LATEST NEWS

With an illustrious career spanning 35 years, chart-topping singer, songwriter, and GRAMMYⓇ Award winner Regina Belle is back, this time with a festive and beautifully soulful holiday album entitled My Colorful Christmas. The 10-track album, slated for release in November on Belle’s record label Tashi3 Entertainment, proves that no matter the genre—R&B, jazz, gospel, or even holiday music — everything she touches turns to gold.

So, what made Belle, a hit-making songstress who has successfully made her mark as one of the most thrilling balladeers of our time, decide to release a Christmas album? “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for many years, actually, but never got around to it,” says Belle. “Thanksgiving to New Year’s is my favorite time of the year. The music, the closeness of family, everything the season represents, means so much to me.” 

It was also Belle’s brother Bernard, who convinced her to finally do a holiday album. “He kept saying, ‘What are you waiting for? You’ve been wanting to do a Christmas record forever and you have the means and the wherewithal, so just do it,’” Belle remembers. “And you know what? He was right. So, I jumped right in to do it.” Unfortunately, in the middle of recording My Colorful Christmas, Bernard passed away. His death shattered Belle, but as a promise to him, she pushed through the pain and finished the album. And what she created has turned out to be an incredible Christmas jewel that will surely elevate people’s spirits and become an essential part of their holiday listening pleasure, year after year. 

My Colorful Christmas features timeless holiday classics, from the definitive “Silent Night” and “The First Noel” to the spiritual hymns “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Hark the Herald.” But what Belle does is sprinkle her signature magic and personal touch to each track, which adds an unforgettable emotional depth guaranteed to warm the soul. Belle’s favorite track, “A Cradle in Bethlehem,” is a dazzling ballad slated to be the first single off the album. “It’s always been my favorite holiday song because it’s not Christmas for me until I hear Nat King Cole and ‘A Cradle in Bethlehem’ is from his Christmas album,” says Belle. “It’s a song most people don’t even know, but I knew it was a song I wanted to make and put on my album. I had no idea it would come out the way it did, and I am very pleased with it.”

Then there is her spunky rendition of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which has a perfect, toe-tapping Soca spin to it, while “A Baby Changes Everything” (featuring Belle’s daughter Sydni Battle) gives us an exquisite version of the biblical Christmas story, intimately done by the mother-daughter duo. And My Colorful Christmas is definitely a family affair. Not only is Sydni featured on the album, but her other daughter Nyla and her son Jayln worked on the album, as well as her nephew Jahmel (Bernard’s son), who helped produce a few of the tracks including “The First Noel.” It’s no surprise that Belle had a great time making the album with her talented family. “Working with my family was amazing. Absolutely wonderful. I loved it,” Belle says. “My daughters shocked me. My son just amazed me. And with my nephew, well it was no secret how gifted he is, but hearing him put together the music, I lost my entire mind!”

The album closes out with the only original track on the record, “I Had to Leave,” written by Belle and Bernard as a special tribute to those they’ve lost. The lovely and sentimental lyrics are actually from the perspective of a lost loved one: “Thank you for the memories/Thank you for just loving me/Thank you all who cared for me/Thank you all who shared with me/Thank you for your understanding…I’d love to stay/But I had to go away/It’s just my time to leave.” For Belle, the song will forever hold a special place in her heart, especially after losing Bernard, and she hopes it’s just as special for others who have dealt with loss. “Yes, it’s a little sad, but it’s also a song that will travel with us for the ages. I hope it’s one of those classic pieces you’ll listen to for years to come,” Belle says. “People lose a loved one and think they didn’t do enough, they didn’t spend enough time with that person. They feel guilty or inept. But this song is actually saying, ‘No, you did so much for me. You took care of me. Thank you for everything you did, but I had to leave nonetheless.’ It’s our loved ones speaking to us with comfort and grace, saying, ‘You did a great job, thank you.’”