Ling-Ling
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Post by Ling-Ling on Oct 6, 2017 6:56:50 GMT -5
This sounds like a really classy effort. I was hoping for a little more edge to make it more interesting though. And I wish she'd stay the hell away from Ron Fair. Considering that she rarely sticks to the same producer for every album, I think its a good thing she's found someone who encourages her creativity Ron Fair is a hack for the most part and produced what is easily her worst album. He basically sucked everything interesting right out of her and layers the polish on way too thick. Harmony did a much better job on SEOY IMO. And especially Malay and KP on BTM (she should have done an entire album with them). I'm okay with a classy Christmas album, but I do not need Fantasia sounding lifeless and bored on her proper studio albums.
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damita34
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Post by damita34 on Oct 6, 2017 7:01:23 GMT -5
Really enjoyed this and the holiday feeling in this (even though I'm Jewish lol), Fantasia delivers!!
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Caviar
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Post by Caviar on Oct 6, 2017 8:21:26 GMT -5
Fantasia knocks it out once again. She sounds fantastic on this new record.
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Jay D83
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Post by Jay D83 on Oct 6, 2017 8:26:22 GMT -5
I can't wait to listen to this next month right after Thanksgiving. Like a poster said up thread, I'm not listening to a Christmas album in October.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Oct 6, 2017 12:29:13 GMT -5
She's sounds detectible (duh). But I wish the song selection had been slightly more interesting. Does the world need ANOTHER version of Baby It's Cold Outside or The Christmas song?
There are some highlights here (Merry Christmas Baby, Hallelujah)...I was expecting What Are You Doing Christmas Eve to be one of them, but her take falls short for me.
Would have loved an original Christmas song or too. Or even if she'd given one of Kelly's originals ago (she would have killed Every Christmas for instance).
I'll echo the others, it's classy and warm. Just hampered a little bit on the curation side.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2017 13:39:59 GMT -5
This is the type of music I’ve been waiting over a decade for from her. I would have liked at least one original song, but these are good renditions.
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Post by kidrockthemic on Oct 6, 2017 14:16:12 GMT -5
I love this! It's a holiday album, but it's better than her last mainstream release imo. All I need is a primetime Christmas special on somebody's network. Wishful thinking tho....
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Post by Heart Shaped Box on Oct 6, 2017 15:39:39 GMT -5
This was a nice, safe Christmas album. I was surprised she went so safe since she’s always rather off kilter.
But I guess that means her strong vocal moments stand out.
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SHOOTER
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Post by SHOOTER on Oct 7, 2017 5:56:27 GMT -5
#73 on iTunes. Feels like there’s been no promo for this outside of her Instagram.
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pnobelysk
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Post by pnobelysk on Oct 7, 2017 11:40:04 GMT -5
#73 on iTunes. Feels like there’s been no promo for this outside of her Instagram. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to promote Christmas albums in the second week of October unless you’re Mariah Carey and the queen of Christmas. If promo doesn’t pick up after Halloween, that would be a problem
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Hashtag Pow
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Post by Hashtag Pow on Oct 11, 2017 23:48:41 GMT -5
Easily her best vocals on an album to date. She sounded amazing throughout. Stunning album. I'll definitely play it through the holiday season.
However, I am shocked/disappointed by the song choices. I was hoping for this to be a little more R&B/Soul-leaning choices and renditions. She would've killed "The Day That Love Began" and "Someday At Christmas." This sounds like some shit I'll hear while i'm shopping at Macy's on a playlist with Michael Buble, and 23423677 versions of "All I Want For Christmas Is You." I was also hoping for a super dramatic Temptation-style version of "Silent Night." Hell, she even would have slayed a soulful take on "Last Christmas."
Nonetheless, even though she chose to the Becky route with this album, I still love it. And while as a fan of hers, I prefer her to stick to the R&B, I can respect her recent efforts for exploring different styles. She really can sing ANYTHING.
