The Business of Christmas, Ina Wroldsen (Stairs/Sony)

This Norwegian singer/songwriter is better known behind the scenes over the past couple of decades, having written songs for everyone from Britney Spears to Leona Lewis, but she's probably more famous in her native land as a judge for that country's version of talent show "Idol." Nevertheless, she's got a couple of decades of experience in the business, and for 2025 she's dropped a full album of original tunes to celebrate the winter holidays. I wouldn't judge this collection by the title song, which suggests some sort of fourth-wall-breaking music biz memoir but is just a generic nod to holiday traditions. For that sort of thing, skip over to the uptempo "All You Want For Christmas Is Me," nodding to the Mariah Carey anthem without mentioning it or lifting from it. "A Good Year" is a smart promise that next year will be the milestone to look forward to, because this year su-diddly-ucked. "Christmas '94" is a nostalgic tour of a past holiday, "Christmas Chaos" pokes fun at the preparation rituals, "Desember" (correct spelling) and "Winter Blaze" provide some ballad action, "Jamaica" is a warm-weather holiday tune that lifts a bit from "Mele Kalikimaka," "Happy New Year" rewrites "Auld Lang Syne," and "The Jingle" similarly steals from "Jingle Bells." Almost forgot to note Vetle Røsten is the duet partner on "Jamaica" and the title song. Ina's got a good voice and she can evoke everybody from Abba to Alanis Morissette, and there's a lot of craft involved in what is essentially a contemporary pop outing with a little bit of rock incorporated. Definitely a choice for folks of Scandinavian pop-rock.