Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | November 9, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009 ("Last Christmas"), October 2010 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 38:42 | |||
Label | Columbia / 20th Century Fox TV | |||
Producer | ||||
Glee Cast chronology | ||||
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Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album is the fourth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee , produced by Ryan Murphy and Adam Anders. The album was released digitally on November 9, 2010, with physical copies available from November 16, 2010. It accompanies the second season episode "A Very Glee Christmas", which aired on December 7, 2010. Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk serve as the album's executive producers. The album debuted at the top position of the Billboard Soundtracks chart, and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. Songs from the album also landed on various different record charts across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Critical reception was mixed; the majority of critics praised the cover versions of "Baby, It's Cold Outside", performed by Chris Colfer and guest star Darren Criss, and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", performed by Lea Michele, Amber Riley, Jenna Ushkowitz, Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera. There was also appreciation for the vocals of various cast members, particularly Riley. The original arrangements produced by Adam Anders and Peer Åström received more negative comments, with reviews criticizing the stylistic choices of some of the cover songs, as did the delivery of some songs performed by Michele. The album also features a cover of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" performed by Matthew Morrison and guest vocalist k.d. lang.
The musical comedy-drama television show Glee debuted on Fox in 2009, and released accompanying singles and albums. Prior to Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album, the cast had released six albums and/or EPs in the United States, all of which were commercially successful. [1] [2] Three of these topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, [3] and all five released in the United Kingdom reached the top five of the Official UK albums chart. [1] The Glee Cast did not have a Christmas episode nor release a Christmas album during the first season of the show. [4]
In its second season, Glee aired the Christmas episode, "A Very Glee Christmas", on December 7, 2010, on Fox. [5] The album had reached the top of the iTunes download chart before the episode aired. [6] The cast began recording the Christmas episode in November 2010, but had recorded the songs for the album several weeks prior, though they had not been told what the songs were for; Amber Riley, who played Mercedes Jones, told TV Guide: "Everything goes so fast that there's no time to explain anything to us ... We're recording Christmas songs, and then one day they mention there's going to be an album. We were like, 'Huh?'" [5] The album was produced by Adam Anders and Glee creator Ryan Murphy and executive produced by Glee executives Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk, with songs produced by Anders and Peer Åström. [7]
"A Very Glee Christmas" features seven songs, six of which are included on Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album. The six included tracks are "We Need a Little Christmas", "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", "Merry Christmas Darling", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", "Last Christmas", and "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" (also known as "Island of Misfit Toys", from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ); "Welcome Christmas" (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ) was performed in the episode but not included on the album, while six additional songs not featured in the episode are included on the album. [7] [8] Reviewing the episode for Time , James Poniewozik felt that while some of the songs were enjoyable set pieces, they were not integrated well into the story, suggesting that a variety special may have been a better format to present the Christmas songs [9] – Glee's third season Christmas episode, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", was styled as a variety special. [10]
In the "A Very Glee Christmas" episode, the six songs used on the album are sung in various situations, though not all are connected to the story. The episode incorporates some of the plot elements of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! , using songs from the 1966 television special adaptation of the story in similar scenes. In the episode, "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" is sung at the start of the episode as the main characters, kids in a high school glee club, decorate a Christmas tree with stolen ornaments. "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is performed as antagonist Sue Sylvester, dressed like the Grinch, destroys the glee club's Christmas decorations. "We Need a Little Christmas" is performed by the glee club carolling at their school, but the song is abruptly cut-off in the episode when they are heckled. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is performed at a different private school by characters Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson; the performance is followed by glee club director Will Schuester visiting the school to ask Kurt's advice. Like "Baby, It's Cold Outside", main character Rachel Berry's song, "Merry Christmas Darling", is also sung without much context, standing on a stage with a Christmas scene behind. "Last Christmas" is a duet between Rachel and her love interest Finn Hudson, and was more strongly integrated into their ongoing relationship plot. [11] [8]
