It’s the most wonderful time of the year—the 15th Annual CMA Country Christmas special, that is. This year’s special saw Trisha Yearwood and Amy Grant returning as co-hosts for the second straight year. Country music’s biggest names helped ring in the festive season with a collection of holiday hits and classics. And yet again, gospel legend CeCe Winans took viewers to church. This time, she delivered a stunning performance of the Christmas classic “Joy to the World.”
Cece Winans Sings “Joy to the World”
Rising to fame in the ’80s alongside older brother BeBe, CeCe Winans is the best-selling female gospel singer of all time. The 60-year-old Detroit-born artist has amassed a record-breaking 15 Grammy Awards.
Taking the stage during Tuesday’s (Dec. 3) 15th annual CMA Country Christmas, Winans sent shivers down viewers’ spines as she sang the familiar words to the timeless hymn: Let ev’ry heart prepare him room / And heaven and nature sing.
CeCe Winans ! So good!! #cmacountrychristmas
— Lynn💃🚖🎶 (@Fancyreba1) December 4, 2024
Penned in 1719 by English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts, “Joy to the World” has become the most-published Christmas hymn in North America. The song is based on a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3.
A New Christmas Tour, Album
If you just can’t get enough of hearing CeCe Winans belt, Repeat the sounding joy, you’re in luck. The 31-time GMA Dove Award winner dropped her latest record, Joyful, Joyful: A Christmas Album, in October. The album is a reimagined and expanded version of her 2018 holiday release, Something’s Happening!
“Christmas is such a special time, and I wanted this music to capture the joy, love, and hope the season brings,” Winans said. “I hope these songs remind everyone of the true meaning of Christmas and fill their hearts with peace and celebration.”
Produced by Winans’ son, Alvin Love III, Joyful, Joyful offers all the time-honored Christmas classics from “Silent Night” to “Angels We Have Heard On High.” Additionally, Love contributed five original songs.