Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, and her first Christmas album. Released by Columbia Records on October 28, 1994, at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), the album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. Three singles were released from the album, of which "All I Want for Christmas Is You" went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling Christmas ringtone in the United States.
These Are Special Times is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her first English-language Christmas album. It was first released in Europe on 30 October 1998, by Columbia Records. In the United States, it was released on 3 November 1998 through Epic Records. The album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs and original material, including "I'm Your Angel", a duet with R. Kelly. Dion worked with David Foster and Ric Wake, who produced most of the album. Other producers include Bryan Adams, R. Kelly and Humberto Gatica. These Are Special Times was released after two of Dion's most successful albums, Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997).
David James Archuleta is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, Archuleta became the Junior Vocal Champion on the second season of Star Search known as "Star Search 2". In 2008, he finished second on the seventh season of American Idol.
Joy to the World is the first Christmas album and seventh overall studio album by American country music singer Faith Hill. It features the U.S. Adult Contemporary #1 hit, "A Baby Changes Everything". The album was certified Gold by RIAA on December 4, 2008, and as of November 2016, it has sold 762,000 copies in the US.
Steven Sharp Nelson is an American cellist and songwriter. He is best known as "The Cello Guy" of the classical new-age musical group The Piano Guys, with whom he has released eight number-one albums and dozens of music videos. He also has three solo albums to his credit. He is considered a pioneer in "cello-percussion", which enhances traditional cello playing with pizzicato and percussive techniques.
Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship is the first Christmas album by Chris Tomlin. It was released on October 6, 2009. It peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Holiday albums chart and No. 79 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2010, it re-entered the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 19. It was recorded live in the studio and features a duet with Matt Redman, as well as two tracks featuring Christy Nockels and Audrey Assad.
Peter James Hollens is an American singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. He has been involved with a cappella music since 1999 when he and Leo da Silva founded the University of Oregon's a cappella group, On The Rocks, known as the first official collegiate a cappella group in Oregon. He regularly releases new music videos to his YouTube channel. With over 5 million followers and subscribers, his content has received over a billion total views since 2011.
The Piano Guys is an American musical group consisting of pianist Jon Schmidt, cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, videographer Paul Anderson, and music producer Al van der Beek. Originating in Utah, they gained popularity through YouTube, where in 2011 they began posting piano and cello compositions combining classical, pop, film score and original music, showcased through elaborate or cinematic videos. As of March 2020 the group had surpassed 2 billion views on their YouTube channel and had 6.7 million subscribers. Their first eight major-label studio albums, The Piano Guys, The Piano Guys 2, A Family Christmas, Wonders, Uncharted, Christmas Together, Limitless, and 10, each reached number one on Billboard Classical Albums or New Age Albums charts.
Kat Edmonson is an American singer and songwriter who calls her music vintage pop.
Cheers, It's Christmas is the first Christmas album and seventh studio album by American country music artist Blake Shelton. It was released on October 2, 2012, through Warner Bros. Nashville. Shelton co-wrote three tracks for the album.
Christmas... From the Realms of Glory is the first holiday album by contemporary Christian musician Bebo Norman. The album is the first with BEC Recordings, and his eighth album overall including his first independent release. This album was released on October 7, 2007, and the producers are Jason Ingram, Bebo Norman and Rusty Varenkamp.
Holiday is a Christmas music by American guitarist Russ Freeman. The album reached #5 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart.
Russ Freeman also serves as leader and frontman for the Rippingtons.
The Piano Guys is the second studio album, and first on a major record label, by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on October 2, 2012 through Sony Masterworks. The album is composed primarily of covers and mashups of classical and popular music.
A Family Christmas is the fourth studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. Released on October 22, 2013 by Portrait, the album reached number 20 on the US Billboard 200. On October 7, 2014 the album was re-released with two additional tracks in two different limited edition versions, one containing a miniature piano Christmas ornament, and the other a miniature cello Christmas ornament.
The Christmas Album, Volume II is the twenty-second studio album by Neil Diamond, and his second to feature Christmas music. It was produced by Peter Asher and released by Columbia Records in 1994, only two years after Diamond's previous Christmas album. It features orchestral and choir arrangements by David Campbell, who also worked on the first Christmas album, as well as several of Diamond's other works. The album reached number 9 on the Billboard Holiday Album chart and was certified as gold by the RIAA on December 6, 1994.
Wonders is the fifth studio album by American musical group The Piano Guys. It was released on October 7, 2014 by Portrait Records. The album reached number 12 on the US Billboard 200, making it their highest charting album to date.
Someday at Christmas is American singer Jackie Evancho's second full-length Christmas album, and her seventh album overall. It contains 12 tracks and was produced by Nick Patrick for Sony Masterworks' Portrait label. The album was released on October 28, 2016 and consists of nine previously released tracks, including collaborations with Plácido Domingo, Peter Hollens and Vittorio Grigolo, and three new tracks, "Someday at Christmas" and two versions of "The Little Drummer Boy", one with Il Volo.
Uncharted is the sixth studio album by American music group The Piano Guys. It was released on October 28, 2016, by Portrait Records. The album reached number 15 on the US Billboard 200, making it their second highest charting album to date.
The Peace Project is an album by Australian contemporary worship group Hillsong Worship and is the fifth Christmas-themed worship album from Hillsong Music, following We Have a Saviour (2012). Released on 20 October 2017 by Hillsong Music Australia and Capitol Christian Music Group, the album's production was spearheaded by Ben Tan and Michael Guy Chislett. The album was nominated for the GMA Dove Award for Christmas / Special Event Album of the Year at the 49th Annual GMA Dove Awards.
Piano Odyssey is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 12 October 2018 by Sony Classical Records. After the positive response to his previous album Piano Portraits (2017), Wakeman decided to record a follow-up in the same format, recording a mixture of piano-oriented cover versions and original pieces. This time, some tracks include the Orion Orchestra and the English Chamber Choir.
