Winter Song (song)
"Winter Song" is a seasonal Christmas song co-written and co-sung as a duet by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. It became a very minor hit in Canada in Christmas 2008, reaching #97. But upon release in Ireland in 2011 it reached #2.[1] A special charity single by #twitterxmassingle also was a separate hit in Ireland alongside the original version reaching #8.
The song (full name on single sleeve Twitterers and the Twitterettes of the Parish of Twitter Proudly Present Winter Song) became a charity single in Ireland released simultaneously with the original.
The idea started with a single tweet from account holder @BrendaDrumm on the social networking site Twitter on 19 November 2011. An account was established at #twitterxmassingle to garner support for the idea. The co-writers also supported the project. 140 persons from Ireland took part in recording it in a grand hall in Westin Hotel in Dublin on one Sunday on 27 November 2011 exactly one week from the tweet. The instrumentation was recorded at Ian Callanan Studios, with Callanan as producer and musical director, Brenda Drumm as executive producer and Paul Keegan as engineer and mixing.
The single (also known as the "TWinter Song") and the accompanying video were launched on an independent label on 4 December 2011 and through iTunes downloads. The single went straight into #8 on the Irish Singles Chart dated December 8, 2011, while the original by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson was at #2 in the Irish chart the same week. All proceeds of the charity recording went to the Neonatal Unit of Holles Street Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.
- Credits
- Composers - Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
- Artist - TwitterXMasSingle
- Label - Holles Street Neonatal Unit
- Executive Producer - Brenda Drumm
- Producer - Ian Callanan
- Arranged by Ian Callanan
- Instrumentalists:
- Anne Cullen - Piano
- Paddy Kiernan - Bass
- Ian Callanan - Synthesizer and Programming
- Darragh Ó Héiligh - Bodhrán, Whistles and Uilleann Pipes
- Guitar - David Byrne
- Violin - Christopher Edwards
- Viola - Nicola Bermingham
- Cello - Róisín Magee
- Instrumentation recorded at Ian Callanan Studios engineered by Ian Callanan
- Choir and soloists recorded at The Westin Hotel, Dublin on Sunday 27th November 2011, engineered by Paul Keegan
- Choir Director - Ian Callanan
- Mixed by Paul Keegan at Retreat Recording Studio
Charts
Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson single
| Chart (2011) |
Peak
position |
| Ireland IRMA |
2 |
| Chart (2011) |
Peak
position |
| Ireland IRMA[2] |
8 |
In popular culture
- The song was also performed during the 2010 National Christmas Tree Lighting, attended by the American President Barack Obama with the United States Coast Guard Band playing with Bareilles and Michaelson singing live.
- Irish O2 telecommunications company used the original version by Bareilles and Michaelson in their Christmas ad campaign
References
External links
- Irish charity links