There’s A Lot For Magnus Ferrell To Be Excited About — Exclusive

Magnus Ferrell doesn’t need to be freezing in a field full of evergreen trees clutching a lukewarm hot chocolate to get in the Christmas spirit; the Los Angeles native can do that all on his own. “The holidays have always been my favorite time of the year,” the 22-year-old singer-songwriter tells NYLON. “There's so much nostalgia to it.”

It’s no wonder why he gets so wistful this time of year: As the eldest son of Elf star Will Ferrell, it’s fair to assume the singer has a deeper connection to the holiday season than most. In 2025, Ferrell channeled his love of the holidays into “Lost Without You (Xmas),” a less-than-jolly number in which the season of togetherness leaves Ferrell mourning an ex. Now, he’s venturing into the Christmas-music space once again — this time, with a cover.

For the first time in a decade, Starbucks is releasing its very own holiday album, the aptly titled Holiday Blend (out Nov. 4). The project features a mix of originals and covers from Coco Jones, Leon Thomas, The Womack Sisters, JYT, Brandi Carlile, TRÍADA, and Ferrell, who brought his signature blue-eyed soul to a reimagining of the Andy Williams classic “Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season." “I always have loved Christmas music, and I’m super honored and lucky to work on something that I love to listen to, something that's been a part of my childhood, and to get to be a part of a Starbucks album,” Ferrell says. “It’s just awesome.”

To help get in the deck-the-halls mood, we caught up with Ferrell to talk about his favorite holiday albums, new music, and his goals for 2027.

There are so many timeless holiday songs out there. What made you choose this song?

“Happy Holiday” is the one that sits with me the most. It's the one that comes into my brain when I think about Christmas growing up. It's the most nostalgic for me, personally, and to be able to do a cool, modern version of it that sounds like it comes from the Magnus Ferrell world was super great.

Were you worried about this song standing out in the canon of great holiday songs, or you were more concerned about making a song that feels honest to you as an artist?

I have to control what I can, and the way [people react to a song] is not something I can control. What I can control is making something that I enjoy. At the end of the day, I want to look back on everything I've put out, and Christmas music obviously included, and be like, "I still connect with this." So what I went for is like, "Okay, how do I make it something that I would listen to?"

What makes for a great holiday cover? Do you prefer the covers that are faithful to the original versions, or do you gravitate towards the ones where the artist makes it their own?

Finding a balance between the two is actually what makes a great Christmas cover. Trying to capture the nostalgia of a record that is just a classic, but also reinventing it and making it modern and unique within its own right. If I hear a cover that does both and it's like, “Oh, I haven't heard, name any Christmas song in this way, but it still feels nostalgic and it still feels like it is a Christmas song,” that's my favorite.

This isn't even the first time that you've released a Christmas song. What is it about the holidays that you find so inspiring?

I associate it with my family and being together. It's the only time of the year where you're with people you love, and it's not for a single particular reason, you're just together for a large chunk of time. I connect music with memories, and I just have such a large catalog of memories associated with holiday music.

There's some really great artists featured on this album. Who amongst them would you like to collaborate with one day?

Leon Thomas and Coco Jones are my two favorites. So great.

Is there a holiday tradition that you look forward to every year?

Playing holiday music and decorating the tree is one of my favorite things to do. I've had so many great memories and that's the activity that starts them, but it always ends up [turning] into a fun conversation or maybe watching a Christmas movie.

Is there a holiday album that you always return to every year?

The Bing Crosby one is my favorite. It's so hard because there's so many good jazzy [Christmas albums] — and Nat King Cole. Those are my favorites.

Beyond the holiday music, can fans expect to hear more new music in 2027?

Oh, absolutely. I'm so lucky that I was able to get together an EP to share more music in the fall, and I'm super excited that we're gearing up to put out an album in the spring.

What's been the vibe of the songs so far?

It's funny, the singles that I put out this year [were] scratching the surface on this kind of soul sound. For the album, I really, really, really…the intention is to double down and explore that further. I also am trying to find ways to reinvent using the tone of my voice. We want to find more ways to showcase my vocals and to continue to develop a sound that just sounds like who I am as a person. I'm just really, really pumped to dive in, explore, and put out the most honest piece of work that I can.

New Year's is just around the corner and I'm curious, what are you looking forward to for 2027?

There's so much to be excited for always, but specifically 2027, I'm excited to explore my musicianship. That's been something that I've really been itching to do, and I've been on the road and it's been hard to practice, but at the top of the year, I'm going to really try and improve my piano playing skills and my knowledge of music theory, and I want to become a better musician. I get excited to think about the possibilities if I just get enough time to practice.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.