Merry Christmas with Love

Merry Christmas with Love is the first Christmas album and second studio album by American recording artist Clay Aiken. It was released on November 16, 2004, through RCA Records. The production on the album was produced by Phil Ramone and Walter Afanasieff.

Merry Christmas with Love
Studio album by Clay Aiken
Released	November 16, 2004
Recorded	2004
Studio	Right Track Recording (New York) Sound Decision (New York) Chalice Studios (Los Angeles) Hit Factory (New York)
Genre	Pop
Length	39:00
Label	RCA
Producer	Phil 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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	D^[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 two-hour holiday 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 four 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 Celine 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.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"O Holy Night"	Adolphe Adam John Sullivan Dwight	Walter Afanasieff	3:38
2.	"Winter Wonderland"	Richard B. Smith Felix Bernard	Phil Ramone	2:49
3.	"Silent Night"	Franz Xaver 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 Lowry	Afanasieff	3:20
7.	"Joy to the World"	Isaac Watts Lowell Mason	Ramone	2:13
8.	"The Christmas Song"	Melvin Tormé Robert Wells	Ramone	2:36
9.	"Don't Save It All for Christmas Day"	Celine Dion Ric Wake Peter Zizzo	Afanasieff	4:33
10.	"Merry Christmas with Love"	Greg Wayne Davis Billy 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

Musicians Allan Schwartzberg - drums Vinnie Colaiuta - drums David Finck - bass Nathan East - bass Ira Siegel - acoustic guitar Jeff Mironov - guitar Mike Landau - electric guitar Kenny Ascher - piano Steve Ferrera - harp, percussion Walter Afanasieff - keyboard Conesha Mone't - background vocals Quiana Parler - background vocals Jacob Juttrell - background vocals Angela Fisher - background vocals Michael McElroy - background vocals Clarke Anderson - background vocals Darryl Phinnesse - background vocals The McCrary Choir - background vocals Broadway Inspirational Voices - background vocals Kate Coffman - soprano Laura Dean - soprano Tanesha Gary - soprano Catrice Joseph-Hart - soprano Gerti Lee James - soprano Bertilla Baker - alto Tracy Nicole Chapman - alto La-Rita Gaskins - alto Lucia Giannetta - alto Danielle Lee Greaves - alto Maurice Lauchner - tenor John Eric Parker - tenor Glenn Rainey - tenor Eliseo Roman - tenor Christopher Zelno - tenor

Production Andy Zulla - mixing Joel Moss - recording Mark Valentine - additional recording Emanuel Kiriakou - engineer Joe Wohlmuth - additional engineering David Channing - additional engineering Jay Spears - assistant engineer Mike Schroffel - assistant engineer Glenn Pittman - assistant engineer Alex Rodriguez - assistant engineer Dave Reitzas - lead vocal engineer Jorge Calandrelli - arrangement Patrick Williams - arrangement Rich Davis - production coordination Elena Barere - concert master Torrie Zito - conductor William Ross - conductor, arranger Humberto Gatica - orchestra engineer Sandy Decrescent - orchestra contractor David Lowe - orchestra contractor Jill Dell'Abate production manager Joe Yannece - mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position US Billboard 200^[17] 4 US Christian Albums (Billboard)^[18] 1 US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)^[19] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position US Billboard 200^[20] 52 Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Album AC Christian AC 2004 "Winter Wonderland" 13 - Merry Christmas with Love 2005 "O Holy Night" 37 - "Hark the Herald Angels Sing / O Come All Ye Faithful" 27 - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" 32 - "Mary, Did You Know?" 35 32

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[21]	Gold	50,000^^
United States (RIAA)^[5]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2000s

References

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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.
6. "2004 Winners". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
7. "2005 Winners". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
8. Dreaming of a Clay Christmas 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine © 2004 McDonald’s Corporation (pdf). December 17, 2004. Retrieved 2009-08-20
9. Kragen, Pam. . North County 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". 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. . 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.