O' Holy Night

Michelle Williams' recording, credited on Destiny's Child's holiday album, keeps Adolphe Adam's carol close to its familiar opening: "O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth."

"Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt His word" carries the same weight it always has, and "the thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices" pairs two words — thrill and weary — that don't usually sit together, which is part of why the line has lasted.

"Fall on your knees, oh hear the angels' voices" repeats often in this arrangement, and rather than moving through all three traditional verses, Williams lets the song settle into an extended vamp on its title phrase — "holy night" repeated well past where a hymnal would move on, closing with "the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, on holy night."

That closing title, borrowed from Revelation, gives the vamp its final direction — not just a beautiful night being described, but a specific King being named.