Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Columbia Records. After disputes with the label, she signed with Arista Records and soon released her debut studio album, Songs in A Minor (2001) through J Records. The album became a critical and commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. It contained the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Fallin'", and earned Keys five Grammy Award in 2002. Her second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003) was met with continued success, selling eight million units worldwide and spawning the singles "You Don't Know My Name," "If I Ain't Got You", and "Diary." The album earned an additional four Grammy Awards.
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.
American singer Alicia Keys has released nine studio albums, eight live albums, one remix album, six reissue albums, three extended plays, seven box sets, 47 singles as lead artist, and six promotional singles. Throughout her career, Keys has sold over 65 million records worldwide. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Keys is the top certified female R&B artist of the millennium, with 20 million certified albums and 38 million certified digital singles in the United States. Billboard ranked her as the second top female artist of the 2000s decade, fourth top R&B/hip-Hop female artist of the 2010s decade and the 60th Greatest Artist of all time.
"Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt to speed up the song's publishing process. Lyrically, the song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables, yachts, and decorations from Tiffany.
"Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. Its first performance was by the Boston Pops, Arthur Fiedler conducting, on May 4, 1948. The original recordings were instrumental versions. The lyrics, about riding in a sleigh and other wintertime activities, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. Anderson also made arrangements for wind band and piano.
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil Spector.
The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, originally released under the title Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, is a Christmas-special extended play (EP) by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The EP was first released as a Target exclusive on October 14, 2007, by Big Machine Records. It was released to other retailers on December 2, 2008 and was re-released to Target on October 6, 2009.
"Oh Santa!" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album and thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. It was released as the lead single from the album on October 1, 2010 by Island Def Jam Records. It is an up-tempo R&B song about Carey making a plea for Santa Claus to bring back her partner in time for the Christmas holidays. It received a positive response from music critics, with many praising its composition and style.
12 Songs of Christmas is the twenty-second studio album and the first Christmas album by American blues singer Etta James. Private Music released the album in October 1998. Produced by John Snyder, the album includes standards arranged mostly by pianist Cedar Walton and solos by Walton, George Bohanon on trombone, and Red Holloway on tenor saxophone. Critical reception of the album was positive overall. Following its release, 12 Songs reached a peak position of number five on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart.
Christmas Kisses is the debut Christmas record and extended play (EP) by American singer Ariana Grande. It was released on December 13, 2013, in most countries, and on December 17, 2013, in the United States, as a collection of two covers of classic Christmas songs, and two original songs. On December 3, 2014, the Japanese special edition was released for CD and two days later for digital download. It peaked at number twenty-five on the Oricon chart. The EP went on to sell 68,871 copies in the US and over 405,000 copies worldwide.
Everyday Is Christmas is the eighth studio album and first Christmas album by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, released on 17 November 2017 by Atlantic Records and Monkey Puzzle. Her first album with Atlantic, it features original Christmas songs. Initially released with ten tracks in 2017, the album has since been reissued in 2018, 2021, and 2022 with new bonus tracks each time. The lead single, "Santa's Coming for Us", was released on 30 October 2017, and "Snowman" was released as the second on 9 November.
You Make It Feel Like Christmas is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani. The album, which is Stefani's first full-length Christmas-themed album, was released on October 6, 2017, by Interscope Records. The record was executively produced by Stefani and Busbee, with additional production coming from Eric Valentine. The standard version of You Make It Feel Like Christmas contains twelve songs, featuring six original songs penned by Stefani, Busbee and Justin Tranter, and six cover versions of Christmas standards. While going on a nature walk near the Oklahoma ranch house belonging to boyfriend Blake Shelton, Stefani felt inspired to record a Christmas album and began writing what would later become "Christmas Eve". Recording sessions took place in the summer months of 2017; several of the tracks' titles leaked in August, leaving Stefani to confirm the project in September. The album's original songs make references to Stefani's newfound love and relationship with Shelton.
On This Holiday is the third studio album from American country musician Jessie James Decker. It is her seventh release overall and first full-length Christmas album, following her 2015 EP This Christmas. The album is a collection of Christmas songs with new original songs; it has sold over 2,400 copies. The four new tracks were written along with Daniel Tashian.
Christmas Back to You is the eighth studio album by American R&B artist Chanté Moore. It was released on November 3, 2017, through Moore's own CM7 Records. The album was preceded by the release of the single "Cover Me in Snow." Christmas Back to You marked Moore's first full-length Christmas album; following "Christmas Morn", released on the MCA Records compilation, My Christmas Album (1999) and the Boney James release, "Santa Baby" from the album Christmas Present (2007).
A Holly Dolly Christmas is the forty-seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on October 2, 2020, by Parton's Butterfly Records in partnership with 12-Tone Music Group. The album was produced by Kent Wells, with Parton serving as executive producer. It is Parton's third Christmas album, following 1984's Once Upon a Christmas with Kenny Rogers and 1990's Home for Christmas. The album features guest appearances by Michael Bublé, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, and Parton's brother Randy. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, becoming Parton's eighth album to top the chart. The album also peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart and number 16 on the Billboard 200. The album was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
A Very Trainor Christmas is a Christmas album and the fourth major-label studio album by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. Honest OG Recording and Epic Records released it on October 30, 2020. Trainor involved her family members in the creation, co-writing its songs with her brothers, Ryan and Justin, among others. Featured artists include Earth, Wind & Fire, Seth MacFarlane, Trainor's cousins Jayden, Jenna, & Marcus Toney, and her father, Gary. The album includes cover versions of Christmas standards, such as "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" (1951) and "Last Christmas" (1984), as well as six original recordings.
"Here This Christmas" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from the 2020 reissued edition of her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). The song was written and produced by Brent Kutzle, with Ryan Tedder and Josh Varnadore also serving as co-writers. Prior to its release, rumors of new music from Stefani circulated throughout 2020 after releasing "Nobody but You" and "Happy Anywhere", with fiancé Blake Shelton, as singles that year. The former of the three remained a secret until it was released as a single for digital download and streaming on October 23, 2020 by Interscope Records, the same day the rest of the reissued album was distributed. The Hallmark Channel announced that the song would be used in advertisements and played on their Sirius XM radio channel in order to promote their seasonal block of programming called Countdown to Christmas.
"Santa, Can't You Hear Me" is a duet by American singers Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande. It is the second single from Clarkson's ninth studio album and second Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around... (2021). The song was written by Clarkson with Aben Eubanks, with the song's track recording was produced by Jason Halbert.
"Best of Me" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys. It was written by Keys, Andrew Hale, Sade, Raphael Saadiq, and Stuart Matthewman. Keys released two versions of the song, "Originals", produced solely by her, and "Unlocked", produced alongside Mike Will Made It, through RCA Records on October 28, 2021. The song serves as the second single from Keys' eighth studio album Keys.
"December Back 2 June" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released as the lead single from Keys' Christmas album Santa Baby (2022) through Alicia Keys Records on October 28, 2022.
