Ava Max will appear on The Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular, which airs this Sunday, Dec. 1 on ABC. She’ll sing “O Holy Night” and her new Christmas single “1 Wish.” She told ABC Audio why she decided to release a Christmas song this year.

“We all just loved the record when it was done and it was so catchy, it was stuck in our head and we wanted to play it over and over again,” she says. “And we thought, ‘You know what? Let’s just put this one out.’ Because I just really wanted to focus on this one record, because I loved it so much … It’s one of my favorite songs.”

Ava released the song on Nov. 1, but she actually starts listening to Christmas music earlier than that.  “I mean, personally, I would say October,” she says.

But, she says, “Can I tell you what song I have on repeat, even, like, all throughout the year? ‘Snowman’ by Sia.  It’s such a good record. Maybe it’s just her voice. I love her!”

As for decking the halls, Ava admits, “I’m not going to decorate this year, I decided, because I’m traveling so much… but my mom, I’m living vicariously through her, because she started early.” Apparently, her parents go all out because Ava’s 21-year-old niece lives with them.

“My niece loves holidays and they love to do that together,” she explains. “I go and I put a couple ornaments on the tree. It’s a tradition.”  And Ava’s excited to participate in another tradition this week. In her Albanian family, traditional foods are on the menu for Christmas — but not Thanksgiving.

“I’m excited … I’m going to help [mom] make the turkey and the stuffing,” she laughs, “All the traditional American dishes!”

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