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SHOOTER
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Post by SHOOTER on Oct 12, 2017 2:49:01 GMT -5
Target’s carrying it with 2 bonus tracks.
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QAF
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Post by QAF on Oct 12, 2017 8:44:21 GMT -5
I'm going to have to check this out.
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Caviar
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Post by Caviar on Oct 12, 2017 17:30:49 GMT -5
Easily her best vocals on an album to date. She sounded amazing throughout. Stunning album. I'll definitely play it through the holiday season. However, I am shocked/disappointed by the song choices. I was hoping for this to be a little more R&B/Soul-leaning choices and renditions. She would've killed "The Day That Love Began" and "Someday At Christmas." This sounds like some s**t I'll hear while i'm shopping at Macy's on a playlist with Michael Buble, and 23423677 versions of "All I Want For Christmas Is You." I was also hoping for a super dramatic Temptation-style version of "Silent Night." Hell, she even would have slayed a soulful take on "Last Christmas." Nonetheless, even though she chose to the Becky route with this album, I still love it. And while as a fan of hers, I prefer her to stick to the R&B, I can respect her recent efforts for exploring different styles. She really can sing ANYTHING. I agree with you on some points but I think Ron Fair's Fantasia's decision to scale back the vocal acrobatics and wailing was to try to get her on those Macy's playlist alongside those artists you've mentioned. I also prefer "pop" Christmas albums versus the soul ones, probably because I grew up listening to Babyface, Boys II Men, and Mariah's albums. This album along with Katharine's jazz album will easily be my winter staples.
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Troublemaker
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Post by Troublemaker on Oct 12, 2017 20:29:42 GMT -5
I don’t know I guess it’s me being petty but does anyone know why when you type Fantasia on iTunes/Apple Music it produces 2 results, one with her old catalogue and one with the Christmas album?
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Post by Heart Shaped Box on Oct 12, 2017 23:36:50 GMT -5
Easily her best vocals on an album to date. She sounded amazing throughout. Stunning album. I'll definitely play it through the holiday season. However, I am shocked/disappointed by the song choices. I was hoping for this to be a little more R&B/Soul-leaning choices and renditions. She would've killed "The Day That Love Began" and "Someday At Christmas." This sounds like some s**t I'll hear while i'm shopping at Macy's on a playlist with Michael Buble, and 23423677 versions of "All I Want For Christmas Is You." I was also hoping for a super dramatic Temptation-style version of "Silent Night." Hell, she even would have slayed a soulful take on "Last Christmas." Nonetheless, even though she chose to the Becky route with this album, I still love it. And while as a fan of hers, I prefer her to stick to the R&B, I can respect her recent efforts for exploring different styles. She really can sing ANYTHING. I agree with you on some points but I think Ron Fair's Fantasia's decision to scale back the vocal acrobatics and wailing was to try to get her on those Macy's playlist alongside those artists you've mentioned. I also prefer "pop" Christmas albums versus the soul ones, probably because I grew up listening to Babyface, Boys II Men, and Mariah's albums. This album along with Katharine's jazz album will easily be my winter staples. Katherine’s has some beautiful songs on hers. I think of Tamar’s Xmas album, and how she went the hell AWF on those vocals. It’s such a treat because it’s what you expect. Artists have the opportunity to document what they do best, and i was surprised, and yeah I guess a little let down, that we weren’t taken to church on this. EVERYONE releases Xmas albums these days, and hers is kinda forgettable when you think about what potential was lying there.
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stunnedout
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Post by stunnedout on Oct 13, 2017 3:40:31 GMT -5
It’s weird that such a soulful artist would make such an album without any soul. I was hoping for something more authentic and real. This album sounds like an attempt to make safe And very sanitized album to try and appeal to the old American Idol audience. Fantasia is best when she is able to give u the rawness.
