bells.” A Jaguar II Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements was arranged and conducted by Maurice “Pirahnahead” Herd and played by his Soulchestra in Detroit.
“A gift from me to you (and family friendly for the kids, I promise)!!! I hope this fills you and your family with much needed holiday cheer and the Christmas spirit!” Monét wrote on X Wednesday.
The albums arrives four years (to the date) after A Jaguar Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements, which transformed “Moment,” “We Might Even Be Falling in Love,” “Touch Me” and more tracks from her 2020 EP, Jaguar, into Christmas tunes.
She originally released Jaguar II on Aug. 25, 2023, and the 11-track project reached No. 22 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 60 on the Billboard 200. The LP won two Grammys this year for best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical, while the R&B singer-songwriter also took home the coveted Big Four trophy for best new artist.
Listen to A Jaguar II Christmas: The Orchestral Arrangements below.
NEW RELEASES
Jessie J has unveiled her new single ‘Believe In Magic’ and opened up about her feelings of frustration after being forced to cancel and reschedule her tour dates in preparation for breast cancer surgery.
The track, originally written in 2022, reunites her with ‘No Secrets’ collaborators Los Hendrix and Jesse Boykins III, and comes alongside visuals directed by Mitch Peryer.
Blending honesty and hope, the lyrics include: “Such a waste being jaded/See all the little things that fix a broken heart/Open your eyes and you’ll see what can happen/Gotta believe in the magic.”
Talking about the song, Jessie J shared that it was written during the early stages of her pregnancy. “I was breaking open and loving writing again,” she explained.
“It was a deep, hopeful, loving feeling I wanted to put into a song. It resonates with me more now than perhaps it did then. That’s the beauty of music, it can travel in time. I love this song. I hope you (yes, you) get the inspiration for your life in your own way. That’s my only hope for all my music.”
‘Believe In Magic’ comes shortly after Jessie J revealed she would have to postpone her UK and European shows due to a second surgery for breast cancer.
The singer shared in June that she had been diagnosed with early breast cancer, saying at the time that “cancer sucks in any form” but she was “holding onto the word ‘early’.” She then went through surgery on June 24, which was successful.
In a press statement, she explained: “Unfortunately, I have to have a second surgery, nothing too serious, but it has to be done by the end of this year. This falls in the middle of the tour I had booked. I’m so sorry, I feel frustrated and sad, but I need to be better, I need to be healed.”
Her UK and European tour, originally scheduled to begin in September, has now been rescheduled for April 2026. All tickets for the October shows will still be valid for the new April dates.
the April dates.
APRIL
07 – Birmingham, Symphony Hall
08 – London – The Palladium
11 – Leeds, O2 Academy
13 – Manchester, Albert Hall
14 – Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
21 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
22 – Brussels, La Madeleine
23 – Cologne, E-Werk
26 – Paris, La Cigale
Jessie J also confirmed that all of her North American dates have been cancelled. In a video on Instagram, she said: “I need to be better, I need to be healed… here comes the bad news, I haven’t been able to finesse the US dates so those have to be cancelled.”
She added that since she already has other tours and shows planned for 2026, figuring out new US dates will take more time.
“Forgive me. I’m sorry, these sucks… April 2026, I’ll be on the road for the UK and European shows, and the US dates will be announced as soon as we can find time, and it feels good to do them.”
