A Motown Holiday, various artists (Motown)

The word "Motown" inevitably makes most people think of that Detroit record label's remarkable run of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, with occasional successes in subsequent decades via Smokey Robinson, Rick James, Lionel Richie, India.Arie and Boyz II Men. You won't be surprised to discover that the label's 2020 EP of holiday selections feature no immediately familiar names, or that they're still working the latest variations of the pop/soul realm they always have. The set kicks off with "All I Want" by Asiahn, a piano-based ballad over a slow jam beat. Ted When offers "Snow in California," an acoustic guitar-led number with a folky feel to it, and NJOMZA performs "Christmas Blues," another soulful ballad. Tiana Major9 (a real music nerd's name, wouldn't you say?) does an almost completely unadorned gospel version of "Silent Night," and Joy Denalane covers Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas."