Singer-songwriter Elizabeth Chan set yet one more benchmark within the annals of vacation music by issuing her 14^th straight annual Christmas launch, “Shatterproof,” this month. Nobody is prone to come near shattering that report for the best variety of consecutive seasonal albums or EPs, however Chan — who is understood for having a declare on the “queen of Christmas” title — handled loads of occasions previously 12 months that put some cracks in her largely cheerful vacation façade.

Most impactfully, she was present process grief over the dying of an in depth pal, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (“Tremendous Measurement Me”), this previous spring, in addition to her grandmother final December. Chan was additionally nonetheless coping with a extreme spinal harm and a particular wants court docket. And as lately as final week, she was again in court docket. No, not with any continuation of her headline-making authorized battle over Mariah Carey’s unsuccessful try and trademark the “queen” moniker, however one other lawsuit that has made the New York Metropolis information — a go well with aimed toward ending New York Metropolis’s try and impose congestion pricing on guests to Manhattan, with rerouted site visitors she believes would have an effect on the well being of kids in her neighborhood.

‘Tis the season to make carefree Christmas information, proper?

The “Shatterproof” EP isn’t almost as heavy as all these circumstances may make it sound. In reality, one of many 5 songs is a belated industrial launch of her novel model of “Jingle Bells,” set to the tune and magnificence of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” one thing she solely ever put out as a music video 9 years in the past. The self-professed Swiftie’s homage is one thing that dates again to a lighter-hearted period. However all the things on the EP has some connection, nevertheless tangential, to the grief she fought to get previous this 12 months.

“I’ve the profit and the honour to share the place I’m by my albums,” Chan says, “and I believe ‘Shatterproof’ was positively absolutely the good method to describe so many issues that I’ve skilled. I’m at all times ruminating on Christmasy phrases and phrases, and through the season there’s at all times a give attention to the phrase shatterproof, proper? And for me, really it was a 12 months in the past at present that I discovered my grandmother handed away, after I was really on a stay interview in New Zealand. After which unexpectedly dropping Morgan Spurlock, who I do know was a controversial determine… I needed my coronary heart was shatterproof, and it was positively the context wherein I approached all my music this 12 months.”

Chan has a little bit of hesitancy in speaking about Spurlock, who just about withdrew from the movie enterprise and public life typically in 2017 after releasing a publicly unprompted assertion admitting that he had been responsible of sexual misconduct previously. Chan says she solely ever noticed an honorable facet of the director, who helped begin her out on the trail to perennially making Christmas music by casting her on his documentary present “The Failure Membership” and giving her a tough deadline to start pursuing her vacation songwriting dream. She says he encourated her to not publicly point out their friendship, lest she be tarred by affiliation with the controversy… after which he died of most cancers this previous Could, leaving younger youngsters across the age of Chan’s personal.

“He’s identified to many as this one individual, however for me, I wouldn’t even be sitting the place I’m at present if he didn’t have this astounding perception in me as a Christmas artist. He noticed this earlier than I even may see myself, and also you and in and in each trade, you at all times want that one mentor otherwise you simply want that one individual to imagine in you that will help you carry by your days. And that is the primary Christmas the place I’m not joking round with him about it.

“When he was going by his worst occasions in his profession, I gave him a protected area to give attention to the issues that he appeared in the direction of, which was being a father to sons,” says Chan. “And that’s how we linked additional. Clearly I met him when he was in his heyday of being this Oscar-nominated documentary director, to start with of my profession after I had no Christmas music. And when his profession had this great implosion, I gave him a protected area to sort of take into consideration Christmas and household and residential, and we reconnected. He reemerged a special individual, however he was at all times my pal. And it’s laborious as a result of the dichotomy of how folks expertise relationships and stuff is sophisticated, and I by no means may perceive why he stated he was ‘a part of the issue’” in his apologetic assertion, although she needed to settle for all the things he stated.

So one of many songs on the EP that has a Spurlock connection, in her thoughts, is “The Thanksgiving Track.” That’s the tune she wrote to fulfill the problem within the docu-series again in 2011.

“Our group, which was known as the Failure Membership, was a bunch of seven strangers who bought collectively to attempt to obtain our personal life’s targets. So he gave me a deadline of 1 week to discover ways to play guitar and share my first Christmas track within the subsequent assembly. And it was all actual. This was not made up. However I used to be too afraid to mess up a Christmas track. So I used to be like, what’s the subsequent closest vacation I may strategy? And so it was a Thanksgiving track. It’s wild as a result of it was all documented.”

The track that opens the EP, “A (Steel) Christmas Track,” is a (sure) metal-flavored model of a track she beforehand recorded. (She tried to get Metallica’s consideration, to report the tune along with her, and had no luck with that, however discovered her method to an appropriate association anyway.)

“When Morgan handed away, I requested his household what his favourite Christmas track was, and his brother stated, ‘Oh, it was your track’ — ‘A Christmas Track.’ So I did a steel model for him. And I stated, ‘In addition to my track, what’s the track that your mother would at all times play for you, rising up?’ They usually stated it was ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ So I listened to the track by the lens of a mom who simply misplaced her son, and I noticed it in a special mild, , and I sang my coronary heart out on that track. Each nanosecond within the studio, I simply poured out all of my grief and all of my surprise about being a mother and giving start to youngsters and questioning what their legacy could be.”

Chan provides, “This album’s actually a present to his household and a commemoration of our friendship. It’s laborious for me to imagine that he’s gone, to be trustworthy. It’s a really completely different time to have  Christmas proceed with out the folks that you simply love. I imply, that is one thing I at all times speak about and I write about. However after I expertise it, it doesn’t make it simpler.

