Noël (Josh Groban album)

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Noël
Noël cover
Studio album by Josh Groban
Released October 9, 2007
Recorded 2007
Genre Pop / Classical / Vocal / Holiday / Gospel
Length 56:01
Label WEA/Reprise Records
Producer David Foster
Professional reviews
Josh Groban chronology
Awake
(2006)
Noël
(2007)

Noël is a Christmas album by singer Josh Groban. It was released on October 9, 2007. The album has sold over 3.6 million copies in 11 weeks and has increased in sales each week, and has stayed in the top ten all those weeks. It is currently the best selling album of 2007 in the United States.[1]Despite being a holiday album, this album has had the best weekly sales by Josh Groban yet, beating his last two albums which sold 375,000 and 270,000 copies respectively.

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."

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Silent Night" - 4:11
  2. "Little Drummer Boy" - 4:20 (featuring Guitarist Andy McKee and Gigi Hadid)
  3. "I'll Be Home for Christmas with Messages from real soldiers and voice by Gigi Hadid" - 4:15
  4. "Ave Maria" - 5:17
  5. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - 3:32 (duet with Brian McKnight)
  6. "Thankful" - 4:50
  7. "The Christmas Song" - 3:54
  8. "What Child Is This?" - 3:53
  9. "The First Noël" - 4:34 (duet with Faith Hill)
  10. "Petit Papa Noël" - 4:05
  11. "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" - 4:13
  12. "Panis Angelicus" - 4:19
  13. "O Come All Ye Faithful" - 4:38 (with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

[edit] Chart performance

Seven weeks after its release, Noël reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 on the chart dated December 8, 2007. The album sold about 405,000 copies in the week it reached number one, rising from the number two position with an 81% sales increase. The week's sales corresponded to an appearance by Groban on The Oprah Winfrey Show[2] during the highly anticipated annual Oprah's Favorite Things feature.

In the next week, the album stayed at #1 on the Billboard 200 and its sales increased further, by 33%, with 539,000 copies being sold that week.[3]

In its 9th week, the album held the top spot with another 8% increase in sales, moving 581,000 copies,[4] and increased yet again in its tenth week selling 669,000 copies, and again holding the number one spot.[1]

The album has set numerous Billboard 200 records, starting with being the first Christmas album to spend four consecutive weeks at #1 in the charts 51 year history, as well as being only the second Christmas album to ever spend four weeks at #1, tying it with Elvis Presley's Elvis' Christmas Album. It is also the first album to spend four consecutive weeks at #1 and experience a sales increase each of those weeks since No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom album did so in December 1996. The 669,000 copies the album sold in its tenth week was the biggest single week tally for a Christmas album since Kenny G's Miracle -- The Holiday Album sold 819,000 copies in the Christmas week of 1994. By its tenth week the album had already become the best selling album of 2007, scanning 2.8 million copies in only a little over two months of release, a rarity in the fast declining physical album market of the past few years.[1]

In its 11th week it became the first album of 2007 to hold #1 for 5 weeks,[citation needed] and the first Christmas album ever to hold #1 on the Billboard 200 for 5 weeks in a row[5] (Elvis held it for 4 weeks, but the fourth week it fell off, but then came back up[citation needed]). In that fifth week at #1 it outsold Mary J. Blige's Growing Pains, selling about 757,000 copies.[5] It has so far sold a total of 3.9 million copies in USA and 4.3 million copies worldwide.

[edit] Certifications, peaks and sales

Country Peak Position Certification (If Any) Sales/shipments
Australia 33[6]
Canada 1
France 24
Ireland 26[6]
The Netherlands 26[6]
Poland 1[6]
Sweden 4[6] Gold 20,000
United World Chart 1 [1] 4,359,125
USA 1[6] 4x Platinum 3,956,000

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Geoff Mayfield, "Groban's 'Noel' Makes Chart History", Billboard.biz, December 18, 2007.
  2. ^ Katie Hasty, "'Oprah' Visit Helps Groban Soar To No. 1", Billboard.com, November 28, 2007.
  3. ^ Katie Hasty, "Groban Remains No. 1 In Slow Release Week", Billboard.com, December 5, 2007.
  4. ^ Katie Hasty, "Groban Ties Elvis With Third Week At No. 1", Billboard.com, December 12, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Chris M. Walsh, "Groban, Blige Enjoy Huge Weeks On Album Chart", Billboard.com, December 27, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Josh Groban - Noel worldwide chart positions and trajectories". aCharts.us. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
Preceded by
As I Am by Alicia Keys
Billboard 200 number-one album
December 8, 2007 - January 11, 2008
Succeeded by
Growing Pains by Mary J. Blige
Preceded by
As I Am by Alicia Keys
United World Chart number-one album
December 15, 2007 - January 5, 2008
Succeeded by
As I Am by Alicia Keys
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