Records. The album was also known as VH-1 Presents RuPaul: Ho Ho Ho. RuPaul promoted the record by headlining a 1997 Christmas special, entitled A RuPaul Christmas Special, as a part of his VH1 talk show The RuPaul Show. The special featured a guest appearance from American band Nirvana. RuPaul later released a second Christmas album (Slay Belles) in 2015, after he spent years hoping to record one with producer Lucian Piane. Composition and lyrics The opening track for Ho Ho Ho is "With Bells On", a "disco-influenced country" interpretation of the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers song of the same name. Visage is featured on the track, and sings about batteries as her only memorable Christmas present. The second track is RuPaul's re-imagining of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as "RuPaul, the Red-Nosed Drag Queen". In "All I Want For Christmas", the singer makes a list of requests for various plastic surgery procedures that he would like to receive for the holiday, including cheek implants, chin implants, and a buttock augmentation. He also recorded a cover of "All Alone on Christmas", calling it his favorite Christmas song; he clarified that he wanted to do a serious interpretation of the track. RuPaul's covers of "I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus" and "Hard Candy Christmas" were noted for their use of camp. He identified "Hard Candy Christmas" as one of the "serious ones" on the album, and said it was only considered camp due to "the fact that [he was] doing it". When recording the song, Visage was unfamiliar with its source The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and sang it according to RuPaul's direction. Carol Hall, who had written the song, had described RuPaul's cover as her favorite version, and ranked it above Dolly Parton's interpretation. The album also includes a cover of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", incorporating elements from funk, and "Christmas Train (Medley)", serving as a club remix of various Christmas songs. The final track is a remix of the song "Celebrate"; the original version had previously appeared on RuPaul's second album Foxy Lady (1996). Reception Upon its release, Ho Ho Ho received primarily positive reviews from music critics. Vibe's Shawnee Smith described the album as a "collection of reinterpretations guaranteed to lift your spirits", and commended it for its up-tempo instrumentals and ability to reverse "holiday depression". While highlighting the changes made to the songs' titles,