For the 2021 edition of Carols Covered—Apple Music’s collection of Christmas standards updated by contemporary artists—Toronto singer-songwriter JP Saxe chose Joni Mitchell’s “River,” a song that, in the context of the holidays, never fails to wring out a few tears. “This song, to me, brings up being alone on Christmas, sitting at my upright piano, just wallowing in my own emotions, being in a new city on a holiday,” Saxe says. “I know that's not the happiest of memories, but it's a song that can make you feel connected to people you love, even if you're not with them, and I think that's something we certainly need on the holidays.”