Canadian singer-songwriter k.d. lang makes a featured appearance with Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester) on the track "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". [12] Guest stars Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson) and Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans) make vocal appearances on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year", respectively. [13] [14]
The songs, as is typical for Glee, were chosen by Murphy with assistance from music supervisor PJ Bloom. On December 7, 2010, Bloom was interviewed about the process of producing the music. Bloom said that the Glee writers knew they wanted to incorporate the story of the Grinch in the episode, and so including "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" was an obvious song choice. He noted that "sometimes the songs drive the plot concepts", saying that Murphy is a big fan of George Michael, and so chose to have the characters perform "Last Christmas". [6] Similarly, they felt that "Jingle Bells" was the most Christmas-y song, prompting its inclusion. Bloom acknowledged that the album "pukes Christmas", proudly saying that Glee had never tried to be subtle. [6]
The song "O Holy Night", which is included on the album but was not featured in the episode, was later performed in the Glee fourth season episode "Swan Song", again by Lea Michele (Rachel Berry). [15] Michele re-recorded the song in 2019 for her own Christmas album, Christmas in the City . She worked with Glee musical producer Adam Anders on the album, who encouraged her to include the song; Michele was initially hesitant to record it, thinking she was not as good vocally anymore at that point and that it would be hard to replicate a Glee track. However, upon her album's release, she said that she was "even more proud of [her 2019] version than [her Glee version]." [16] Morrison also revisited his song, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", in later years, when he played the Grinch in NBC's 2020 Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live! Christmas special. [17]
Anders, Åström, and, on some songs, Nikki Hassman, arranged many of the songs of the album. [7] The traditional song "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was performed mostly a cappella , [18] and "Angels We Have Heard on High" was given gospel elements, [19] while popular Christmas track "Baby, It's Cold Outside" retained its soft jazz style. [18] The mashup "Deck the Rooftop" was an energetic rearrangement of traditional songs "Deck the Halls" and "Up on the Housetop", with choral ad-libs, [18] [19] while "Last Christmas" is removed from its 1980s stylings and less upbeat. [20] Bill Lamb of About.com felt the hymns "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "O Holy Night" were respectful and reverent versions. [19]
On the album release, the song "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is performed with its original lyrics; in the episode, the opening lyric was changed from "Mr. Grinch" to "Sue the Grinch" (referring to character Sue Sylvester). [12] The singers of the song "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" are also different between episode and album; in the episode, Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray) has featured vocals, and Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel) does not, [11] [13] while on the album, Agron's vocals are absent and Colfer has vocals included. [7] [21] Mark Salling (Puck) also sings on the track in the episode, [13] and while he was named on the song in the album's track listing announcement, he is not credited in the liner notes. [lower-alpha 1]
The album's track listing was revealed in an exclusive feature by Michael Ausiello for Entertainment Weekly on October 25, 2010; [14] [lower-alpha 1] Assignment X noted that "for once, the [Glee album] features more songs than are actually featured on the show." [22] Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album was released digitally in the US and UK on November 9, 2010, [23] almost a month ahead of the Christmas episode airing. A Glee Christmas card featuring the cast in ugly Christmas sweaters was released to accompany and promote the album. [24] The album songs were also made available to listen to on the Glee Myspace page before physical copies could be purchased. [25] In the US, the physical album was released on November 16, 2010; [26] in the UK, it was released on November 29, 2010, though the second season of Glee did not begin airing in the UK until 2011. [1] The cast of Glee performed during the semi-final of The X Factor in the UK on December 5, 2010, and promoted the album release there. [27]
