Clay Aiken: Merry Christmas With Love

[shandrim]

The prior thread somehow disappeared into cyberspace, so GiggaWho said it was OK to start a new one.



Tracklist
1. O, Holy Night
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Silent Night
4. Hark The Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful
5. Have Yourself A Merry LIttle Christmas
6. Mary, Did You Know
7. Joy To The World
8. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
9. Don't Save It All For Christmas Day
10. Merry Christmas With Love
11. Sleigh Ride
12. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Billboard Records
-The Best Selling Debut-Week for a Christmas Album in SoundScan History! (270,010)
Prior record was 185,000, set by Garth Brooks in 1999. Soundscan history goes back to 1991.

-Highest debut (ranking) by a Christmas Album in the History of The Billboard 200 (MCWL at #4)
Tied with Celine Dion's "These are Special Times," which debuted at #4 in 1998.

Chart History (up to last week's charts):
The Billboard 200: Highest #4, 7 weeks on the chart
Top Holiday Albums: Highest #1 (6 wks), 19 weeks on the chart
Top Christian Albums: Highest #1 (6 wks), 8 weeks on the chart
Top Internet Albums: Highest #2, 6 weeks on the chart
Top Pop Catalog Albums: Highest #8, 17 weeks on the chart
Billboard Comprehensive Albums: Highest #4, 15 weeks on the chart

[shandrim]

Upcoming Christmas TV performances:

Nov. 24 (Friday) - Songs of Praise for Christmas, Direct TV Channel 103 (with continuous repeats through Dec. 31) [Silver Bells]
Nov. 26 (Sunday) - GMA Weekend [O Come, O Come Emmanuel]
Dec. 14 (Thursday) - Bravo, 9 PM EST
Dec. 15 (Friday) - Bravo, 12 AM EST
Dec. 17 (Sunday) - Bravo, 10:30 AM EST
Dec. 22 (Friday) - Megan Mullally [Silver Bells duet with Megan]
Dec. 22 (Friday) - Tyra Banks [Mary Did You Know]
Dec. 26 (Tuesday) - Days of Our Lives [O Holy Night, Everything I Have]

[johnm1120]

9. Don't Save It All For Christmas Day
10. Merry Christmas With Love

I LOVE THESE SONG!!!

[HellonUrth]

Finally MCWL was released here in Korea!!!!!

Sony/BMG Korea was very surprised that his ATDW did much better than they expected without any promotion and decided to release MCWL this year

The reviewer is Chang Min-kyung who did the review of ATDW.

I translated the review so please understand several weird expressions

Although we can't get All Is Well, but now we can get MCWL.

Christmas that you listen with your ears and feel with your heart

CLAY AIKEN - Merry Christmas With Love

One of the fastest way to have a success in pop market is winning the TV show 'American Idol'.Although the show is criticized and some say now the show is going downhill,big stars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood came out from the show.And the one artist from this show who has the most special status is the runner-up from season2, Clay Aiken.

Actually during the show, there is not so much gap in popularity between winner and runner-up. However, when they start their career as recording artists, few runner-ups had more success than winners. The only one who broke that precedent was Clay.

In October 2003, his debut album [Measure Of A Man] was sold 610K copies at his first week,having much more success than the winner of the same season Ruben Studdard. Being loved by fans of all ages, his album has been sold over 3 million copies. Not rushing his sophomore album, Clay Aiken decided to release seasonal album which can deliver the warmth of Christmas after doing tours to meet his fans.

The Christmas album was released in November 2004, debuted at #4 in Billboard Chart(which is unprecedentedly remarkable for Christmas album) a weeks and was sold over a million copies during 6 weeks. It was the best-selling Christmas album both in 2004 and 2005. In addition, [Joyful Noise Tour] which he started just after he released the album was sold out in almost every venues.

This album [Merry Christmas With Love] was produced by Phil Ramone who has won Grammy 9 times and Walter Afanasieff who is well-known for working with Mariah Carey. Phil Ramone who has had success in standard jazz and easy listening genre and Walter Afanasieff who already made Mariah Carey's [Merry Christmas] album a huge hit could make [Merry Christmas With Love] almost perfect Christmas album.

This album is full of Clay Aiken's warm voice. The album starts by 'O Holy Night' which is included in Christmas albums of every singer who can sing. Written in 1847,France, this song has been sung by great artists such as Mariah Carey and Celine Dion,etc. Although the arrangement of song is not so much different with other singers' version, his pure crystal voice gives a new flavor.

