Not So Silent Night is the eleventh studio album by German singer Sarah Connor. It was released on 18 November 2022 by Polydor Records.[1] Her second Christmas album after Christmas in My Heart (2005) and a follow-up to Herz Kraft Werke (2019), it marked Connor's first English language album since Real Love (2010).[2] A breakaway from most modern Christmas albums, the album omits cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, but instead features twelve original songs, co-written by Connor.
The album earned generally mixed reviews from music critic. It debuted at number one on the German Albums Chart, becoming Connor's third consecutive and fourth overall studio album to do so, and also entered the top ten of the charts in Austria and the top 20 in Switzerland. The release of Not So Silent Night was preceded by lead single "Ring Out the Bells." A reissue, entitled Not So Silent Night – The Cozy Edition, featuring three news songs, was released in November 2023.
Background
In 2019, Connor released her second German language album Herz Kraft Werke. It debuted at number one in both Austria and Germany, earning double platinum status in each country.[3] After a period of not releasing any new albums, Connor aimed to release a concept album in 2022, although she was initially uncertain whether to record an album of children's songs or, 17 years after Christmas in My Heart, produce another Christmas album.[4] She ultimately decided to pursue the latter and constulted her long-time collaborator Nicolas Rebscher to co-produce the album with her.[4] Accompanied by a team of songwriters, including Max Wolfgang, Ali Zuckowski, Kelvin Jones, Nico Santos, and Kalli & Joe, they traveled to Santorini to spend one week each in January and February 2022 working on new songs at the Black Rock Studios.[4] Although she had set out to approach the album as a broader collaborative effort, Connor was certain that it would be a Christmas album consisting of original songs — and that, following two German-language records, the lyrics should be in English once again.[4]
Promotion
On 13 November 2021, Connor released a new recording of the Robert Wells/Mel Tormé classic "The Christmas Song" and its music video as an Amazon Music original. The song, alongside "Don't You Know That It's Christmas", is included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of the album. Connor had previously recorded and performed the song in two versions, the first one being included on her first Christmas album Christmas in My Heart in 2005, the second one being part of the Christmas show in the first season of the German TV Show Sing meinen Song – Das Tauschkonzert in 2014. On 4 November 2022, "Ring Out the Bells" was released as the album's first official single.[5] In the weeks leading up to the album's release, several music videos were released to visually promote the album, including visuals for "Not So Silent Night", "Christmas 2066" and "Jolly Time of Year."[6][7][8] As with the music video for "Ring Out the Bells," they were directed by Tatjana Wenig.[9]
In her review for laut.de, Kerstin Kratochwill wrote that "the perfectly polished pop" on Not So Silent Night "shines like an over-decorated Christmas tree."[10]WDR 2 critic Oliver Rustemeyer found that Not So Silent Night is "also a typical Christmas album, but it not only sounds contemplative, but also wild and at least partly rocky."[14] Enwie Kej from Der Vinylist found that "the flow and impulsiveness of the first three songs is lost on the rest of the album. Of course, the work impresses with Sarah Connor's incredible voice and with a different album title the expectations would probably have been different. This leaves a nice Christmas album."[13]mix1 noted that "the new songs vary in sound from a Motown feel to messages of peace and a countdown to the turn of the year."[11] Michael Albl from Plattentests felt that the "accolade for the finest Christmas album of the year rightfully belongs to none other than Sarah Connor." He added: "The twelve new tracks on Not So Silent Night tell stories that are at times amusing and at others touching, offering a musically diverse yet consistently coherent flow throughout the album. [...] As the finger instinctively returns to the "repeat" button, one can only tip their Christmas hat in appreciation and conclude that, for this year, the soundtrack to the festive season has been found."[12]
Chart performance
Not So Silent Night debuted at number one on the German Albums Chart in the week of 25 November 2022.[15] It would mark Connor's third consecutive and fourth overall studio album to do so.[15]GfK Entertainment ranked it 44th on its 2002 year-end chart.[16] In November 2023, the album re-entered the chart at number eight, following the release of Not So Silent Night – The Cozy Edition.[15] Elsewhere, it reached number seven in Austria and number 17 in Switzerland.[17] It was Connor's eighth studio album to reach the top ten on the Austrian Albums Chart.[18]
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