Merry Christmas (Mariah Carey album)

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Professional reviews
Merry Christmas

Studio album by Mariah Carey
Released	November 1, 1994 (U.S.)
Recorded	1994
Genre	Pop/Seasonal/R&B
Length	42:17
Label	Columbia
Producer(s)	Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff
Roch Parisien, All Music Guide link
Mariah Carey chronology
Music Box (1993)	Merry Christmas (1994)	Daydream (1995)

Merry Christmas is the fifth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on November 1, 1994 (see 1994 in music) by Columbia Records. It is a holiday album featuring both cover versions and original material, and it is biggest selling Christmas album of all time; regarded by many as being one of the most successful Christmas album ever released. It was released at what was the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995), her two best-selling albums to date.

Merry Christmas debuted at number thirty on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 45,000 copies sold in its first week; it peaked at number three in its fifth week with 208,000 copies, but its sixth week (when it was at number six) was its most successful week of sales, with 500,000 copies sold. It remained in the top twenty for eight weeks and on the Billboard 200 for just thirteen weeks [1], but it has re-entered the chart three times; it peaked at number 149 the first time, at 115 the second and at 61 the third (it has spent a total of twenty-seven weeks on the Billboard 200). As of 2005 the album had sold almost five million copies in the United States [2] and about sixteen million copies worldwide [3]. It has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA.

Several singles were released from the album, but most were on a strictly promotional basis in the U.S. to help boost sales of the album. The first, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", was a radio airplay hit in the U.S. and sold well in countries where it was given a commercial release. The second, "Miss You Most (at Christmas Time)" (whose video was directed by Diane Martel) was less popular on U.S. radio, as was "Joy to the World" (which had been considered for a full single release), though the latter was a top forty hit in Australia. Fourth single "Jesus Born on This Day" was only promoted to Christian radio outlets in the U.S., and a video was not commissioned for it, though it was given a limited release in Sweden and some other markets. "O Holy Night" was released in 1996 as a promotional single for the album, and again in 2000 with a video accompanying it.

Carey's former label Sony re-released Merry Christmas on October 25, 2005 (see 2005 in music). The anniversary edition is a DualDisc CD consisting of the original album with exclusive videos and two additional tracks, including "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (anniversary mix), which was included as a CD single with the DVD of the 1970s film Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. Merry Christmas re-entered the Billboard Top Comprehensive Albums chart at number 136 and peaked at number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums chart. On multiple occasions following its original release, the album has reached number one on Billboard's Top Comprehensive Albums and Top Holiday Albums charts. As of December 2005, its run on the former has lasted eighty weeks, and on the latter 130 weeks.