My Kind of Christmas

My Kind of Christmas is the third studio album and first Christmas album by American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on October 24, 2000, by RCA Records. The album was recorded from late 1999 to mid 2000, while Aguilera was touring to promote her first two albums: Christina Aguilera (1999) and Mi Reflejo (2000). My Kind of Christmas contains cover versions of Christmas standards, such as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Angels We Have Heard on High", as well as several original recordings, which incorporate dance-pop elements. The album was produced by Ron Fair, The Matrix, Robbie Buchanan, Barry Harris and Chris Cox.

My Kind of Christmas
Studio album by Christina Aguilera
Released	October 24, 2000
Recorded	Late 1999–Mid 2000
Studio	Royaltone Studios Ocean Way Nashville Signet Sound Studios
Genre	Christmas dance-pop[1]
Length	45:25
Label	RCA
Producer	ChakDaddy Sol Survivor E. Dawk Ron Fair The Matrix Robbie Buchanan "Bassy" Bob Brockmann Barry Harris Chris Cox
Christina Aguilera chronology
Mi Reflejo (2000) My Kind of Christmas (2000) Just Be Free (2001)

My Kind of Christmas received generally mixed to negative reviews from music critics, who criticized its musical style and Aguilera's vocals. The album peaked at number 28 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having sold 1,015,000 copies. Aguilera appeared on several television shows, such as The Early Show and The David Letterman Show, to promote the album, and also performed a special concert for ABC, which was released on DVD in June 2001, as My Reflection.

Background and composition

Aguilera achieved her early success following the release of the two first studio albums, Christina Aguilera in 1999 and Mi Reflejo in late-2000, both of which were certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[3] My Kind of Christmas was recorded from late-1999 to mid-2000, when Aguilera was touring to support her two debut recordings.[4] Originally, Aguilera's idol Etta James was planned to be included as a featured performer on the track "Merry Christmas, Baby".[5] However the idea was later canceled, and Dr. John was chosen as her replacement afterwards.[4] It is a Christmas and dance-pop album,[1] which contains mainly cover versions of Christmas standards and several new tracks, including "Christmas Time", "This Year" and "Xtina's Xmas".[4] "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Merry Christmas, Baby" are the two "soulful" ballads from the album, backed by a 70-piece orchestra. "Christmas Time" and a cover of Celine Dion's "These Are the Special Times", meanwhile, are two of the more modern tracks. "Christmas Time" and "This Year" are the two "hip hop influenced" pop tracks. "The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)" was remade as a dance-styled number, which is set to "a kicking dance beat".[2] "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" released as a single in late-1999 was included in the album.[1][6]

Promotion

The album was released on October 24, 2000, by RCA Records as Aguilera's third studio album in the United States, following her two first albums Christina Aguilera (1999) and Mi Reflejo (2000).[1] It was released as two formats: CD and cassette.[1] In order to promote the album, Aguilera promoted the album on a number of shows, including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Early Show, and David Letterman Show.[7] On December 10, 2000, Aguilera performed "The Christmas Song", "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants" during a concert at Franklin High in Milwaukee, being watched by 1,300 students.[8] She also performed during an ABC special concert later in December; the set list included songs from her three first studio albums, including a song from My Kind of Christmas, "Have Yourself A Little Merry Christmas".[9] There, she performed the track with Brian McKnight.[9] The concert was filmed and released as a DVD entitled My Reflection (2001).[9]

"Christmas Time" was released in December 2000 on a compact disc as a promotional single.[10] RCA released the song in the United States and BMG distributed it throughout Europe.[11] A promotional live video was released as well.[12][13][14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(C)[5]
Rolling Stone	(negative)[15]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	(mixed)[2]

The album garnered mixed to negative reviews from music critics who criticized the production and Aguilera's vocal delivery. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "none of the new songs are knockouts" but the album was an "entertaining seasonal dance-pop" that "may not add too much to Christina's catalog" but "suggest that she may not be a mere one-album wonder."[1] Chris Willman from Entertainment Weekly thought that "Aguilera oversings so wildly that there wouldn't have been enough oxygen in the booth to sustain another life form", and that Aguilera "is out of control here, spoiling some nifty modern arrangements with her exhausting insistence on making every other syllable an octave spanning tour de force."[5] Jaan Uhelszki from Rolling Stone criticized the album as being "chilly, forced and overdone",[15] and claimed that the album "is just another forum to showcase Aguilera’s formidable bag of vocal gymnastics and posturing without a shred of sincerity or warmth".[15] The The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was not impressed toward Aguilera's vocal ability on the album, giving it a mixed review.[2]

Commercial performance

My Kind of Christmas debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of about 25,000.[16][17] It reached its peak at number 28.[18] It eventually peaked atop the Billboard Holiday Albums. Due to its chart success, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum,[3] having sold more than 1,015,000 copies in the country.[19] "The Christmas Song" became Aguilera's fifth top-twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 18 on the chart.[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Christmas Time"	Chaka Blackmon Steven Brown Ray Cham Alex Alessandroni Ron Fair	ChakDaddy Sol Survivor E. Dawk Fair	4:02
2.	"This Year"	Lauren Christy Graham Edwards Scott Spock Charlie Midnight Christina Aguilera	The Matrix Fair	4:13
3.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Ralph Blane Hugh Martin	Fair	4:03
4.	"Angels We Have Heard on High"	Traditional	ChakDaddy Sol Survivor E. Dawk Fair	4:09
5.	"Merry Christmas, Baby" (featuring Dr. John)	Lou Baxter Johnny Moore	Fair	5:43
6.	"Oh Holy Night"	Adolphe Adam	Fair	4:49
7.	"These Are the Special Times"	Diane Warren	Robbie Buchanan Fair	4:31
8.	"This Christmas"	Donny Hathaway Nadine McKinnor	Fair	4:02
9.	"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"	Mel Tormé Robert Wells	Fair	4:25
10.	"Xtina's Xmas (Interlude)"		"Bassy" Bob Brockmann	1:32
11.	"The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)"	Tormé Wells	Barry Harris Chris Cox Fair	4:01
Total length:				45:25

