Merry Christmas with Love

Merry Christmas with Love is Clay Aiken's first Christmas album. It was released by RCA Records on November 16, 2004. The production on the album was produced by Phil Ramone and Walter Afanasieff.

Merry Christmas with Love
Studio album by
Clay Aiken
ReleasedNovember 16, 2004
Recorded2004
Studio
GenrePop
Length39:00
LabelRCA
ProducerPhil Ramone
Walter Afanasieff
Clay Aiken chronology
Measure of a Man
(2003)		 Merry Christmas with Love
(2004)		 A Thousand Different Ways
(2006)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyD[2]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[3]

The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 270,000 copies in its first week.[4] It was also recognized by Billboard as the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of 2004 and the best-selling Christian album of 2005. The album certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 2005.[5]

Aiken has toured four times with his Joyful Noise Tour (2004-2007) to promote this album. The album was re-released on August 18, 2009 on the Sony label.

Awards and nominations
Year Ceremony Category Result
2004 Billboard Music Awards[6] Best Selling Christmas Album Won
2005 American Christian Music Awards Outstanding Yule CD Won
Billboard Music Awards[7] Best Selling Christmas Album Won

Tours

2004: The Joyful Noise Tour [8]

  • 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 [9]

  • 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[10]

  • 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[11]

  • 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.[12][13]

Aiken has ended each of his Christmas tours with his signature Christmas song, "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day."

Commercial performance

Merry Christmas with Love debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 270,000 copies in its first week.[4] This became Aiken's second US top-ten debut.[4] By the end of 2004, the album sold 1,004,000 copies.[14] The album set a new record for fastest-selling holiday album in the SoundScan era (since March 1991) and tied Céline Dion's record for the highest debut by a holiday album in the history of Billboard magazine.[15] On January 6, 2005, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies.[5] As of February 2011, the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States.[16]

Track listing
Merry Christmas with Love track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."O Holy Night"
  • Adolphe Adam
  • John Sullivan Dwight
Walter Afanasieff3:38
2."Winter Wonderland"
  • Richard B. Smith
  • Felix Bernard
2:49
3."Silent Night"
  • Franz Gruber
  • Joseph Mohr
  • Ramone
2:17
4."Medley: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / O Come All Ye Faithful"
  • Felix Mendelssohn
  • Charles Wesley/
  • Frederick Oakeley
  • John Francis Wade
  • Afanasieff
4:00
5."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
  • Hugh Martin
  • Ralph Blane
  • Ramone
3:27
6."Mary, Did You Know?"
  • Buddy Greene
  • Mark Alan Lowry
  • Afanasieff
3:20
7."Joy to the World"
  • Isaac Watts
  • Lowell Mason
Ramone2:13
8."The Christmas Song"
  • Melvin Torme
  • Robert Wells
  • Ramone
2:36
9."Don't Save It All for Christmas Day"
  • Afanasieff
4:33
10."Merry Christmas with Love"
  • Greg Wayne Davis
  • Billy Lee Smiley
  • Afanasieff
4:04
11."Sleigh Ride"
  • Leroy Anderson
  • Mitchell Parish
  • Ramone
3:00
12."What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"
  • Frank Loesser
  • Ramone
3:01
Total length:39:00

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[5] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. AllMusic review
  2. Entertainment Weekly review
  3. Rolling Stone review
  4. Margo Whitmire (November 24, 2004). "Eminem Thankful To Remain No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  5. "American album certifications – Clay Aiken – Merry Christmas with Love". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  6. "2004 Winners". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  7. "2005 Winners". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  8. Dreaming of a Clay Christmas Archived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine © 2004 McDonald’s Corporation (pdf). December 17, 2004. Retrieved 2009-08-20
  9. Kragen, Pam. "Pop nerd Clay Aiken brings 'Joyful Noise' to San Diego." North Country Times. November 9, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-25 (article archived)
  10. A Clay Aiken Christmas: Carols & Comedy .americanidolworship.com. December 21st, 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-20
  11. "Clay Aiken Adds Dates to Magical Holiday Tour 2007." Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine TicketNews.com June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25
  12. Aiken's Christmas tour arrives Saturday by Sean T. McMann Poughkeepsie Journal (12/06/07). Retrieved 2008-02-23
  13. Without any further ado: the Clay Aiken/Poughkeepsie Journal story by Sean T. McMann Sean's Space (12/07/07). Retrieved 2008-02-23
  14. "Chart Watch Extra: Bring On Christmas!". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  15. Steve Rogers (November 29, 2004). "Clay Aiken's "Merry Christmas With Love" holiday album debuts to record sales". realitytvworld.com. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  16. Josh Grossberg (February 9, 2011). "Clay Aiken Finally Addresses Recording Future...Do You Buy It?". E Entertainment. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  17. "Clay Aiken Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  18. "Clay Aiken Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  19. "Clay Aiken Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  20. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  21. "Canadian album certifications – Clay Aiken – Merry Christmas with Love". Music Canada.
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