Merry Christmas with Love
| Merry Christmas with Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Clay Aiken | ||||
| Released | November 16, 2004 | |||
| Recorded |
Summer 2004 Right Track Recording New York City, New York | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 39:00 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer |
Phil Ramone Walter Afanasieff | |||
| Clay Aiken chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D[2] |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed)[3] |
Merry Christmas with Love is Clay Aiken's first Christmas album, released by RCA Records on November 16, 2004. It was certified platinum and was recognized by Billboard as the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of 2004 and the best-selling Christian album of 2005.
The album was re-released on August 18, 2009 on the Sony label.
Aiken has toured four times with his Joyful Noise Tour (2004-2007) to promote this album.
Sales and chart performance
Merry Christmas with Love debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with about 270,000 copies sold;[4] this was also its peak position on the chart. By the end of 2004, around 1,004,000 copies of the album had been sold,[5] and the album won Billboard awards for the Best-Selling Christmas Album of 2004 and the Best-Selling Christian Album of 2005. The album set a new record for fastest-selling holiday album in the SoundScan era (since March 1991) and tied Céline Dion's record for the highest debut by a holiday album in the history of Billboard magazine.[6]
On January 6, 2005, Merry Christmas with Love was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.[7] Going into the 2010 Christmas season, 1,416,000 copies had been sold in the U.S.[8] and 2 million worldwide.
Track listing
- "O Holy Night"
- "Winter Wonderland"
- "Silent Night"
- Medley: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"/"O Come All Ye Faithful"
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
- "Mary, Did You Know?"
- "Joy to the World"
- "The Christmas Song"
- "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day"
- "Merry Christmas with Love"
- "Sleigh Ride"
- "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"
Song notes
- ^ "O, Holy Night" Written by: Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 3:38
- ^ "Winter Wonderland" Written by: Richard B. Smith, Felix Bernard / Produced by Phil Ramone - 2:49
- ^ "Silent Night" Written by: Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 2:17
- ^ Medley: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"/"O Come All Ye Faithful" Written by: Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley /Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 4:00
- ^ "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Written by: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 3:27
- ^ "Mary Did You Know" Written by: Buddy Greene, Mark Alan Lowry / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 3:20
- ^ "Joy to the World" Written by: Isaac Watts, Lowell Mason / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 2:13
- ^ "The Christmas Song(Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" Written by: Melvin Torme, Robert Wells / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 2:36
- ^ "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" Written by: Celine Dion, Ric Wake, Peter Zizzo / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 4:33
- ^ "Merry Christmas with Love" Written by: Greg Wayne Davis, Billy Lee Smiley / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 4:04
- ^ "Sleigh Ride" Written by: Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 3:00
- ^ "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" Written by: Frank Loesser / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 3:01
Personnel
Musicians
|
Production
Studios |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC | Christian AC | |||
| 2004 | "Winter Wonderland" | 13 | - | Merry Christmas with Love |
| 2005 | "O Holy Night" | 37 | - | |
| "Hark the Herald Angels Sing / O Come All Ye Faithful" |
27 | - | ||
| "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | 32 | - | ||
| "Mary, Did You Know?" | 35 | 32 | ||
Tours
2004: The Joyful Noise Tour [9]
- 28-City Holiday concert 2 hour concert (November - December 2004)
- Featured 30 piece orchestras as well as both adult and children's choirs invited from each host city.
- The Joyful Noise Tour's official sponsor was Ronald McDonald House Charities.
2005: The Joyful Noise 2005 Tour [10]
- 36-City, 40-Concert U.S. and Canada tour (November - December 2005)
- The concert featured a traveling cast of actors, singers, and dancers, as well as a supporting cast recruited from each host city, to provide the theatrical component that threaded together the musical performances.
- The opening act and contributing musician was pop-classical pianist William Joseph.
2006: Holiday Tour[11]
- 18-city tour of cities mostly in the eastern U.S. (December 2006)
- Performed with local orchestras, which also opened the concerts with a program of seasonal music.
2007: Christmas in the Heartland[12]
- 21-date eastern U. S. tour began on November 26 in Wichita, Kansas and ended on December 22, 2007 in Merrillville, Indiana.
- Local orchestras performed the music.
- Holiday stories submitted and read by fans were spaced throughout the performance as lead in to 4 of the song selections.[13][14]
Aiken has ended each of his Christmas tours with his signature Christmas song, "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day."
Awards and nominations
- 2004: Won - Best Selling Christmas Album - Merry Christmas with Love
- 2005: Won - Best Selling Christian Album - Merry Christmas with Love
American Christian Music Awards
- 2005: Won - Outstanding Yule CD - Merry Christmas with Love
References
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- ↑ AllMusic review
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- ↑ Margo Whitmire, "Eminem Thankful To Remain No. 1", Billboard.com, November 24, 2004.
- ↑ "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
- ↑ Rogers, Steve. Clay Aiken's "Merry Christmas With Love" holiday album debuts to record sales realitytvworld.com. November 29, 2004. Retrieved 2009-08-08
- ↑ "RIAA Searchable Database - Gold & Platinum Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
- ↑ Mansfield, Brian (December 22, 2010). "Crystal Bowersox's 'Farmer's Daughter' debuts with 58K sales". USA Today.
- ↑ Dreaming of a Clay Christmas © 2004 McDonald’s Corporation (pdf). December 17, 2004. Retrieved 2009-08-20
- ↑ Kragen, Pam. "Pop nerd Clay Aiken brings 'Joyful Noise' to San Diego." North Country Times. November 9, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-25 (article archived)
- ↑ A Clay Aiken Christmas: Carols & Comedy .americanidolworship.com. December 21st, 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-20
- ↑ "Clay Aiken Adds Dates to Magical Holiday Tour 2007." TicketNews.com June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25
- ↑ Aiken's Christmas tour arrives Saturday by Sean T. McMann Poughkeepsie Journal (12/06/07). Retrieved 2008-02-23
- ↑ Without any further ado: the Clay Aiken/Poughkeepsie Journal story by Sean T. McMann Sean's Space (12/07/07). Retrieved 2008-02-23
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