Merry Christmas with Love explained
| Merry Christmas with Love |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Clay Aiken |
| Cover: | MCWL_clay_low_res.jpg |
| Released: | November 16, 2004 |
| Recorded: | 2004 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 39:00 |
| Label: | RCA |
| Prev Title: | Measure of a Man |
| Prev Year: | 2003 |
| Next Title: | A Thousand Different Ways |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
Merry Christmas with Love is the first Christmas album and second studio album by American recording artist Clay Aiken. It was released on November 16, 2004, through RCA Records. The production on the album was produced by Phil Ramone and Walter Afanasieff.
The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 270,000 copies in its first week. It was also recognized by Billboard as the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of 2004 and the best-selling Christian album of 2005. The album certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 2005.
Aiken has toured four times with his Joyful Noise Tour (2004-2007) to promote this album. The album was re-released on August 18, 2009, on the Sony label.
Awards and nominations
Tours
2004: The Joyful Noise Tour[3]
- 28-city two-hour holiday 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[4]
- 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[5]
- 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[6]
- 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 four of the song selections.[7] [8]
Aiken has ended each of his Christmas tours with his signature Christmas song, "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day".
Commercial performance
Merry Christmas with Love debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 270,000 copies in its first week.[9] This became Aiken's second US top-ten debut.[9] By the end of 2004, the album sold 1,004,000 copies.[10] The album set a new record for fastest-selling holiday album in the SoundScan era (since March 1991) and tied Celine Dion's record for the highest debut by a holiday album in the history of Billboard magazine.[11] On January 6, 2005, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies. As of February 2011, the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States.[12]
Personnel
Musicians
Production
- Andy Zulla - mixing
- Joel Moss - recording
- Mark Valentine - additional recording
- Emanuel Kiriakou - engineer
- Joe Wohlmuth - additional engineering
- David Channing - additional engineering
- Jay Spears - assistant engineer
- Mike Schroffel - assistant engineer
- Glenn Pittman - assistant engineer
- Alex Rodriguez - assistant engineer
- Dave Reitzas - lead vocal engineer
- Jorge Calandrelli - arrangement
- Patrick Williams - arrangement
- Rich Davis - production coordination
- Elena Barere - concert master
- Torrie Zito - conductor
- William Ross - conductor, arranger
- Humberto Gatica - orchestra engineer
- Sandy Decrescent - orchestra contractor
- David Lowe - orchestra contractor
- Jill Dell'Abate production manager
- Joe Yannece - mastering
Charts
Singles
See also
Notes and References
- 2004 Winners. Billboard. March 1, 2020.
- 2005 Winners. Billboard. March 1, 2020.
- http://mcdepk.com/thanksforgiving/downloads/lead_release.pdf Dreaming of a Clay Christmas
- Kragen, Pam. "Pop nerd Clay Aiken brings 'Joyful Noise' to San Diego". North County Times. November 9, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-25 (article archived)
- http://www.americanidolworship.com/2006/12/a-clay-aiken-christmas-carols-comedy/ A Clay Aiken Christmas: Carols & Comedy
- http://www.ticketnews.com/Clay-Aiken-Adds-Dates-to-Magical-Holiday-Tour2725 "Clay Aiken Adds Dates to Magical Holiday Tour 2007"
- http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712070302 Aiken's Christmas tour arrives Saturday
- http://seantm.blogspot.com/2007/12/without-any-further-ado-clay-aiken.html Without any further ado: the Clay Aiken/Poughkeepsie Journal story
- Eminem Thankful To Remain No. 1. Billboard. Margo Whitmire. November 24, 2004. March 1, 2020.
- Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas! . . 2009-12-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091211194511/http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/43185/chart-watch-extra-bring-on-christmas . 2009-12-11 .
- Web site: Clay Aiken's "Merry Christmas With Love" holiday album debuts to record sales. Steve Rogers. realitytvworld.com. November 29, 2004. August 8, 2009.
- Web site: Clay Aiken Finally Addresses Recording Future...Do You Buy It?. Josh Grossberg. E Entertainment. February 9, 2011. March 1, 2020.
- Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005. Billboard. December 5, 2018.
