8 Days of Christmas

8 Days of Christmas
Studio album by Destiny's Child
Released	October 30, 2001 (2001-10-30)
Recorded	July 2000 – September 2001
Genre	Christmas R&B
Length	41:00
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bama Boyz Damon Elliott Kurt Farguhar Focus... Alan Foyd Rob Fusari Alonzo Jackson Beyoncé Knowles Errol McCalla Jr. Falante Moore Willie Morris Ric Wake Erron Williams
Destiny's Child chronology
Love: Destiny (2001) 8 Days of Christmas (2001) This Is the Remix (2002)
Singles from 8 Days of Christmas
"8 Days of Christmas" Released: December 16, 2001 "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Released: January 3, 2002

8 Days of Christmas is the fourth studio album and only Christmas album by American R&B girl group Destiny's Child, released on October 30, 2001, by Columbia Records.

Background

The album contains twelve tracks featuring traditional Christmas songs and three original songs. Most of them are re-arranged with up-tempo beats in a contemporary R&B style. The album was recorded in summer 2001 in the United States, but Kelly Rowland stated during the "8 Days of Christmas" video premiere on BET's 106 & Park in autumn 2001 that parts of the album were also recorded in Japan during Destiny's Child's overseas promo tour. In the same interview, Beyoncé revealed, "Actually we wrote the song two years ago when we went in the studio to do some Christmas something. That's what started the idea of doing a Christmas album." ^[1] The song "8 Days of Christmas" first appeared on the double-disc reissue of The Writing's on the Wall in November 2000.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [4]
People	mixed [5]
Slant Magazine	[6]

8 Days of Christmas received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, gave the album 2.5 out 5 stars. In his review, he felt that it did not offer anything different from any other Christmas album and that it had the same formula as every other Christmas album, making it very predictable. ^[2] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+. He felt that the album had a rough start, stating that song lyrics such as, "a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring" were too materialistic, leaving a bad taste in your mouth, however, he stated that originals like "Winter Christmas", and "This Christmas" helped the album quickly recover. ^[7] People gave the album a mixed review, stating that some songs of the album fell short, but despite that, there were a few gifts on the album, such as "Carol of the Bells". They came to the conclusion that while it was good, it was not destined for success. ^[5] Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars. She said that the album sounded like a, "Survivor II: Winter Ghetto-chic," and that the album brought little justice to the original songs. ^[6]

Commercial performance

8 Days of Christmas made its debut on the Billboard 200 at number 59. ^[8] On the chart issue dated December 22, 2001, it reached its peak at number 34. On December 3, 2001, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting shipments of 1,000,000 copies. ^[9]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes ^[10]

8 Days of Christmas – Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"8 Days of Christmas"	Beyoncé Knowles Kelly Rowland Errol McCalla	B. Knowles McCalla Mathew Knowles	3:31
2.	"Winter Paradise"	B. Knowles Rob Fusari Falonte Moore George Michael	B. Knowles Fusari Moore	3:36
3.	"A "DC" Christmas Medley"	Haven Gillespie Fred Coots James Pierpont [a] Steve Nelson Jack Rollins Johnny Marks Thomas Oliphant [a] Gene Autry Oakley Haldeman	B. Knowles Fusari Moore	3:59
4.	"Silent Night" (Beyoncé)	Franz Gruber [b] Joseph Mohr [b]	B. Knowles	3:41
5.	"Little Drummer Boy" (featuring Solange)	Katherine Davis Henry Onorati Harry Simeone	B. Knowles Alonzo Jackson	3:36
6.	"Do You Hear What I Hear" (Kelly Rowland)	Noël Regney Gloria Shaine	Wirlie Morris Alan Floyd	3:47
7.	"White Christmas"	Irving Berlin	B. Knowles Damon Elliott	1:42
8.	"Platinum Bells"	Ray Evans Jay Livingston	B. Knowles Elliott	1:26
9.	"O' Holy Night" (Michelle Williams)	Placide Cappeau [c] Adolphe Adam [c]	E. Williams	4:24
10.	"Spread a Little Love on Christmas Day"	B. Knowles Bernard Edwards Jr.	B. Knowles Focus... Ric Wake	3:41
11.	"This Christmas"	Donny Hathaway Nadine McKinnor	B. Knowles Fusari Calvin Gaines [c] Bill Lee [c]	3:38
12.	"Opera of the Bells"	Mykola Leontovych [b] Peter Wilhousky [b]	B. Knowles	4:34

8 Days of Christmas – International bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"The Proud Family" (Solange featuring Destiny's Child)	Kurt Farquhar Gerald Harbour	B. Knowles [d] Farquhar	2:17

8 Days of Christmas – Japan and Wal-Mart edition ^[11]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Emotion" (with strings)	Barry Gibb Robin Gibb	B. Knowles Mark Feist	4:23

