Welcome to the 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar, a daily drop of pop culture Christmas icons, oddities, and joy. Check back every day from now through December 25 for each daily entry!
In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season, which aired on December 21, 2021, was a grand concert featuring well-known artists like the Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones, Pentatonix, and — most fatefully, Ms. Cabello. She would be bringing a full mariachi band in for a rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” making a bold and welcome statement of her Mexican American heritage on national TV, and in a setting central to the American identity an. And while Cabello’s performance is seriously impactful for this reason, it is also of historic significance for inventing a new holiday: Quismoiss.
Although Quismoiss was invented in 2021, it wasn’t made popular until a clip of the performance went viral nearly a year later, in 2022 — and it was memeified faster than Santa’s sleigh on Quismoiss Eve.
Some folks call Ms. Cabello’s nonconformist diction “singing in cursive,” and for better or worse, it’s a stylistic choice — not a mistake. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it funny? Is it silly? Is it amateur? Is she a good singer? Is she a bad singer? The whole internet seemed to chime in with opinions and jabs and laughs ranging from lighthearted to utterly vicious.
I had a laugh at it (and I still laugh every time I hear it). We don’t have to feel bad poking some gentle fun and laughing along with Camila, because she’s absolutely in on the joke.
Now, listen guys — I’m a former classical singer, and that job requires intense training on clear, precise, accurate diction in a handful of languages. I cannot fathom why a singer would ever choose to sing in cursive (and cursive was absolutely a choice — her TikTok shows she's capable of singing in block letters). It makes the lyrics harder to understand, and some people have trouble interpreting sung language in the first place. People like me. For decades, I heard Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart” as “Group Is in the Home.” And I’m sure that’s not even the most egregious.
Lyric confusion notwithstanding, I am highly qualified to sit here, offer a detailed technical breakdown and evaluation of Ms. Cabello’s performance, and offer my opinion on whether she was successful based on the choices she made, how well she executed them, and to what extent she met the assignment. But I’m not gonna do that! You know why?
Quismoiss isn’t just about the little baby Jesois Quoist. It’s also about celebrating and making merry. I’m singer-positive and believe that if you’re feeling yourself, you should feel yourself (even if you think you’re terrible). Criticizing isn’t our job this time of year — our job is joy!
So yes, your coworker Brad is gonna get drunk at the office holiday party and give a postmodern, atonal karaoke performance of “White Christmas.” It’s going to be astounding. If Brad is having a great time, give him a laugh, cheer him on, and get him another glass of that nog. Because maybe he’ll do “Santa Baby” next, and that will be even more fun for everyone (Brad included). Pop off, Brad!
And pop off, Camila! Who says you can’t sing in cursive in the White House? She was feeling herself, she ate that cursive, she sang the hell out of the song, and she brought all of us a little joy. Now That’s™ What I Call Quismoiss!
Check back tomorrow for even more Heistmas Advent Calendar Goodies!
If you haven't already, consider supporting worker-owned media by subscribing to Pop Heist. We are ad-free and operating outside the algorithm, so all dollars go directly to paying the staff members and writers who make articles like this one possible.
