Her renderings — mostly in Hawaiian, but a couple in English — represent the scope of her sphere: One moment, she's a keiki o ka 'aina, reshaping "Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Hamau E Na Kanaka)," with Hawaiian lyrics; the next, she's a soft-jazz mood-setter on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in a tradition that begs you to hoist eggnog in good cheer.

Along the way, those powerful pipes get emotional ("Ave Maria," in English and in a deliberate note of solemnity) and country-simple ("Betelehema Iki E," a Hawaiianized "O Little Town of Bethlehem," with Jeff Peterson's precious ki ho'alu and Chino Montero's 'ukulele setting the fitting spirit). If you have the urge to sing along to tunes you recognize, such as "Pomaika'i Wale Ko Ke Ao (Joy to the World)" and "Po Hemolele (O Holy Night)," there are liner lyrics. Other tracks worth applauding: "Mele Kalikimaka" and "Mary Did You Know?"

For these ears, the most stunning entry is "Po La'i E (Silent Night)," the timeless yuletide carol that defines the holiday — just heavenly and peaceful from a voice for all seasons.

Produced in Waimea, where wintry weather prevails much of the year and where Norfolk pines flourish, this tranquil collection is at home with paniolo and city slickers alike, with gentle and respectful solo guitar interpretations of "The First Noel" (Brotman), "White Christmas" (Lim), "O Holy Night" (Peterson), "Mele Kalikimaka" (Lorenzo), "Winter Wonderland" (West) and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" (Ryder) among the delightfully relaxing morsels.

Great for background music at Christmas dinners, lovely spirit-evoking fodder for late-night or early-morning solitude.

Half the disc is composed of titles not commonly associated with the holidays, such as "I Love You" and "Peace," but the lyrical content links to the holidays. Love the title track, from Jonathan Larson's "Rent," which is a show — not Christmas — tune but capsulizes and measures the love that is the rightful core of the season.

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (the latter, with Jana Anguay Alcain, making it a cozy duet), plus "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" all toast the holidays.

Photos of Afatia and wife Nicole's kids included in the liner notes give the CD a family scrapbook feeling, updating his altering life. So a footballer can turn crooner, with the right team — producer-arranger Kale Chang is the mover-and-shaker here.

Led by lead vocalist Jason "Bison" Friedmann, GJG goes to town with tongue sometimes in cheek, extolling the charms or horrors of gifts ("Once a Year"), the anticipation of the day ("Christmas Morning"), the inevitable winter flicks ("Holiday Movie Marathon"). And GJG provides its own take on "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and "Mele Kalikimaka" — not necessarily instant classics, but surely versions that will connect with its devoted following.