That's Christmas to Me

That's Christmas to Me
Studio album by Pentatonix
Released October 21, 2014
Genre A cappella, christmas music
Length 32:39
Label RCA
Producer Pentatonix, Ben Bram
Pentatonix chronology

PTX, Vol. III
(2014)		 That's Christmas to Me
(2014)

That's Christmas to Me is the second studio album by a capella group Pentatonix. Their sixth release, it is also their second holiday release following their 2012 EP PTXmas, and features only previously unreleased material (except "Let It Go", a bonus track of the Japanese Edition of Vols. 1 & 2).[1]

It was released on October 21, 2014 through RCA Records,[2] peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum on December 24, 2014.[3][4]

By year's end, December 31, 2014, according to Billboard, it reached a final 2014 total of 1.14 million copies sold, becoming the 4th best selling album of 2014 by any artist of any genre (being surpassed only by Taylor Swift's 1989, the Frozen Soundtrack, and Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour).[5] The album is also the highest charting holiday album by a group since 1962.[6]

The album is named after the eponymous song by Pentatonix, the only original song featured in the album.[7][8]

Commercial performance

That's Christmas to Me peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States.[9] and at number 4 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart.[10] The album also charted moderately in other countries including Australia, New Zealand and Norway. On December 1, 2014, That's Christmas to Me was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and became the group's first accredited release in the US. By year's end (December 31, 2014), Billboard reported that the album had sold a total of 1.14 million copies, becoming only the 4th album to sell a million copies in 2014 in any genre (being surpassed only by Taylor Swift's 1989, the Frozen Soundtrack, and Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour) and was the Top Selling Holiday Album for 2014.[5][11] [12] Pentatonix became the first act to top both the Holiday Albums and Holiday Songs charts simultaneously since the Holiday 100 launched as a multi-metric tabulation in December 2011.[13] The album is also the highest charting holiday album by a group since 1962.[6]

A single from the album, the group's cover of "Mary, Did You Know?", both debuted and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 26,[14] number 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart,[15] and at number 44 on the Canadian Hot 100.[16] The album's title track, "That's Christmas to Me", also peaked at number 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[17] During the holiday season, seven songs from That's Christmas to Me charted on the Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart: "Mary, Did You Know?" at number 1, "White Winter Hymnal" at number 2, "Silent Night" at number 5, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" at number 8, "Sleigh Ride" at number 12, "That's Christmas to Me" at number 16 and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" at number 17.[18]

Critical reception

The album received generally favorable reviews by critics. Popdust complemented its "blistery bold arrangements," and the group's "truly remarkable, pinpoint precision." Markos Papadatos from Digital Journal described it as "pure joy and one of the best projects I've heard this year." FDRMX gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, claiming the album has "a good mix of traditional holiday songs, religious ballads and originals thrown in." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dubbed it a "Christmas miracle," citing a "streak of beautifully sung, creative arrangements."

Promotion

In November 2014, Pentatonix were invited by Australian film director, producer and screenwriter Baz Luhrmann to be involved with the Holiday Window display at Barneys in New York City. Pentatonix performed at the Opening night with a medley of songs from That's Christmas to Me.[19][20]

On 27 November 2014, Pentatonix participated in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, performing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" on the Homewood Suites float.[21][22] Pentatonix also performed during NBC's annual Christmas in Rockefeller Centre special on December 3, 2014, performing "Sleigh Ride" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".[23]

Pentatonix returned to The Sing-Off, performing a medley of songs from That's Christmas to Me during the Season 5 holiday special, which aired on December 17, 2014.[24][25]

Track listing

All songs arranged by Pentatonix and Ben Bram.

