Felicity Share Their Version of the Holiday Classic "Last Christmas"

FELICITY promo photo — Credit Niles Gregory

Felicity has shared their version of the Wham! Christmas classic “Last Christmas“. The Orlando trash band is comprised of Andrew Rapier (guitar), Cory Nicholas (guitar), Damien Fagiolino (vocals), Mike Alosa (bass) and Rashid Williams (drums). It has been a busy year for the band, and they are closing it out with their 7th release of 2023.

This is the fourth time I have written an article about Orlando trash rock band Felicity this year, so it’s obvious that I have an affinity for the band. What appeals to me is never knowing want to expect from them. They are known for their wild live performances which I have had the pleasure of witnessing first-hand. However, this craziness extends beyond their live performances. They are also known to share crazy videos on their TikTok and Instagram pages. Unsolicited performances in malls and selling their own merchandise at Lowes are just a couple of their stunts which have added to their growing list of store bans.

On the new cover, guitarist Drew Rapier shares: “After a hectic year, we wanted to end 2023 with a special gift for all our fans and supporters. ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham! has always been one of our favorite Christmas songs – It’s one that we’ve always played acoustically at Christmas parties or for our families. We challenged ourselves to create a version of the song that is unique to FELICITY while staying true to the original and (hopefully) creating a version that listeners could enjoy year-round. We hope everyone enjoys the song (and the silly video we made for it) as much as we enjoyed creating it!”

“Last Christmas” was first recorded by George Michael and Wham! 37 years ago, and yet every year at this time it re-enters the music charts. This week it is #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart joining the likes of other perennial Christmas classics including “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree”, “All I Want for Christmas is You”, “Jingle Bell Rock”, “A Holly Jolly Christmas”, and “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” in the top ten.

The song has now been covered over 50 times by musical artists ranging from Taylor Swift to Jimmy Eat World to Ariane Grande. While each artist has brought something a little different to the table, each one is fundamentally the same fluffy, sappy version as the original by Wham!, which by the way is still my favorite version.

Most people think “Last Christmas” is a Christmas song, but it’s not a joyful song to celebrate the holiday season. It’s really a song about a failed relationship. While most who have recorded the song have approached it in a remorseful but bright way, Felicity’s version is grim with heavy guitars and eerie aggressive dark vocals. Fagiolino is not depicting a sad individual but rather one that is angry. This is maybe the first version of the Christmas classic that has been approached in this way. Christmas is supposed to be an uplifting time of the year, but as this song shows this is not always the case.

“Last Christmas” is out now via Zodhiac Records. Listen here: https://listentofelicity.com/lastchristmas.

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3/27 – Richmond, VA @ Canal Club (w/Between You & Me)

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Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)

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