Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by the Guinness World Records, she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style, signature use of the whistle register, and songwriting. Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her eponymous debut album. She was the first artist to have her first five singles reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions".
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of Jesus Christ, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons.
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line "Minuit, chrétiens! c'est l'heure solennelle" that composer Adolphe Adam set to music in 1847. The English version is by John Sullivan Dwight. The carol reflects on the birth of Jesus as humanity's redemption.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey for 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. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, backing vocals and synthesizers. The song has become a Christmas standard and continues to surge in popularity each holiday season.
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.
Ingrid Ellen Michaelson is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her first album, Slow the Rain, was released in 2005, and she has since released eight more albums: Girls and Boys,Be OK, Everybody, Human Again, Lights Out, It Doesn't Have to Make Sense, Songs for the Season, and her most recent, Stranger Songs. Her two highest-charting singles are "The Way I Am" (2007) and "Girls Chase Boys" (2014), at #37 and #52 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
The Andy Williams Christmas Album is the first Christmas holiday album released by singer Andy Williams and his twelfth studio album overall. It was issued by Columbia Records in 1963, and it would prove to be the first of eight Christmas albums released by Williams. Though it was also the album that introduced Williams' perennial holiday classic "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", Columbia instead opted to release Williams' cover of "White Christmas" as the album's promotional single at the time.
Happy Christmas is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Jessica Simpson, released on November 22, 2010 by Primary Wave. Produced by Kuk Harrell, Aaron Pearce, C. "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream, it was her first album released by Primary Wave and features cover versions of various Christmas standards in addition to original material.
"Winter Song" is a seasonal song co-written and co-sung as a duet by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Although considered by many to be a Christmas song, no explicit reference to the holiday can be found in its lyrics. It appeared on the holiday compilation album The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs by various female artists, released in 2008 through Epic Records. It became a minor hit in Canada in 2008, reaching number 97. Upon release in Ireland in 2011, it reached number two for two weeks. A special charity single by #twitterxmassingle also was a separate hit in Ireland alongside the original version, reaching number eight.
Christmas is the first Christmas album by American contemporary Christian music artist Francesca Battistelli. The album is her third release with Fervent Records, and her fourth album overall including her first independent release. The album was produced by Ian Eskelin, and was released on October 16, 2012. The album charted in the Top Five on the Billboard Holiday Albums chart and has received critical acclaim.
"Christmas Time Is in the Air Again" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album and thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010). It was written and produced by Carey in collaboration with Broadway composer Marc Shaiman. Lyrically, it is about finding love during the Christmas season. The track garnered positive reviews from critics, with one describing it as an outstanding performance and the only song on the album that could compare to one of Carey's previous Christmas singles, "All I Want for Christmas Is You". It was released as a promotional single in December 2012. An accompanying lyric video was released, and Carey has performed "Christmas Time Is in the Air Again" live on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Centre event and during her December 2014 Beacon Theatre residency called All I Want For Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy & Festivity.
Wrapped in Red is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits – Chapter One, and its companion extended play, The Smoakstack Sessions Vol. 2. Produced by Greg Kurstin, it is her first Christmas album and her only record to be solely released by RCA. Wrapped in Red consists of sixteen tracks, featuring five original songs co-penned with Kurstin and eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, two of which are duets featuring singers Ronnie Dunn, Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood.
"Wrapped in Red" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson. It is the titular song and the opening track from her sixth studio album of the same name. Written by Clarkson, Ashley Arrison, Aben Eubanks, and Shane McAnally, the song is produced by Greg Kurstin, who recorded the track using the Wall of Sound production technique developed by Phil Spector. A soul-pop ballad, "Wrapped in Red" is a Christmas song about unrequited love in the holidays, in which the color red is used as metaphorical device to express someone's truthful feelings, apart from being a quintessential holiday color. "Wrapped in Red" was serviced by RCA Records to Adult Contemporary radio stations as the second single from the album on November 25, 2014.
All I Want for Christmas Is You, a Night of Joy and Festivity was the second concert residency by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. Originally performed annually at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, New York, the residency began on December 15, 2014, and ended on December 15, 2019, after completing eight legs and fifty-six shows in various countries around the world. The main set list for the show encompassed songs from Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas II You, alongside additional non-holiday tracks from Carey's discography.
Christmas with Friends is a collaborative Christmas album by American singer India.Arie and American pianist Joe Sample. It was released on October 16, 2015, through Motown and Soulbird Music. Arie worked as one of the album's executive producers with American pianist John Burke and American musician Dave Koz. Sample contributed to four of the songs, but died from mesothelioma before the album's completion. After placing the project on hold for a year, Arie decided to collaborate with other artists to complete it.
This Christmas Day is the fifth studio album and first official Christmas album by English singer Jessie J, released by Republic Records on 26 October 2018. The album, a follow-up to her four-part fourth studio album R.O.S.E. which had been released earlier that year, marked the singer's first Christmas album. Recording took place, at short notice, in both Europe and Los Angeles in August 2018. This Christmas Day consists of eleven tracks, featuring ten cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, two of which are duets featuring recording artists Babyface, and Boyz II Men, and one original song.
A Tori Kelly Christmas is the first Christmas album and the fourth studio album, by American singer Tori Kelly. It was released on October 30, 2020, through Schoolboy and Capitol Records. It is Kelly's first Christmas album, and was executively produced by Kelly, Babyface, and Scooter Braun. The album contains cover versions of Christmas standards such as "All I Want for Christmas is You" and "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" alongside original songs which incorporate R&B elements.
Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special is a Christmas special starring Mariah Carey that premiered on December 4, 2020, on Apple TV+. It was directed by Hamish Hamilton and Roman Coppola and executive-produced by Hamilton, Coppola, Carey, Ian Stewart, Raj Kapoor and Ashley Edens. The special centers around a holiday crisis in which the North Pole has to call Santa Claus's friend, Mariah Carey, to help.
When Christmas Comes Around... is the ninth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 15, 2021, through Atlantic Records. Produced by Jesse Shatkin, Jason Halbert, Joseph Trapanese and Aben Eubanks, it is her second Christmas album after Wrapped in Red (2013) and a follow-up to her eighth studio album Meaning of Life (2017). Featuring cover versions of Christmas songs, as well as original co-penned tracks and duets with Chris Stapleton, Ariana Grande and Brett Eldredge, its release was preceded by the album's lead single "Christmas Isn't Canceled " and second single "Santa, Can't You Hear Me". It also includes previously released singles "Christmas Eve", "All I Want for Christmas Is You", and "Under the Mistletoe" as bonus tracks.