Lang's involvement on the album was not publicized, nor was lang referenced in the episode; [28] critics and viewers were uncertain who was singing, both on the album and in the episode, [29] [30] with many believing it to be Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), who is in the relevant scene, [31] [32] while others proposed Dot-Marie Jones (Coach Beiste) or Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), whose characters are also involved in the storyline. [28] [11] Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic said that to use a guest vocalist when there were these three singers in the cast available that would make sense, and then to not advertise the guest, was "downright puzzling". [28] When the episode premiered, lang used the song to announce her forthcoming album Sing It Loud ; [33] when Sing It Loud was released in July 2011, lang praised Glee for its gay representation. [34]
The Glee cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas" featured in the second-season episode and on the album had been previously released on November 24, 2009, as a charity single exclusive to the iTunes Store; part of the proceeds went to the Grammy Foundation to fund school education programs. [4] [35] This single marked the first appearance of the song on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number sixty-three. [36] [lower-alpha 2]
The song "Welcome Christmas", featured in the episode but not on the album, was instead released as a digital download single on December 14, 2010. [37]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | [19] |
AllMusic | [38] |
The Detroit News | B [39] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [40] |
Philadelphia Daily News | C+ [41] |
The Salt Lake Tribune | B [42] |
Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album was met with mixed criticism upon its release: The Detroit News gave the album a "B" rating, [39] with Andrew Leahey of AllMusic and Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly also positive towards it, though they noted the unconventional musical theatre and bubblegum pop stylistic elements to the music. [38] [40] Brett Berk of Vanity Fair and Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News found the album's style distinctly negative, criticizing this while giving generally mediocre reviews. [41] [43] Berk wrote that it is "not able to be categorized as good or bad" as it is "simply a crushing force, made up of precisely the ingredients you expect, churned together, and injudiciously dispensed", [43] while Takiff said it felt "phoned-in". [41] Bill Lamb of About.com was overtly positive – he gave the album a four-star rating, calling it "an enduring collection [of] solid holiday music" [19] – as was Kirsten Coachman of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer , who said it is "an album filled with a great mix of classic and contemporary Christmas songs [that] goes above and beyond any possible expectations [she] had". [44] American Songwriter included the album on its list of the best 2010 Christmas albums, though perceived it neutrally. Comparing Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album to the other selections on the list, it said that rather than creating a musical product from passion, the Glee cast release was done "in the spirit of [...] crass commercialism". The review said that the vocals and production were of a high quality, but deemed this to be expected and so unremarkable. [45]
The opening track, Riley, Colfer, and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang)'s "We Need a Little Christmas", was praised in The Detroit News, which described it as "underappreciated", [39] and LA Music, which praised Riley's vocals and said the song "so wonderfully capture[s] the grandeur and spirit of Christmas." [18] However, it was awarded two stars in Berk's Vanity Fair episode review, copying his response to "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year", which he said was "Blech." [46] Rebecca Milzoff for Vulture was also unimpressed at the performance of "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year", saying the cast were singing "in a weirdly glazed over way", though she complimented Agron's vocals; [11] [lower-alpha 3] Robert Canning of IGN instead thought it was "slightly peppier" than the original, which he praised. [48] Emily St. James for The A.V. Club disliked the song, and wrote that it "sounds like something you might hear in a Walgreens." [49] LA Music instead enjoyed it, praising Overstreet's voice, [18] with Jen Harper of BuddyTV and The Atlantic's Fallon thinking it a fitting choice despite its cheesiness, as the glee club of the show are also a group of misfits. [8] [50]
Leahey enjoyed "Baby, It's Cold Outside", performed by Colfer and Criss, and said the choice to have it as a same-sex duet was "a refreshingly risqué move for Fox TV". [38] Coachman noted that the characters' popularity gave the song buzz before it was released, adding that the duet's styling was sweet and the vocals "superb". [44] Stransky said that it was the highlight of the album, [40] and E! Online's Jennifer Arrow enjoyed the romantic context of the song in the episode while adding that "separate from the mushy stuff, it's a marvelous version of the song." [51] Berk gave the rendition five stars, [46] and Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone praised its harmonies. [20]
