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 album consists of twelve tracks, featuring eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols and a medley consisting of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "O Come All Ye Faithful." Production on Merry Christmas with Love was overseen by Phil Ramone and Walter Afanasieff.

The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 270,000 copies in its first week. It was recognized by Billboard as the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of 2004 and the best-selling Christian album of 2005. In January 2005, Merry Christmas with Love was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 2005. The album was re-released on August 18, 2009, on the Sony label.

Promotion Aiken has toured four times to promote this album. In late 2004, Aiken embarked on The Joyful Noise Tour, a 28-city holiday concert tour that ran from November through December. Each performance lasted approximately two hours and featured 30-piece orchestras, along with adult and children’s choirs recruited from each host city. The tour's official sponsor was Ronald McDonald House Charities.Dreaming of a Clay Christmas © 2004 McDonald’s Corporation (pdf). December 17, 2004. Retrieved 2009-08-20 Aiken returned the following year with The Joyful Noise 2005 Tour, a 36-city, 40-concert tour across the United States and Canada from November to December 2005. In addition to musical performances, the concerts incorporated a theatrical element featuring a traveling cast of actors, singers, and dancers, supplemented by supporting performers from each host city. Pop-classical pianist William Joseph served as the opening act and contributed musically to the tour.Kragen, Pam. "Pop nerd Clay Aiken brings 'Joyful Noise' to San Diego". North County Times. November 9, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-25 (article archived)

In December 2006, Aiken launched a Holiday Tour that visited 18 cities, primarily in the eastern United States. Performances were accompanied by local orchestras, which also opened each concert with a selection of seasonal music.A Clay Aiken Christmas: Carols & Comedy .americanidolworship.com. December 21st, 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-20 Aiken’s 2007 holiday tour, Christmas in the Heartland, consisted of 21 dates and focused on the eastern United States. The tour began on November 26 in Wichita, Kansas, and concluded on December 22 in Merrillville, Indiana. Local orchestras accompanied the performances. Holiday stories submitted by fans were incorporated into the show and read aloud as introductions to four song selections. Aiken traditionally concluded his Christmas tours with his signature holiday song, "Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day.""Clay Aiken Adds Dates to Magical Holiday Tour 2007". TicketNews.com June 25, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-25

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that "Aiken turns in a good holiday album. Actually, there are no surprises on the album — the song selections are all standards, the arrangements are traditional and unobtrusive, always emphasizing Clay's voice, and the record is given a safe, high-gloss sheen ideal for adult contemporary radio. If there are any surprises with Merry Christmas with Love[...] it's that his singing is better, more assured here than it was on Measure of a Man."

Rolling Stones Jolie Lash wrote: "There's more of Aiken's intense tenor that won fans over on the show, as he takes on "Mary, Did You Know," and "The Christmas Song," at times cutting a path somewhere between Andy Williams and Josh Groban. At others though, like on "Silent Night," things sound more akin to a live recording of the TV show, as Aiken's phrasing ends up stuttered, like he's missed a line — joining the backing choir after a verse has already started. As he hits the upbeat "Winter Wonderland," the lanky twenty-something reins things in for the finale, singing each note as perfect as if it were a Disney special".

Awards and nominations Year Ceremony Category Result 2004 Billboard Music AwardsBest Selling Christmas Album 2005 American Christian Music AwardsOutstanding Yule CD Billboard Music AwardsBest Selling Christmas Album

Commercial performance Merry Christmas with Love debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 270,000 copies in its first week. This became Aiken's second US top-ten debut. By the end of 2004, the album sold 1,004,000 copies. 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. On January 6, 2005, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies. As of February 2011, the album has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States.

Track listing

Personnel Performers and 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

Technical

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 + Weekly performance for Merry Christmas with Love Chart (2004) Peak position

Year-end charts + Year-end performance for Merry Christmas with Love Chart (2005) Position US Billboard 200 52

Certifications

See also List of Billboard Top Holiday Albums number ones of the 2000s

References