Personnel

• Lead vocals, background vocals – Christina Aguilera, E. Dawk, Dr. John, Kim Johnson, Miari
• Keyboard – Alex Alessandroni, BabyBoy, E. Dawk, The Matrix
• Trumpet – Wayne Bergeron
• Bass – Chuck Berghofer
• Saxophone – Pete Christlieb, Gene Cipriano, Dan Higgins, Sal Lozano
• Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta, Peter Erskine
• Violin – Mario de Leon, Joel Derouin, Assa Drori, Kirstin Fife, Armen Garabedian, Galina Golovin, Agnes Gottschewski, Endre Granat, Lily Ho-Chen, Tiffany Ju, Joe Ketendjian, Johana Krejci, Gary Kuo, Natalie Leggett, Kathleen Lenski, Alan Mautner, Francis Moore, Katia Popov, Barbara Porter
• Guitar – John Goux, Ashley Ingram
• Piano – Dr. John, Tom Ranier, Bob Sanov, Billy Preston
• Trumpet – Warren Luening
• Organ – Myron McKinley, Billy Preston
• Producers – Ron Fair, The Matrix
• Executive producer – Ron Fair
• Engineers – Brad Haehnel, The Matrix, Michael C. Ross, Sol Survivor
• Assistant engineers – Howard Karp, Chris Wonzer
• Mixing – Peter Mokran, Dave Pensado, Michael C. Ross
• Mastering – Eddy Schreyer
• Assistants – Chad Brown, Bobby Butler, Brian Dixon, Tony Flores, Paul Forgues, David Guerrero, Michael Huff, Ed Krautner, Charles Paakkari, Howard Risson, Chris Shepherd, Jason Stasium, Bradley Yost
• Digital editing – Tal Herzberg
• Vocal recording – Michael C. Ross
• Programming – ChakDaddy, The Matrix, Sol Survivor
• Arrangers – Ron Fair, The Matrix, Don Sebesky
• String arrangements – Ron Fair
• Vocal arrangement – ChakDaddy, Eric Dawkins, Ron Fair
• Orchestration – Don Sebesky
• Art direction – Brett Kilroe
• Design – Vivian Ng
• Photography – Norman Jean Roy

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2000) Peak position Japanese Albums Chart[20] 78 U.S. Billboard 200[18] 28 U.S. Billboard Holiday Albums[18] 1 Chart (2002) Peak position South African Albums (RISA)[21] 29 Chart (2006) Peak position UK Budget Albums Chart (OCC)[22] 21 Chart (2013) Peak position South Korean International Albums Chart[23] 37

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position U.S. Billboard 200[24] 130 U.S. Billboard Holiday Albums[25] 2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Africa (RISA)[21]	Gold	25,000^^
United States (RIAA)[3]	Platinum	1,015,000[19]
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen. "My Kind of Christmas by Christina Aguilera on AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
2. Dominguez 2003, p. 180
3. "American album certifications – Christina Aguilera – My Kind of Christmas". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
4. My Kind of Christmas (liner notes). Christina Aguilera. United States: RCA Records. 2000.CS1 maint: others (link)
5. Willman, Chris (December 4, 2000). "My Kind of Christmas Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
6. Capotorto, Alexandra (December 11, 2012). "Best Christmas Albums – Christina Aguilera, 'My Kind of Christmas'". PopCrush. Townsquare Media. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
7. Dominguez 2003, p. 175
8. Dominguez 2003, p. 90
9. Dominguez 2003, p. 181
10. "Christina Aguilera – My Kind Of Christmas". Discogs. Zink Media, Inc. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
11. "Christina Aguilera – Christmas Time – Releases". Discogs. Zink Media, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
12. "Christmas Time (Live) by Christina Aguilera on TIDAL". Tidal. Aspiro. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
13. "Christina Aguilera – Christmas Time (Live)". YouTube. Alphabet Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
14. "Videography". Christina Aguilera. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
15. "Shoddy and Nice Holiday Releases". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. December 13, 2000. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
17. "Snow Way!". NME. IPC Media. November 3, 2000. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
18. "Christina Aguilera Album and Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
19. Trust, Gary (September 1, 2014). "Ask Billboard: Taylor Swift Out-'Shake's Mariah Carey". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
20. "My Kind of Christmas" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
21. "Music Divas & Rock Bands Top South African Certifications". Music Industry News Network. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
22. "Chart Log UK: A – Azzido Da Bass". Zobbel Archive. Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
23. "GAON ALBUM CHART" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
24. "Christina Aguilera Chart history: Year End Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
25. Grein, Paul (December 27, 2013). "Chart Watch: Controversy Doesn't Hurt Robertsons' Album". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved January 27, 2014.

Further reading

• Dominguez, Pier (2003). Christina Aguilera – A Star Is Made: The Unauthorized Biography. Amber Communications Group, Inc. ISBN 978-0-9702224-5-9.

External links

• My Kind of Christmas at Discogs (list of releases)