From Australia to Sin City: Human Nature brings Christmas to Las Vegas
The members of Human Nature took their time with their latest holiday release, "The Christmas Album" -- so much so that they were "literally singing Christmas music every season of the year."
The four-piece group recorded the album in their native Australia, where it's summer during the holiday season -- and "really hot." Case in point: Their memories of Christmas from growing up include time spent at the pool, or even the beach.
But getting into the holiday spirit came pretty naturally.
"Whenever you approach a Christmas song it just puts you in a good mood. We had a really great time recording the album. We sort of did it in blocks, but every time you come back to it, it was a fresh start," Toby Allen told CBS News.
The holiday collection finds Human Nature taking on such classics as "White Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and "Silent Night / O Holy Night."Coming up with what songs to record is a collaborative process for Human Nature. They pored through YouTube and iTunes to get ideas.
"It's finding all these things you're influenced by and creating your own version and then taking that into the studio," said Phil Burton.
Now Human Nature is taking the holiday classics -- along with some Motown favorites -- to Las Vegas. Through the end of December, the group is performing its 2015 holiday show "Christmas, Motown and More!" at the Venetian's Sands Showroom.
Looking ahead, the vocal group plans to record a second version of its 2014 "Jukebox" release, featuring covers of classic songs. The first set featured favorites like "Stand By Me" and "Earth Angel," and the guys are already excited about picking songs for the follow-up.
Working together seams seamless for Allen, Burton and brothers Andrew and Michael Tierney. They've been singing together since 1989. And in that time, they released several albums, toured the world and opened for Michael Jackson.
When asked what has kept them together all this time, they joked that it's a "very, very hard contract" to get out of.
But in all seriousness, it comes down to a true lasting friendship.
"We got together as a group after we'd already known each other and been friends," said Allen. "And the reason we got together was fun. It had nothing to do with money or success. So having that bond in the first place ... it's always been natural and really easy."
