R&B singer Mélat wanted to write an original Christmas song, so she recently sat down at the piano and began composing. The first line that came to her is the first verse heard in the new single, “Perfect Gift”: I’m always ready to light the Christmas tree with my friends and family.
“I absolutely adore Christmas time,” Mélat told 360°Sound. “It’s my favorite time of year outside of my birthday. I wanted to write something that felt authentic.”
The line “being with you is the perfect gift” is a summation of how Mélat feels about the holiday season.
“But also, a reminder that sometimes all you have is the wish to be with the someone that you love,” she said.
The Austin, Texas native said that while she is currently wrapped up in the beauty and wonder of Christmas, she realizes it’s a difficult time for many throughout the world.
Even though times aren’t quite what we’d like them to be.
“When I first said that, my first thought was refugees and people who are in situations where they’re like, ‘I don’t even know how I got here; I just want peace and my family.’
That’s why Mélat included the line, I wish you peace for Christmas.
To help refugees in need, all proceeds from sales of “Perfect Gift” will go to Austin-based nonprofit American Gateways, which has served the Central Texas immigrant community for 35 years. The nonprofit’s mission is “to champion the dignity and human rights of immigrants, refugees and survivors of persecution, torture, conflict and human trafficking through exceptional immigration legal services at no or low cost.”
American Gateways resonated with Mélat, a first-generation Ethiopian-American. She serves on the leadership council, and one of her family members even benefitted from the group’s services. The family member was dealing with some complex legal issues regarding their citizenship.
“It was a huge burden off of my family,” she said. “I don’t know if we would have been able to move through the process without them.”
Short and sweet at only a minute and a half, “Perfect Gift” features Mélat’s own backup harmonies, giving it a stirring choir-like quality. Longtime collaborator Pha handled the production, throwing in sleigh bells. “He added literally the bells and whistles to the song and gave it a little more oomph,” Mélat said.
Mélat also recorded a rendition of the classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Although the marketing culture has done its best to keep Christmas focused on commerce, Mélat said what draws her to the holiday is how we beautify our homes with lights, trees, and tinsel and “how people are willing to be a little kinder.”
“Yes, you’re supposed to be buying a million gifts or whatever, but it’s really the thought of trying to give to the ones that we love and express to them, ‘I love you. I care about you. I think about you.’ It’s a time of year when people try to give back in whatever way it is.”
Consider giving back by purchasing Mélat’s lovely original Christmas song “Perfect Gift” as well as her version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” on Bandcamp.