There was also praise for the performance of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", led by Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), [52] and the vocals of the female singers (Michele, Riley, Ushkowitz, Agron, and Rivera) who performed it: Coachman was impressed with the quality of the harmonies, adding that the song takes on vulnerability because of how the singers "seem to be reining in the glory notes a bit", [44] and Allan Stackhouse of LA Music felt it was one of the best songs on the album, complimenting each singer's contributions to the song's progression and the "lovely textures" of Ushkowitz and Agron's harmonies. [18] St. James was disappointed that the song was not featured in the episode, but acknowledged that it would have been hard for Glee to incorporate religion well. [49] Reviewing covers of the song in 2015, Emma Green of The Atlantic wrote that the Glee version has an "elf-like sweetness", though she felt that this did not convey the dramatic stakes of the lyrics, which describe humanity falling under Satan's power, and instead reminded her of "early-aughts middle-school dances." [53]
Stransky and Coachman also made specific mention of Riley's "Angels We Have Heard on High", [40] with Coachman saying she "has a voice to be reckoned with [but] the arrangement ... left something to be desired"; [44] Arrow opined that the vocals on this and Michele's "O Holy Night" were "amazing, duh". [51] Leahey also complimented the latter song, saying that "Michele belts out the high notes like the second coming of Kristin Chenoweth". [38] Bruce Ward, writing for the Ottawa Citizen , however, did not like the track, and thought the song was uncomfortably downtempo. [54]
Michele's other songs were poorly received. "Merry Christmas, Darling" was given one star by Berk – with this only as a tribute to original singer Karen Carpenter's young death [46] – and Milzoff called it forced and "mournful". [11] Berk gave two stars to her cover of "Last Christmas" (one added, again, because of the original artist appealing to him), asking why her character Rachel had so many songs. [46] Canning was also displeased with their inclusion; he noted that, in the episode, Finn refused Rachel's "Merry Christmas, Darling" serenade gift but the song was still recorded, and opined that "Last Christmas" is "a terrible song in any season." [48] Futterman felt that Michele's vocals on "Last Christmas" were "a bit diva-esque for the simple pop tune"; she was more impressed with the "restrained take" on "Merry Christmas, Darling". [20] Brian Moylan of Gawker wrote that he likes the song and was glad to hear it covered, but noted that "she just didn't do Karen [Carpenter] justice". [55] Also criticized was the stylistic choice of the reinvented group number "Deck the Rooftop", with Leahey questioning the arrangement of what he dubbed an "urban mash-up", [38] though the song saw praise from Lamb; [19] Ward felt it was "irresistible"; [54] and Stackhouse enjoyed the "uncanny Glee feel" of the mix. [18]
Kyle Buchanan of New York lamented the fact that Lynch was not the one singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", calling it a "missed opportunity", [56] while Coachman praised the version, saying "Morrison and Lang really capture [the song's] spirit", [44] and Vince Horiuchi of The Salt Lake Tribune wrote that the "whimsical rendition" was the highlight of the "passable" album. [42] Berk, instead, said the cover "[proved] that even Glee can get too arch", and awarded it two out of five stars. [46]
The week of November 24, 2010, the album debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, with 161,198 copies sold; Glee's "O Holy Night" debuted at number one on the Holiday Digital Songs chart; [57] [58] and the album saw a debut at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 16,000 copies. [59] The following week, the album dropped two spots in the US, with sales of 108,000, but held the same spot in Canada with an uptick of 18,000 copies sold. [60] [61] On December 4, 2010, the album debuted at number one of the Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart, spending six weeks in the top spot and fifty weeks on the chart, and landed on the Top Holiday Albums chart for the first week before peaking at number two on Christmas Day 2010. [62] On December 15, 2010, the album climbed to number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, with sales totalling 81,000; [63] it also reached its highest point on the US charts at number three, selling 193,000 copies that week. [62] [64] On December 18, 2010, it landed on the Tastemaker Albums chart, peaking at number eighteen in its second of three weeks. [62] The album was certified platinum in April 2011, with over one million in sales, Glee's second-best selling album behind their first album release, Glee: The Music, Volume 1 . [65] [66] Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album peaked in both Australia and Ireland at number thirteen, in New Zealand at number thirty-two, and in the Netherlands at number fifty; [67] [68] it debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number thirty-seven the week of December 11, 2010. [69] As of August 2013, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album has sold 1,080,000 copies in the US. [70]
On the Billboard Hot 100, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" peaked at number fifty-seven and the non-album episode single "Welcome Christmas" peaked at number fifty-nine. [62] "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Welcome Christmas" also charted on the Canadian Hot 100, peaking at number fifty-three and number thirty-seven, respectively, [62] [71] and other album songs "Jingle Bells" and "Deck The Rooftop" joined them with peaks at seventy-four and eighty-six (respectively) on the same chart. [72] [73]
