| Heavenly Christmas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Jackie Evancho | ||||
| Released | November 1, 2011 |
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| Genre | Classical, Holiday | |||
| Length | 37:50 | |||
| Label | Columbia/Syco/Sony Music Entertainment | |||
| Jackie Evancho chronology | ||||
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Heavenly Christmas is American singer Jackie Evancho's first full-length Christmas album, and her fourth album overall. It contains ten tracks and was produced by Rob Mounsey, with arrangements by Mounsey and Ryan Shore for Sony Music Entertainment.[1][2]
The album was released on November 1, 2011, exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com in the U.S.[3][4] Evancho is accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the New York Chorus of St. Cecilia, conducted by Rob Mounsey.[2] The album climbed to #11 on the Billboard 200 chart and peaked at #1 on Billboard's Classical Albums chart, #3 on the Holiday Albums chart and #9 on the Canadian Albums chart.[5]
Contents |
Walmart ran some brief television advertisements to promote the album in early November 2011, and Evancho released videos of three songs from the album.[6]
In early December, Evancho made talk show appearances on all the major television networks to promote Heavenly Christmas, singing "The First Noël" on The View[7] and The Talk,[8] and "Believe" on The Tonight Show,[9] as well as giving solo concerts in Buffalo, New York; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Pittsburgh, in mid-December 2011.[10] Evancho sang 14 songs in each of these concert appearances, including songs from all three of her albums, mixing Christmas music with her classical crossover repertoire.[11] On this mini-tour, Evancho invited 20-year-old Canadian tenor Christopher Dallo, who had beaten her in the 2009 David Foster talent search contest, to sing three solos, and to duet with her in The Prayer.[12][13]
The album entered the Billboard Classical Albums chart at #1, the Holiday Albums chart at #3, and the Billboard 200 at #16, peaking at #11 there in its sixth week of release.[14][5] It rose to #9 on the Canadian Albums chart in its fifth week.[15] Allmusic's review gives the album three stars, commenting, "while the set leans hard on standard Christmas fare ... Evancho's vocals are impressive as always, and the arrangements are mostly tasteful, with only occasional moments of bombast that threaten to wash the pint-sized soprano out to sea."[16] The Salt Lake City Tribune rated the album "A-", writing: "some of us are still taken aback when we hear such a strong, womanly voice float out of an 11 year-old child. ... Her best offering is the cherubic 'Believe'."[17] The New Straits Times wrote, "She brings a certain poignancy to 'The First Noel', 'What Child Is This', 'Believe' ... and 'Walking In The Air'. ... The child’s voice is a wonder!"[18]
In its 2011 year-end charts, Billboard ranked Heavenly Christmas as the #4 best selling Classical Album for the year.[19] Yahoo reported that the album was the third best selling Christmas album of 2011.[20] Idolator.com readers chose Evancho's "Believe" as their "Favorite Christmas Song" for 2011.[21]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) and arranger | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | Kim Gannon, Walter Kent and Buck Ram; arranged by Rob Mounsey | 3:53 |
| 2. | "The First Noel" | Traditional; arranged by Ryan Shore | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Away in a Manger" | Traditional; arranged by Ryan Shore | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Believe" | Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri; arranged by Rob Mounsey | 4:10 |
| 5. | "White Christmas" | Irving Berlin; arranged by Rob Mounsey | 3:57 |
| 6. | "What Child Is This" | William Chatterton Dix; arranged by Ryan Shore | 3:30 |
| 7. | "O Come All Ye Faithful" | Traditional; arranged by Ryan Shore | 3:49 |
| 8. | "O Little Town of Bethlehem" | Lewis Redner and Phillips Brooks; arranged by Rob Mounsey | 4:01 |
| 9. | "Walking in the Air" | Howard Blake; arranged by Ryan Shore | 3:33 |
| 10. | "Ding Dong Merrily on High" | George Woodward; arranged by Ryan Shore | 3:01 |
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Total length:
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37:50 | ||
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart | 9 |
| US Billboard 200 | 11 |
| US Billboard Classical Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Holiday Albums | 3 |
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