Critical Reception
"Christmas Tree" received mixed reviews from critics. Alex Rawls of OffBeat gave a positive review as part of the "25 Days of Free" offer from Amazon.com. Joking that the artists of the more religious songs must be "praying" for Lady Gaga, Rawls described the song as "not so po-faced" as the five songs released before it was made available on December 6, 2009. Estrella Adeyeri, the music editor of Nouse, gave the song a positive review, complimenting its "synth beats and numerous yuletide innuendos". Ryan Brockington of the New York Post praised the song, describing it as a "favorite holiday jam" and a "subliminal lady parts pine-tree jingle". A reviewer from gay.com described the song as "merry" and a "naughty choice", praising its "dark decadence". Gino dela Paz of The Philippine Star described the song as going from "zero to crazy" and Diana Nabiruma of The Weekly Observer called the song "plain naughty and wacky". Jason Lewis for Fast Forward Weekly called the song "charmingly ludicrous" and called it among "the best “new” holiday music out there". Chad Bullock of MTV included "Christmas Tree" in a list of "excellent" new Christmas music, describing it as "non-traditional and vaguely sexual".
Molly Gamble of Marquette Tribune gave "Christmas Tree" a negative review, criticising the song's "poorly veiled metaphor" for sex and calling the song "shameless". She commented that "Christmas Tree" is not a song one can listen to in the presence of family and that it "makes Christmas feel dirty". Katie Hasty and Melinda Newman of HitFix gave the song a very negative review, calling it "stupendously stupid and awful" and the "most terrible Christmas song ever in the whole wide world ever", criticising its obvious sexual metaphors. Cassaundra Baber of Observer-Dispatch listed the song on list of "Horrible holiday hits", criticising it for being "sexualized" and calling it "not for the kids".
The song was described as "porn-tastic" in a review for Now! Christmas 4 by Eye Weekly reviewer Chris Bilton, quoting the lyric "My Christmas tree is delicious". Bilton also called it one of few tracks on the album that make it a "worthy stocking stuffer". Also in a review for Now! Christmas 4, Charlottetown Guardian reviewer Doug Gallant called "Christmas Tree" a "dreadful offering". Beverley Lunney, a reviewer for Winnipeg Free Press, gave the song a negative review, commenting that listeners would be "offended" by the song's "truly unfestive metaphors" and called it one of a "sea of unbearable original tunes" on Now! Christmas 4. Darryl Sterdan of the Ottawa Sun called the song "the only reason to buy" Now! Christmas 4 and recommended downloading it. In a review of Now! Christmas 4, John Lucas of The Georgia Straight described the song as a "filthy electro banger" and "so blatantly about that you have to wonder how in the hell it got past the usually vigilant Now! gatekeepers", calling it the "single exception" to an otherwise bland album. In a review for It's Christmas Time, Chester Chronicle reviewer Polly Weeks called the song something that "will keep teenagers happy". In a review for Now That's What I Call Christmas! 4, J Matthew Cobb of HiFi Magazine called "Christmas Tree" part of a "good list" of new material and described it as "naughty, but nice", and in a review for Merry Xmas!, Adrian I of Music-News.com praised the song.
Read more about this topic: Christmas Tree (Lady Ga Ga Song)
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