8 Days of Christmas – 2005 reissue and digital edition ^[12]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Home for the Holidays"	B. Knowles Solange Eddie “E-Trez” Smith III Jesse J. Rankins Jonathan D. Wells	B. Knowles Solange Bama Boyz	3:10
2.	"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"	Johnny Marks	B. Knowles McCalla	2:34
3.	"8 Days of Christmas"	B. Knowles McCalla	B. Knowles McCalla M. Knowles	3:31
4.	"Winter Paradise"	B. Knowles Fusari Moore Michael	B. Knowles Fusari Moore	3:36
5.	"A "DC" Christmas Medley"	Gillespie Coots Pierpont [a] Nelson Rollins Marks Oliphant [a] Autry Haldeman	B. Knowles Fusari Moore	3:59
6.	"Silent Night" (Beyoncé)	Gruber [b] Mohr [b]	B. Knowles	3:41
7.	"Little Drummer Boy" (Solange)	Davis Onorati Simeone	B. Knowles Jackson	3:36
8.	"Do You Hear What I Hear" (Kelly Rowland)	Regney Shaine	Morris Floyd	3:47
9.	"White Christmas"	Berlin	B. Knowles Elliott	1:42
10.	"Platinum Bells"	Evans Livingston	B. Knowles Elliott	1:26
11.	"O' Holy Night" (Michelle Williams)	Cappeau [c] Adam [c]	E. Williams	4:24
12.	"Spread a Little Love on Christmas Day"	B. Knowles Edwards Jr.	B. Knowles Focus... Wake	3:41
13.	"This Christmas"	Hathaway McKinnor	B. Knowles Fusari Gaines [c] Lee [c]	3:38
14.	"Opera of the Bells"	Leontovych [b] Wilhousky [b]	B. Knowles	4:34

Notes

• ^a signifies a writer credited as "traditional"
• ^b The album liner notes credit "Silent Night" and "Opera of the Bells" as being written by Beyoncé Knowles.
• ^c The album liner notes credit "O' Holy Night" as being written by Michelle Williams, Erron Williams and Kim Burse.
• ^d signifies a producer and vocal producer

Sample Credits

• "8 Days of Christmas" contains re-sung lyrics from Traditional Christmas Carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" ^[13] & a replayed element from "Jingle Bells" written by James Pierpont ^[14]
• "Winter Paradise" contains replayed elements from "Father Figure", written & performed by George Michael.
• "A 'DC' Christmas Medley" incorporates lyrics from "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "Jingle Bells", "Frosty the Snowman", "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas", "Deck the Halls" and "Here Comes Santa Claus".
• "Little Drummer Boy" originally performed by The Harry Simeone Chorale and based on "Carol of the Drum" performed by The Trapp Family Singers ^[15]
• "Do You Hear What I Hear?" originally performed by The Harry Simeone Chorale ^[16]
• "White Christmas" originally performed by Bing Crosby ^[17]
• "Platinum Bells" is a semi-remake of "Silver Bells" originally performed by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards ^[18]
• "This Christmas" originally performed by Donny Hathaway ^[19]
• "Opera of the Bells" is a remake of "Carol of the Bells" originally by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky.

Personnel

• Destiny's Child - vocals performed by (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–8, 10–12)
• Asif Ali - recording engineer (track 5)
• Pablo Arraya - recording engineer (track 6)
• Beyoncé - group member (tracks 1–5, 7–8, 10–12), musical arrangement (4), vocals (performed by) (4)
• Derrick Coleman - additional background vocals (sung by) (track 9)
• Dylan Dresdow - recording engineer (track 9)
• Alan Floyd - musical arrangement (track 6)
• David Guerrero - assistant audio mixing (tracks 1, 4–10, 12)
• Jaime Guidewicz - assistant recording engineer (track 6)
• James Hoover - recording engineer (tracks 2–3)
• Solange Knowles - guest vocals (performed by) (track 5)
• Tony Maserati - audio mixing (tracks 2–3, 11)
• Errol "Poppi" McCalla - music programming
• Bill Meyers - string arrangements, string conductor
• Michael Morales - acoustic guitar (track 4)
• Ramon Morales - recording engineer (tracks 11–12)
• Tom Morris - recording engineer (tracks 7–8)
• John Naslen - recording engineer (track 1)
• Flip Osman - assistant audio mixing (tracks 2–3, 11)
• Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado - audio mixing (tracks 1, 4–10, 12)
• Marius Perron - recording engineer (track 4)
• Juan Ramirez - assistant recording engineer (track 5)
• Sharay Reed - bass guitar (track 9)
• Byron Rickerson - recording engineer (track 9)
• Frank Romano - guitar (track 3)
• Kelly Rowland - group member (tracks 1–3, 5–8, 10–12), vocals (6)
• Motonori Sasaki - assistant recording engineer (track 11)
• Stephen Stephanie - assistant recording engineer (track 1)
• Larry Strum - recording engineer (track 9)
• Brian Summer - assistant recording engineer (track 9)
• David Swope - recording engineer (track 6)
• Tucker Allen - recording engineer (track 9)
• Kevin Turner - acoustic guitar (track 9)
• Robert Valdez - assistant recording engineer (track 7–8)
• Michelle Williams - group member (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–12), lead vocals (9)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for 8 Days of Christmas

Chart (2001–02)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [20]	65
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA) [21]	10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [22]	60
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [23]	34
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [24]	6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [25]	24
French Albums (SNEP) [26]	134
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27]	80
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [28]	20
UK Albums (OCC) [29]	117
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [30]	19
US Billboard 200 [31]	34
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [32]	27
US Holiday Albums ( Billboard ) [33]	3

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for 8 Days of Christmas

Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [34]	158

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [35]	Gold	50,000^
United States (RIAA) [9]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format
United States	October 30, 2001 (2001-10-30)	CD
Australia	November 11, 2001 (2001-11-11)
Europe [36]	November 12, 2001 (2001-11-12)
United States	October 18, 2005 (2005-10-18)	DualDisc

References

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