Several songs from the album impacted other Billboard song charts. [62] "We Need a Little Christmas" debuted on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart the week of December 6, 2010 at number twenty, [74] spending four weeks on the chart and peaking at fifteen. On Christmas Day 2010, "Deck the Rooftop" debuted on the Adult Contemporary chart at number twenty-nine, spending three weeks on the chart with a peak of twenty-two; and on New Year's Day 2011, "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" entered the same chart at number twenty-eight, staying there one week. [62] [75] [76] Six songs landed on the Canada AC (Adult Contemporary) chart: "We Need a Little Christmas", "Deck The Rooftop" and "Jingle Bells" all debuted on December 18, 2010, and all peaked on New Year's Day 2011, at numbers fifteen, two, and eight, respectively; "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" entered this chart on New Year's Day 2011, reaching their peaks at forty-three and thirty-three that same week; all six songs spent one more week in the charts after their peaks. [62]
"O Holy Night" peaked at position 21 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart on December 4, 2010, and "Last Christmas" debuted at number eight on the Hot 100 Recurrents chart on Christmas Day 2010. [62] [lower-alpha 4] The Holiday Digital Songs chart saw five songs from the album (and "Welcome Christmas") place: "Baby, It's Cold Outside" spent twenty-five weeks on the chart and peaked at number one; "O Holy Night" was on the list for thirteen weeks after debuting at number one; "Last Christmas" peaked at number three, with twenty-five weeks spent on the chart; [lower-alpha 4] "Deck The Rooftop" spent four weeks on the chart and peaked at eleven; "We Need a Little Christmas" peaked at sixteen on its first of three weeks on the list; and "Welcome Christmas" debuted at number four on Christmas Day 2010 on its first of five weeks on the chart. [62]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original (and/or earliest recording) artist | Length |
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1. | "We Need a Little Christmas" | Jerry Herman | Angela Lansbury in the musical Mame | 2:45 |
2. | "Deck the Rooftop" | traditional/Benjamin Hanby [77] | See Notes | 2:32 |
3. | "Merry Christmas Darling" | Frank Pooler and Richard Carpenter | The Carpenters | 3:04 |
4. | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" | Frank Loesser | Frank Loesser and Lynn Garland [78] | 2:48 |
5. | "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" | Johnny Marks | Videocraft Chorus for the animated television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | 2:02 |
6. | "Last Christmas" | George Michael | Wham! | 3:37 |
7. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | traditional | Victor Mixed Chorus & Trinity Choir with Victor Orchestra [79] | 3:11 |
8. | "O Christmas Tree" | traditional | Nebe Quartett [80] | 3:02 |
9. | "Jingle Bells" | James Pierpont | Edison Male Quartette [81] | 2:56 |
10. | "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (featuring k.d. lang) | Albert Hague and Ted Geisel | Thurl Ravenscroft for the animated television special How the Grinch Stole Christmas! | 3:20 |
11. | "Angels We Have Heard on High" | traditional | Paul Mickelson Orchestra & Choir [82] | 4:24 |
12. | "O Holy Night" | traditional | Reginald Fessenden [83] | 5:01 |
Unless otherwise indicated, information is adapted from the original CD liner notes. [7]
|
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications
|
Country | Release date | Format(s) |
---|---|---|
Germany [103] | November 9, 2010 | CD |
Australia [104] | November 16, 2010 | Digital download |
Canada [105] | ||
Mexico [106] | ||
Ireland [107] | ||
Netherlands [108] | ||
Switzerland [109] | ||
United States [110] [111] | CD, digital download | |
Australia [112] | November 19, 2010 | CD |
Ireland [113] | Digital download | |
Taiwan [114] | CD | |
Denmark [115] | November 22, 2010 | Digital download |
Finland [116] | ||
New Zealand [117] | ||
Norway [118] | ||
Portugal [119] | ||
Spain [120] | November 23, 2010 | |
United Kingdom [121] [122] | November 29, 2010 | CD, digital download |
Poland [123] | December 6, 2010 | CD |
"O Holy Night" is a sacred song about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ, described in the first verse as 'the dear Saviour', and frequently performed as a Christmas carol. Based on a French-language poem written in 1843 by poet Placide Cappeau, it was set to music by composer Adolphe Adam. The English version, with small changes to the initial melody, is by John Sullivan Dwight.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). Written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, the song was released as the lead single from the album on October 29, 1994, by Columbia Records. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, backing vocals, and synthesizers. It has received critical acclaim, with The New Yorker describing it as "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". The song has become a Christmas standard, with a significant rise in popularity every December.
