In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) award certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards. Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the record label must first request certification. The audit is conducted against net shipments after returns, which includes albums sold directly to retailers and one-stops, direct-to-consumer sales and other outlets.
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.
Christmas Eve and Other Stories is the debut studio album by American symphonic metal band Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was released on October 15, 1996, through Lava Records and Atlantic Records. It is the first album in the band's "Christmas trilogy", with The Christmas Attic (1998) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004) coming afterward. All three albums, as well as their The Ghosts of Christmas Eve DVD, were featured in the box set of The Christmas Trilogy. The album's cover art was created by Edgar Jerins.
American singer Mariah Carey has released fifteen studio albums, two soundtrack albums, eight compilation albums, four extended plays, and one remix album. Carey is one of the best-selling music artists of all-time, having sold over 220 million records globally. She was presented with the Millennium Award at the 2000 World Music Awards for becoming the best-selling female artist of the millennium. According to the RIAA, she is the highest-certified female artist and tenth overall recording artist with shipments of 75 million albums in the US. She is also ranked as the best-selling female artist of the US Nielsen SoundScan era (1991–present) with album sales of 55.5 million.
Christmas is the first Christmas album and sixth studio album released by American musical group Mannheim Steamroller. It was the band's first album to chart on the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at No. 50.
Christmas in the Aire is the third Christmas album and twenty-first studio album released by American musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The album was originally released in 1995, and was the biggest-selling holiday album in the United States that year with sales of 1,844,000 according to Nielsen/SoundScan.
Christmas Extraordinaire is Mannheim Steamroller's sixth Christmas album overall and the group's fourth Christmas studio album. The album was originally released in 2001. The song "O Tannenbaum" features a lead vocal by Johnny Mathis.
Faith: A Holiday Album is the second holiday album and tenth studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on November 16, 1999, and peaked at number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number 4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 5 on the Internet Albums chart, and number 6 on the Billboard 200. The album also received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album.
Miracles: The Holiday Album is the first holiday album and seventh studio album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on November 22, 1994, and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200, Contemporary Jazz Albums and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It was the overall best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States for both 1994 and 1996. It sold 2,987,000 copies in 1994 and 888,000 copies in 1996.
Dream a Dream is the third album by Welsh soprano Charlotte Church, released in 2000. The album is principally a collection of Christmas carols but also includes the non-Christmas title track "Dream a Dream", Church's first foray into a more pop-influenced genre, composed by James Shearman and Simon Greenaway based on the melody from Fauré's "Pavane" with lyrics by Sam Babenia.
Wintersong is the sixth album and first Christmas album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in October 2006. It was produced by longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand and includes contributions from Jim Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies. The album also includes a collaboration with Jazz musician Diana Krall. In 2007, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2015, all songs from Wintersong plus five more tracks were released as The Classic Christmas Album.
Beyond the Season is the first Christmas album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on August 25, 1992, by Liberty Records, and peaked at number 2 on both of Billboard magazine's Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums sales charts that year. Beyond the Season was also the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of 1992 in the United States with sales of 1,542,000 copies for the year according to Nielsen SoundScan. As of November 2014, the album has cumulative sales of 2,650,000 copies in the U.S. and is the seventeenth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the U.S. during the entire SoundScan era.
Noël is a Christmas album and the fourth studio album by Josh Groban that was released on October 9, 2007. In the United States, the album is available as a single CD release in most retail stores. However, Target stores released a limited edition version of the album with a bonus DVD that features a "making of" documentary entitled The Making of Noël.
Merry Christmas, Baby, is the first Christmas album by Rod Stewart and his 27th studio album overall, released on 30 October 2012. The album has proved to be a top 10 success in many countries including the UK, US, Canada and Australia. It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in November 2012 with over 1,000,000 copies sold in the US.
The albums discography of American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson consists of eleven studio albums, four compilation albums, and two remix albums. When she was sixteen, her father arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson (1982), peaked at number 64 on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 250,000 copies in the US. Her next album, Dream Street (1984), peaked at number 147 on the Billboard 200, a weaker effort than her previous album. Her third album, Control (1986), which became known as her breakthrough album, topped the Billboard 200 and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Her fourth album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), topped the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks and sold three million copies within the first four months of its release. The album went on to produce seven consecutive top 5 hits, four of them reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in three separate calendar years, a record yet to be broken. The album was certified 6× Platinum by RIAA, and sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
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