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Dreams
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Post by Dreams on Oct 13, 2017 6:39:09 GMT -5
Aside from stunnedout, who hates and is angry with everything and anything, I don't get the complaints? Maybe Fantasia's not going off like she does on her live performances, which you best believe she will when she tours this next month, but she's still sanging out. She's serving VOCALS when needed (unlike Tamar who's screaming all over the place - listen to "Away In A Manger" and "Silent Night" from her Christmas album). Plus, the production is lean and sophisticated (unlike, again, Tamar's). What else could one want from an album of this type of music?
This sounds like a killer Christmas album that has all the makings to be a classic years from now. It sounds like it was made with heart by Fantasia and not for a quick buck like lots of artists do with holiday albums every year.
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stunnedout
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Post by stunnedout on Oct 13, 2017 13:20:54 GMT -5
Aside from stunnedout, who hates and is angry with everything and anything, I don't get the complaints?
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nazhene
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Post by nazhene on Oct 17, 2017 0:24:46 GMT -5
What is the 1st week sales of this?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2017 1:06:58 GMT -5
I had to give this an oblig early listen because I'm putting together my Christmas rankdowns and wanted to see where Fantasia could fit in. I have to agree with the overall assessment - she sounds fantastic, but the cover choices are so, so safe. I'm most disappointed in the lack of an original song; it has been over two decades since anyone has given us an r&b Xmas staple, and if any singer was capable of breaking that drought of new holiday soul it was Fantasia. Because she sounds so flawless, I cannot help but think of the missed opportunities. She definitely could have pushed her boundaries some while still providing a few Becky Christmas staples on the side for the mall playlists. I don't necessarily want to call it a complaint because it can't be said enough how flawless she sounds; I'll certainly be adding this to my personal playlists. Unfortunately I already have the classics pretty much covered in my rankdown so I'll have to settle for her and Kelly's rendition of Jesus What a Wonderful Child there. What is the 1st week sales of this? I don't know, but it didn't chart inside the top 200. I think it usually takes about 1500 to 2000 to chart.
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SHOOTER
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Post by SHOOTER on Oct 17, 2017 1:34:11 GMT -5
What is the 1st week sales of this? 1,800.
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Dreams
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Post by Dreams on Oct 17, 2017 4:56:25 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "The Snow Is Falling" an original?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2017 5:04:36 GMT -5
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "The Snow Is Falling" an original?
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Caviar
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Post by Caviar on Oct 17, 2017 7:01:03 GMT -5
What is the 1st week sales of this? 1,800. Hopefully it can go top 40 once the Christmas season kicks in.
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stunnedout
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Post by stunnedout on Oct 17, 2017 11:37:31 GMT -5
She needs to do a bundle giveaway with her tour tickets.
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Post by anitabakerfan on Oct 21, 2017 1:24:03 GMT -5
Great project...Love her cover of Hallejuah
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Dreams
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Post by Dreams on Nov 4, 2017 11:49:07 GMT -5
So, I've had the chance to check out the whole album and it's really good. A very enjoyable listen (almost) from beginning to end. Fantasia was born to sing Christmas music. My only issue, like I said on the previous page, is that the album is in dire need of uptempos. It became even more evident to me once I heard it in full; I mean from "Silent Night" (track #8) through "Hallelujah" (track #12) it's like you're listening to one long, slow jazz song. Even her take on "Give Love On Christmas Day" is slowed down. At least one uptempo was needed in between. It's one of the reasons Mariah's first Christmas album is so perfect - it's sequenced like uptempo-ballad-uptempo-ballad-uptempo-ballad and so on. Also, at least one original Christmas song would've been nice to have. The only tracks I deleted were "Merry Christmas Baby" (I can't stand that song no matter who sings it!), "Silent Night" (not fond of Fanny's version), "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside". Her rendition of "Have Yourself..." is outstanding and one of the best I've ever heard of that song.
All in all, B+
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Zinc.
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Post by Zinc. on Nov 12, 2017 13:36:19 GMT -5
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msstrictly
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Post by msstrictly on Nov 27, 2017 10:31:10 GMT -5
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