After a successful release of his first album, Twitch streamer and YouTube creator JSchlatt recently dropped a deluxe version of his famed Christmas album. JSchlatt, whose real name has not been released, is best known for reviewing his viewers’ bedroom setups, making tier lists and playing video games.
Within the past two years, JSchlatt, sometimes referred to as Schlatt, has experimented with music. When AI covers featuring the voices of celebrities became popular, he posted a YouTube video in late 2023 about how AI covers of songs need to stop. During that video he professionally made a cover of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Almost a year later, Schlatt dropped “A Very 1999 Christmas,” a Christmas album on YouTube and Spotify featuring classic songs like “White Christmas,” “Let It Snow” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” – the songs have garnered millions of listens on Spotify. For 2025, Schlatt dropped “A Very 1999 Christmas (Deluxe)” on YouTube. The deluxe version features all eight songs from the previous year’s album along with three new songs: “Sleigh Ride,” “Mele Kalikimaka” and “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man with the Bag.”
First up is “Sleigh Ride” where the intro is less like the original song and gives more of a Frank Sinatra jazz vibe. The beat, although jazzier at the start, becomes a little bit more Christmas-esque as the song goes on but still maintains the same jazz feel. Schlatt’s vocals aren’t bad either. His vocals are a little bit deeper than the original or any male version I could find on Spotify, but it still holds up well.
Overall, the vocals are not bad at all and the pace is great, but the jazz feel instead of a Christmas one is not my favorite, as it takes away from the original tone of the song.
Onto “Mele Kalikimaka,” which is a song I only listened to a handful of times before hearing Schlatt’s take on it. Just like “Sleigh Ride,” Schlatt’s “Mele Kalikimaka” take feels more like a jazz song than a traditional Christmas song. Schlatt’s vocals aren’t bad in this one, but the music seems to outdo his volume to the point where you start to focus more on the beat than his vocals.
Comparing Schlatt’s version to others that came before it, it is a little lackluster. I think Seth MacFarlane had a much better production than Schlatt mostly due to commitment to the Christmas music genre and standout vocals when compared to Schlatt’s. Overall, the song doesn’t fully bring the Christmas spirit as it is too rooted in jazz. The song isn’t awful, but it definitely takes away from what the original soundtrack did right.
Photo courtesy of @jschlatt on Instagram
The last new song on his album is “The Man with the Bag,” which is a song that likely many others and I have never heard before. For a first impression, the song isn’t bad, the beat definitely seems more Christmas-esque compared to the previous two and blends the jazz and Christmas vibes really well. The vocals on the first listen are really good too, although it’s still hard to hear them over the background track. Compared to some of the other versions on Spotify, I think the other versions are better due to the range the professionals have compared to Schlatt. He may not be a professional singer, but Schlatt’s version isn’t bad by any means.
The other songs on “A Very 1999 Christmas (Deluxe)” haven’t changed from the previous album release, with my favorite still being “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Overall, the album has some great songs and for someone who isn’t a professional, Schlatt has some good vocals. My only gripe with the album as a whole is the new jazz-focused songs that were added but even then, they weren’t bad covers.