If you were looking for an excuse to venture out to Holly Cole's two performances at the National Arts Centre on Monday and Tuesday, we may have one for you.

Cole, whose holiday shows have become something of a tradition at the NAC over the past five years, may not be giving any more.

"I don't know if I'm going to do it next year," says the Nova Scotia native, sitting in a lounge at the NAC one afternoon during a recent promotional tour. "I'm the kind of person who's uncomfortable with being comfortable."

Too bad for her fans. Cole's holiday shows give them a semi-rare opportunity to see her perform with the NAC Orchestra, rather than simply with the minimalist backing of her dependable trio -- pianist/arranger Aaron Davis (the man responsible for reworking her material for the orchestra), drummer Mark Kelso and bassist George Koller.

"It takes the pressure off in one way and puts it on in another," she says of performing with full orchestral accompaniment. "I have to totally experiment differently with my voice."

Coming as they do at the end of a December-long, cross-Canada tour, Cole's two shows at the NAC will feature a few Christmas-themed tunes interspersed among her usual arsenal of reinterpreted standards.

"New Year's Eve has a different feel," she says, "so it's not unending, wall-to-wall Christmas tunes ... I hate the term `pops concert,' but I can't think of a better way to describe it."

It's understandable that Cole would want to avoid being labelled a "pops" singer.

With the so-called "lounge movement" gaining popularity across the country, one might expect Cole -- saleswise, Canada's reigning queen of jazz-inflected pop (and, judging by her healthy sales figures there, Japan's, too) -- to be delighted at the new cachet her music has found among would-be swingers.

But, she says, she'd rather not be associated with any of that "kitschy lounge stuff."

"I'm running scared with my tail between my legs from that stuff," she says. "I really don't want to be part of a trend.

"I used to cover classic stuff from the 1940s ... but I've outgrown it. I kind of outgrew it before that (the lounge revival) started."