Merry Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter 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.
"Don't Stop Believin'" is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, Escape (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares writing credits between the band's vocalist Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon, and keyboardist Jonathan Cain. A mid-tempo rock anthem and power ballad, "Don't Stop Believin'" is known for its iconic opening piano riff.
Merry Christmas is the seventh studio album recorded by Motown girl group The Supremes, and released on Motown Records in November 1965. The LP, produced by Harvey Fuqua, includes recordings of familiar Christmas songs such as "White Christmas", "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "My Favorite Things", and "Joy to the World". Two originals, "Children's Christmas Song" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me", were issued as a single. Neither Wilson nor Ballard sing on the original 1965 release of "Merry Christmas". They were too tired from their appearance at the Copacabana, so the Andantes were used instead.
"Merry Christmas, Darling" is a Christmas song by the Carpenters, and originally recorded in 1970. It was first available on a 7-inch single that year, and was later re-issued in 1974 and again in 1977. The single went to number one on Billboard's Christmas singles chart in 1970 and peaked at number 41 on Cashbox.
"My Favorite Things" is a song from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
"We Need a Little Christmas" is a popular Christmas song originating from Jerry Herman's Broadway musical Mame, and first performed by Angela Lansbury in that 1966 production.
Glee: The Music, Volume 1 is the debut soundtrack album by the cast of the musical television series Glee, which aired on Fox in the United States. It features cover versions from the first nine episodes of the first season and was released on November 2, 2009 by Columbia Records and 20th Century Fox Television Records. The album received mixed reviews from critics, with many praising large ensemble numbers, but comparing it to karaoke tracks. It went to number one on album charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and peaked at number three in Australia and number four in both Canada and the United States. Volume 1 has been certified platinum in these five countries.
Glee: The Music, Volume 2 is the second soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee, featuring songs from episodes nine to thirteen of the show's first season. It was first released on December 4, 2009 in Australia by Columbia Records. It has been certified platinum in Canada and Australia, and gold in the United Kingdom and the United States. Volume 2 received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the vocals of cast members Lea Michele, Amber Riley, and Kevin McHale, but felt the album was weak in arrangements and similar to a collection of karaoke tracks. All tracks were released as singles and performed on the series, with the exception of "Don't Make Me Over"—only an instrumental version was used.
The Glee cast has released sixteen soundtrack albums, six compilation albums and eleven extended plays (EPs), containing 754 different performances of an individual song or a mashup of two or more songs in a single performance. Of the performances on the various albums and EPs, 460 were also released as singles. Glee features on-screen performance-based musical numbers, most of which are cover versions of popular songs, with genres ranging from R&B and pop to country and show tunes. The cast consists of fifteen main characters; some actors were cast following Broadway theatre experience while others were required to audition to prove singing and dancing capabilities. Recordings of performances on the show are sold as singles the week of broadcast, available for download.
Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna is the debut extended play (EP) by the cast of the musical television series Glee. It contains eight songs from the season one Glee episode, "The Power of Madonna", which was a tribute episode dedicated to American recording artist Madonna. She had sold the rights to her entire catalog of music to Glee in 2009, and producers of the show developed the episode called "The Power of Madonna"; the show featured a number of cover versions of Madonna's songs by the cast. The accompanying EP released with the airing of the show was called Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna.
Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals is the second extended play (EP) by the cast of musical television series Glee. Containing six songs from the season one finale "Journey to Regionals", it was released on June 8, 2010, the same day the episode aired. Half of the tracks are cover versions of songs by American rock band Journey. The EP debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200 and Soundtrack charts, with first-week sales of 154,000 copies. Unlike previous Glee releases, no singles were released from this album, but all of its tracks managed to appear on multiple national charts. Songs were generally received favorably, with many enjoying the Journey covers. The setlist of Glee Live! In Concert!, the cast's first concert tour, included three songs from the Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals.
Glee: The Music, Volume 4 is the fifth soundtrack album by the cast of the musical television series Glee, which airs on Fox in the United States. It was released on November 26, 2010, by Columbia Records and features cover version performances from the first half of the second season. Executive production was handled by Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk and all tracks were released as singles. It was nominated for a Grammy Award (2011) in the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media category.
"A Very Glee Christmas" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the thirty-second episode overall. It was written by series co-creator Ian Brennan, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and premiered on Fox on December 7, 2010. It served as the mid-season finale of season two—nearly two months elapsed before the next episode was aired—and featured Artie trying to keep his girlfriend Brittany's belief in Santa Claus intact, and Sue rigging the faculty Secret Santa gift exchange so she gets all the gifts, though she later becomes a Grinch when the gifts are repossessed.
"Loser like Me" is an original song performed by the cast of American television series Glee, taken from their sixth soundtrack album, Glee: The Music, Volume 5. The song was written and produced by Adam Anders, Max Martin, and Peer Åström, and Shellback, with additional songwriting credit from Savan Kotecha. The song, with another track "Get It Right", were the first two original songs to be featured on the show. The song is their first official single, being sent to US radio on March 1, 2011. In order for the song to have radio appeal, Anders recruited Martin to produce "Loser like Me" while he was in the United States working on Britney Spears' Femme Fatale.
Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 is the tenth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee, released by Columbia Records on November 11, 2011.
"Extraordinary Merry Christmas" is the ninth episode and mid-season finale of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the fifty-third overall. Written by Marti Noxon and directed by Matthew Morrison, the episode aired on Fox in the United States on December 13, 2011, and features the members of New Directions starring in a black-and-white Christmas television special that is presented within the episode itself.
"When Christmas Comes" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album/thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with James Poyser. A soul song with influences of R&B, the lyrics are about giving the gift of love. In November 2011, Carey re-recorded the song as duet with John Legend, which was later released as a single. Both versions of the track were a hit in South Korea, with the duet debuting at number one with sales in excess of 80,000 copies. The song's accompanying music video features Carey and Legend hosting a Christmas house party. It has been performed by Carey at her ABC 2010 Christmas special and during her 2014 Beacon Theatre residency All I Want for Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy and Festivity in December 2014.
Billboard magazine only charted Christmas singles and albums along with the other popular non-holiday records until the 1958 holiday season when they published their first section that surveys only Christmas music.
Who sang "You're a Mean One, Sue the Grinch?" I couldn't tell even after listening to it a second time.
Did you wonder who was singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" as a green-faced Sue and her adorably reindog-oufitted sidekick, Becky, decimated the Glee tree [...] Turns out it was a guest vocal by k.d. lang. Unusual for "Glee" not to actually feature the person singing a song on the show.
The pair head to the choir room, where Sue sings 'You're A Mean One Mr Grinch', changing "Mr Grinch" to "Sue the Grinch".
Sue dresses up as the Grinch and destroys the glee club's Christmas tree and takes back her presents. Cue the best version of Sue singing You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.
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