You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs

You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs or simply You Light Up My Life, is the second studio album by American country singer LeAnn Rimes. Released in the United States by Curb Records on September 9, 1997, when Rimes was 15 years old, it followed her debut album Blue. The album was hugely successful but many critics thought that much of the material did not do Rimes' talent justice. The album has been certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA.

You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs
Studio album by LeAnn Rimes
Released	September 9, 1997
Recorded	1996−97
Studio	Rosewood Studio (Tyler, Texas) McLain Studios (Dallas, Texas) Starstruck Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) KD Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) Curb Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) Barking Dog Studios (Mt. Kisco, New York)
Genre	Country pop CCM
Length	43:33
Label	Curb
Producer	Wilbur C. Rimes * Tracks 1 and 10 produced by Mike Curb, Chuck Howard and Wilbur C. Rimes
LeAnn Rimes chronology
Blue (1996) You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (1997) Sittin' on Top of the World (1998)
Singles from You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs
"You Light Up My Life" Released: August 26, 1997 "On the Side of Angels" Released: October 11, 1997

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C−[2]
Robert Christgau	[3]

Singles

Two singles were released from the album. The first one, "You Light Up My Life", peaked at number 34 and was certified gold in the United States. The second and final single released from the album is "On the Side of Angels" which peaked at number 4 on the US Country Chart.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"You Light Up My Life"	Joe Brooks	3:37
2.	"The Rose"	Amanda McBroom	3:33
3.	"Bridge Over Troubled Water"	Paul Simon	4:40
4.	"I Believe"	Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman	2:22
5.	"Ten Thousand Angels Cried"	Dave Patillo	3:59
6.	"Clinging to a Saving Hand"	Bill Mack	2:44
7.	"On the Side of Angels"	Gary Burr, Gerry House	3:49
8.	"I Know Who Holds Tomorrow"	Ira Stanphill	4:41
9.	"God Bless America"	Irving Berlin	3:06
10.	"How Do I Live" (Extended Mix)	Diane Warren	4:57
11.	"Amazing Grace" (Traditional)	John Newton	4:06
12.	"National Anthem" (Traditional)	Francis Scott Key	1:59

Personnel

Credits adapted from You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs liner notes.[4]

• Scott Ahaus – assistant mixing
• Lesley Albert – production coordinator
• Michael Black – background vocals
• Mike Curb – producer
• Milo Deering – acoustic guitar, fiddle, steel guitar
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar
• Bob Gentry – bass guitar
• Fred Gleber – drums
• Kelly Glenn – keyboards
• Mick Guzauski – mixing
• Chuck Howard – producer
• Greg Hunt – recording, mixing
• Jimmy Kelly – keyboards
• Mary Ann Kennedy – background vocals
• Daniel Kresco – assistant mixing
• Gary Leach – assistant mixing, background vocals
• Mike McClain – recording, mixing
• Jerry Matheny – electric guitar
• Glenn Meadows – master
• Greg Morrow – drums
• Steve Nathan – keyboards
• Curtis Randall – background vocals, bass guitar
• Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
• LeAnn Rimes – lead vocals
• Wilbur C. Rimes – producer
• Pam Rose – background vocals
• Bob Campbell-Smith – additional recording, recording, mixing
• Michael Spriggs – acoustic guitar
• Jeff Watkins – assistant recording
• John Willis – electric guitar
• Dennis Willson – background vocals
• Dan Wojciechowski — drums

Charts and certifications

You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs debuted at number one on Billboard 200 with 186,000 copies sold in its first week,[5] the album dropped to number two in its second week but with a 10% increase with sales of 204,500. It returned to number one in its sixth week with 131,500 copies sold. The album spent 13 weeks in the top 5, 17 weeks in the top 10 and a total of 55 weeks in Billboard 200. You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs was certified 4× Platinum by RIAA, denoting shipments of over 4 million copies. It is the only album in history to debut at number one on three separate charts at the same time, the three charts being the Billboard 200, the Billboard Top Country Albums, and the Billboard Contemporary Christian.

Weekly charts Chart (1997–98) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[6] 12 Canadian RPM Top Albums[7] 13 Canadian RPM Country Albums[8] 1 New Zealand Albums Chart[6] 41 UK Albums Chart[9] 170 US Billboard 200[7] 1 US Billboard Country Albums[7] 1 US Billboard Christian Albums[7] 1 Decade-end chart Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard 200[10] 78

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Australian Albums Chart[11] 59 Canadian RPM Country Albums[12] 15 US Billboard 200[13] 31 US Billboard Top Country Albums[13] 6 Chart (1998) Position Canadian RPM Country Albums[14] 8 US Billboard 200[15] 14 US Billboard Top Country Albums[15] 3 Chart (1999) Position US Billboard Top Country Albums[16] 54 Sales Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[17] Platinum 70,000^^ Canada (Music Canada)[18] 2× Platinum 200,000^^ United States (RIAA)[19] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Owens, Thom. You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs at AllMusic
2. Browne, David (September 12, 1997). "You Light Up My Life Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
3. Christgau, Robert. "CG: LeAnn Rimes". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
4. You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs (CD). LeAnn Rimes. Curb Records. 1997. D2-77885.CS1 maint: others (link)
5. Billboard – Google 도서. February 17, 2001. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
6. "australian-charts.com – LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs". australian-charts.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
7. Billboard - Music Charts, Music News, Artist Photo Gallery & Free Video. billboard.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
8. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
9. "Chart Log UK: The Rabble Army – RZA". Zobbel.de. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
10. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade – The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
11. "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 1997". Aria.com.au. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
12. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
13. . google.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
14. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
15. . google.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
16. . google.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
17. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
18. "Canadian album certifications – LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life". Music Canada.
19. "American album certifications – LeAnn Rimes – You Light Up My Life". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.