“Additionally I attempt to additionally be thankful for the blessings that I do have. So I did a track with my daughters once more, with my 3-year-old lastly mustering up the braveness to sing within the microphone. Yearly on my album, you get to listen to my daughters develop up, and it’s astounding how one can hear how their enunciations and their singing modifications, and that turns into a brand new custom for me too. So regardless that there’s loss, there’s additionally a lot to expertise and luxuriate in and acquire within the bittersweetness of the season.”

As for the far-from-bitter Swift tribute, “We’re Swifties in my family,” Chan says, “and that’s positively my favourite track. I did this homage throughout Halloween just a few years in the past the place I simply fully recreated the ‘Shake It Off’ music video, Christmas-style, with even a nativity scene. I’ve by no means launched that track earlier than and I’m like, if I don’t launch it this 12 months, the 12 months of Taylor Swift, when would I? So I assumed it was well-curated to throw it into the combination.”

Chan has signed to do a function movie documentary about her life and profession, although she’s ready until 2025 to disclose particulars.

“It’s based mostly on 14 years of archival footage that I’ve collected because the very starting, which was one thing that Morgan advised me to do. We had been at all times gonna do one thing collectively. It’s like after I had this concept of like doing like a flash mob in Instances Sq. [for the original “A Christmas Song” video], however I had no cash and I had no method of doing it, and Morgan was like, ‘Oh, who cares? Simply do it. Individuals report stuff in Instances Sq. on a regular basis.’ He was pushing me over the sting to do issues that had been similar to so crazily not possible. He had a extremely stunning mind-set about folks, and I believe that that can by no means be identified. He actually believed in goals and dreamers, and I really feel like that that must be extra of his legacy.”

Recalling these early days of professionally realizing her Christmas music mania, she says, “It takes a sure time in your life to be like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna shut down Instances Sq.. Yeah, I’m gonna do Christmas music. Yeah, I’m gonna stroll out of my previous job. In that music video, I’m actually strolling out of my previous job at Conde Nast on the identical block. I give up my job to put in writing Christmas music and I exited the door for the final time on that precise block and principally entered the Christmas music area. That was my entrée.”

Of Spurlock, she provides, “he filmed with me after which he went to movie with One Route [directing the group’s concert movie], and I’d joke with him, ‘Oh, effectively, I used to be your starter musician.’”

She additionally credit Spurlock with encouraging her in her authorized battle with Carey. After the pop famous person utilized for a sequence of “Queen of Christmas” logos, Chan went into battle to cease that — to not declare them for herself, she says, however to go away them open for anybody who needed to make use of them, whether or not it’s her or Brenda Lee or Darlene Love or simply somebody who desires to make “Queen of Christmas” Etsy gear. Chan’s facet lastly prevailed when Carey’s legal professionals seemingly deserted the trademark try and it was dismissed by a decide.

“Through the Mariah stuff, which was actually, actually laborious, I owe him as a result of there have been days the place I didn’t suppose I may transfer ahead as a result of there have been so many roadblocks at the moment. However I at all times noticed him as within the boxing ring with me as my coach— like ‘Get again up and maintain preventing.’ I’d be within the gutter and he’d be like, ‘Incredible. What are we gonna do at present?’ I’ll ceaselessly be grateful as a result of he actually believed in me because the Queen of Christmas after I didn’t even see it generally. When the New Yorker profile got here out (in 2018, with a headline proclaiming her the Queen of Christmas), he was the primary individual to name me and say, ‘It’s your second.’”

Of her present authorized battle, Chan says, “Final 12 months round Thanksgiving, I filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Division of Transportation and the MTA. The reason being there may be this factor known as congestion pricing that’s gonna occur in New York Metropolis the place they’re going to begin charging guests to come back into decrease Manhattan, beneath sixtieth avenue, a toll. It was initially $15, however now it’s $9. For me, it wasn’t about being anti-congestion pricing. Clearly whenever you stay in an enormous metropolis, site visitors sucks and everybody hates it. However the issue right here is that I stay in an space in decrease Manhattan the place the entire site visitors will likely be directed,  the place if you happen to set your GPS to no tolls, you’re gonna find yourself in my neighborhood.

“And my daughter is particular wants and has a seizure dysfunction, so every time she’s sick and has a seizure, she must be within the hospital inside quarter-hour. I stated to my native politicians, ‘Hey, I perceive that this congestion plan goes by, however after I was studying the plan, it stated that there’s gonna be extra congestion in sure areas — and these areas are going trigger bronchial asthma and cancer- and respiratory-related ailments to youngsters and residents. Are you certain that’s a good suggestion? However extra importantly, how would my little one get ambulances out and in of our neighborhood if it’s going to be bumper to bumper site visitors every single day? And nobody may give me reply.”

Final December was a bummer Christmas for Chan as a result of the positioning The Gothamist broke the information about her lawsuit on Dec. 25, and “my cellphone didn’t cease ringing off the. I used to be so mad as a result of I actually needed to be with my children and Christmas is admittedly nonetheless very sacred to me.  They usually made it a joke about my litigation chops with the Queen of Christmas trademark. Nevertheless it’s not a joke.

“And have a look at it now. It’s the second time that I’ve helped folks. I’m not getting something in return; I’m doing it as a result of it’s the fitting factor to do. You need to do issues that can attempt to  mitigate damage for folks, you realize? I didn’t need to sue concerning the Queen of Christmas both. I’m glad I did, although.”

She provides, “I’m not a lawyer. I’m like Erin Brockovich.” Or Brockovich meets Der Bingle.