No. Title Length
1. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"   3:12
2. "White Winter Hymnal"   2:47
3. "Sleigh Ride"   2:16
4. "Winter Wonderland" / "Don't Worry Be Happy" (featuring Tori Kelly) 3:27
5. "That's Christmas to Me"   3:02
6. "Mary, Did You Know?"   3:23
7. "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"   2:06
8. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"   3:05
9. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"   2:42
10. "Silent Night"   3:13
11. "Let It Go"   3:26
Total length:
 32:39

QVC exclusive CD

During a live performance on QVC to promote pre-order sales of the album, an exclusive bonus CD was offered to its customers.[26] The CD contains four tracks from their previous Christmas album, PTXmas.[27]

No. Title Length
1. "Angels We Have Heard on High"   3:41
2. "Carol of the Bells"   3:13
3. "Little Drummer Boy"   4:15
4. "O Holy Night"   2:25
Total length:
 13:34

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2014–15) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 21
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 192
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[31] 4
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[32] 52
German Albums (Official Top 100)[33] 96
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[34] 23
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35] 11
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 68
US Billboard 200[38] 2
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[39] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Gold 40,000^
United States (RIAA)[41] Platinum 1,140,000[42]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "Pentatonix Sets 'Vol. 3' Release Date, Second Holiday Album". Billboard. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "That's Christmas to Me - Pentatonix - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Pentatonix. "Pentatonix on Facebook: "We cannot believe we get to say this, but... when the official charts come out tomorrow, #ThatsChristmasToMe will have officially gone PLATINUM!!! Thank you SO much to the (more than one) million people who bought our holiday album and for letting us share our music with you. We can't we for y'all to see (and hear) what's next! heart emoticon PTX"". facebook.com/Pentatonix. Pentatonix. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Pentatonix. "Pentatonix on Facebook: "#FBF to a couple of months ago… Hard at work in the studio putting the finishing touches on our now PLATINUM album #ThatsChristmasToMe ;)"". facebook.com/Pentatonix. Pentatonix. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Pentatonix Has the Highest-Charting Christmas Album by a Group Since 1962". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Video: Pentatonix releases EP "PTX Vol. 3". NewsOK.com. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "'The Sing-Off' champs Pentatonix bringing a cappella into the mainstream". AXS. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Pentatonix Hits Top Three on Billboard 200, Nickelback Debuts in Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Billboard Canadian Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  11. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (December 24, 2014). "Pentatonix's 'That's Christmas To Me' Surpasses 1 Million in Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Pentatonix Earns 2014's Top Selling Christmas Album". Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Pentatonix Tops Holiday Songs & Albums Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "Hot 100: Pentatonix Scores Second Top 30 Hit with "Mary, Did You Know?"". HeadlinePlanet. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Billboard Adult Contemporary chart". Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Pentatonix - Chart history - Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  17. ↑ "Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart". Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Billboard Holiday Digital Songs Chart". Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Barneys Holiday Windows Get the Baz Luhrmann Treatment". New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "Baz Luhrmann Brings Pentatonix, Stilt Walkers And Magic To Barneys’ "Baz Dazzled" Holiday Windows". LogoTV NewNowNext. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  21. ↑ "Thanksgiving Day Parade: What time to watch, who has the best line-up, and where to see Taylor Swift". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  22. ↑ "Thanksgiving Music at The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: LIVE UPDATES! Meghan Trainor, Taylor Swift and yes, The Radio City Rockettes". Music Times. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Scoop: CHRISTMAS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER on NBC - Wednesday, December 3, 2014". Broadway World. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "'The Sing-Off' preview: One night only". The Community. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "Pentatonix Return To 'The Sing Off' With Epic Holiday Medley". PopDust. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Pentatonix That's Christmas to Me CD & Bonus CD with Jane Treacy". QVC. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  27. ↑ "Pentatonix Thats Christmas to Me CD & Bonus CD". QVC.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  28. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Pentatonix Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Pentatonix. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Pentatonix – That's Christmas To Me". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Pentatonix Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Pentatonix. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Digital Albums for Pentatonix. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Pentatonix – That's Christmas to Me". Music Canada. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  41. ↑ "American album certifications – Pentatonix – That's Christmas to Me". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  42. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (December 31, 2014). "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014". billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 1, 2015.