Merry Christmas with Love

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Merry Christmas with Love
Merry Christmas with Love cover
Studio album by Clay Aiken
Released November 16, 2004
Recorded 2004
Genre Pop
Length 39:00
Label RCA Records
Producer Phil Ramone
Walter Afanasieff
Professional reviews
Clay Aiken chronology
Measure of a Man
(2003)		 Merry Christmas with Love
(2004)		 A Thousand Different Ways
(2006)

Merry Christmas with Love is Clay Aiken's first Christmas album, released on November 16, 2004. It was certified platinum and was recognized by Billboard as the Best Selling Christian Album of 2005.

Aiken has toured four times with his Joyful Noise Tour (2004-2007) to promote this album.

Contents

[edit] Sales and chart performance

Merry Christmas with Love debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with about 270,000 copies sold;[1] this was also its peak position on the chart. Over one million copies sold within the first 6 weeks and the album won a Billboard Award for the Best Selling Christian Album of 2005. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA on January 6, 2005 and going into the 2006 Christmas season 1.4 million copies had been sold in the US and 2 million worldwide.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "O Holy Night"[1]
  2. "Winter Wonderland"[2]
  3. "Silent Night"[3]
  4. Medley: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"/"O Come All Ye Faithful"[4]
  5. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"[5]
  6. "Mary, Did You Know?"[6]
  7. "Joy to the World"[7]
  8. "The Christmas Song"[8]
  9. "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day"[9]
  10. "Merry Christmas with Love"[10]
  11. "Sleigh Ride"[11]
  12. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"[12]

[edit] Song notes

  • ^ "O, Holy Night" Written by: Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 3:38
  • ^ "Winter Wonderland" Written by: Richard B. Smith, Felix Bernard / Produced by Phil Ramone - 2:49
  • ^ "Silent Night" Written by: Franz Gruber, Joseph Mohr / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 2:17
  • ^ Medley: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"/"O Come All Ye Faithful" Written by: Felix Mendelssohn, Charles Wesley /Frederick Oakeley, John Francis Wade / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 4:00
  • ^ "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Written by: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 3:27
  • ^ "Mary Did You Know" Written by: Lee Rufus GreenebIII, Mark Alan Lowry / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 3:20
  • ^ "Joy to the World" Written by: Isaac Watts, Lowell Mason / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 2:13
  • ^ "The Christmas Song(Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" Written by: Melvin Torme, Robert Wells / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 2:36
  • ^ "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" Written by: Celine Dion, Ric Wake, Peter Zizzo / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 4:33
  • ^ "Merry Christmas with Love" Written by: Greg Wayne Davis, Billy Lee Smiley / Produced by: Walter Afanasieff - 4:04
  • ^ "Sleigh Ride" Written by: Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 3:00
  • ^ "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" Written by: Frank Loesser / Produced by: Phil Ramone - 3:01

[edit] Singles charting on radio

[edit] Tours

2004: The Joyful Noise Tour

  • 28-City Holiday concert 2 hour concert (November - December 2004)
  • Featured 30 piece orchestras as well as both adult and children's choirs invited from each host city.
  • The Joyful Noise Tour's official sponsor was Ronald McDonald House Charities.

2005: The Joyful Noise 2005 Tour

  • 36-City, 40-Concert U.S. and Canada tour (November - December 2005)
  • The concert featured a traveling cast of actors, singers, and dancers, as well as a supporting cast recruited from each host city, to provide the theatrical component that threaded together the musical performances.
  • The opening act and contributing musician was pop-classical pianist William Joseph.

2006: Holiday Tour

  • 18-city tour of cities mostly in the eastern U.S. (December 2006)
  • Performed with local orchestras, which also opened the concerts with a program of seasonal music.

2007: Christmas in the Heartland

  • 21-date eastern U. S. tour began on November 26 in Wichita, Kansas and ended on December 22, 2007 in Merrillville, Indiana.
  • Local orchestras performed the music.
  • Holiday stories submitted and read by fans were spaced throughout the performance as lead in to 4 of the song selections. [2][3]

[edit] Awards and nominations

Billboard Awards

  • 2004: Won - Best Selling Christmas Album - Merry Christmas with Love
  • 2005: Won - Best Selling Christian Album - Merry Christmas with Love

American Christian Music Awards

  • 2005: Won - Outstanding Yule CD - Merry Christmas with Love

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Margo Whitmire, "Eminem Thankful To Remain No. 1", Billboard.com, November 24, 2004.
  2. ^ Aiken's Christmas tour arrives Saturday by Sean T. McMann Poughkeepsie Journal (12/06/07). Retrieved 2008-02-23
  3. ^ Without any further ado: the Clay Aiken/Poughkeepsie Journal story by Sean T. McMann Sean's Space (12/07/07). Retrieved 2008-02-23