One of the classics 'winter wonderland' is also perfectly arranged for standard Clay Aiken style and gives heart-warming Christmas feeling. 'Silent Night' needs no further description. He has sung at the choir before and in this song you will feel like you are listening to the soloist in choir singing beautifully and piously.

Moreover, 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' and 'O Come All Ye Faithful' was compiled as a medley. As it was produced by Walter Afanasieff who has well-known for dramatic producing, it shows Clay's delicate vocal the best. And 'Have yourself a merry little Christmas', which has become another Christmas classic song since Judy Garland sang in the movie [Meet Me In St. Louis] in 1944, was arranged as standard jazz. In this song, Clay Aiken wishes happy Christmas for everyone in Clay Aiken's own style. Also, the most impressive track in the album 'Mary, did you know' is the song full of his charms. You can hear Clay's powerful voice which made millions of viewers become fans of him.

'Joy to the world' is arranged close to the original version which will be new to people who has been used to pop or r&b version of the song and 'The Christmas Song' first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946 is the song also delivers the pleasant Christmas atmosphere with Clay's soft voice.

And 'Dont save it all for christmas day' originally sung by Celine Dion in her album [These Are Special Times] is the song which fully shows Clay Aiken's special high notes and is very well-constructed song. It will make you be strucked with admiration. The album's title track 'Merry christmas with love' effectively uses chorus to emphasize Clay's voice and shows Clay's exceptional talent as a vocalist controlling the strength and weakness of the song and putting emotions into it.

'Sleigh Ride' cheerful song with Clay's jazzy voice and in the last track 'What are you doing new years eve' Clay's soft vocal with piano warms our heart.

What is great about [Merry Christmas With Love] is that it has universal charms that everyone(even those who are not Clay's fans) can enjoy. His voice gives comforts to people who is fed up with loud and sensual songs. That's why even people who are reluctant to listen to other American Idol contestants' music because of the title of the show can enjoy Clay's music and relate to it. Also Christmas spirit is very well-matched with his wholesome personality and charity works, which makes this album shine more.

Although the album came here 2 years later, it was worth to wait. His voice gives calm and comfort without using too many complicated tricks in vocals. I'm sure when you hear Clay Aiken's voice, you will feel like Christmas coming one step closer to you..

[maxwell]

MCWL is a fine CD. At first I did not care for Joy To The World but it is due to its placement on the CD. I made my own copy placing Joy in a different spot and it works for me. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve is growing on me and may be one of my favorite songs on that cd along with Mary Did You Know.

There are great reports about the new CD All Is Well. If All Is Well is exclusive and limited, looks like I may miss out on that one but may luck out and get a copy.

[shandrim]

mikers said:

Finally MCWL was released here in Korea!!!!!

Sony/BMG Korea was very surprised that his ATDW did much better than they expected without any promotion and decided to release MCWL this year

Wooo! I don't know what makes me happier, knowing that they're finally releasing MCWL in Korea or knowing they did so because ATDW sold well over there, even without promotion.

MCWL should do very well in Korea. I remember that last year one of the Korean Soaps used "Mary Did You Know" in the background for one scene, even though the album had never been released there. Someone there obviously likes Clay, because only a fan following him would have known about the song. Hopefully more people will get a chance to listen to Clay's Christmas music now, because honestly, no one sings Christmas music like Clay.

[doodlebug]

MCWL is one of my favorite Xmas CDs ever. I totally love so many songs on there in the versions and ways he did them.

I have loved the song MCWL since the first time I heard it and Clay is fantastic singing it. You can actually "see" the story of the song when he sings it --even before he did the tour last year of it. That song has a lot of personal meaning to me due to some really tough things going on in 2004 when it came out. It actually helped me get through that holiday season.

OHN is one of the most glorious versions I have ever heard. He doesn't get carried away with screaming it as so many do. He just sings it in all its glory and praise. His vocal range amazes me when he does songs like these.

MDYK is absolutely beautiful. One of the prettiest Xmas songs I have ever heard and it is so touching the way he sings it.

This whole CD was extraordinary and I have so enjoyed listening to it over and over. It doesn't even have to be Xmas season for me to listen and enjoy it. Friends laugh at my "year-round" Xmas music.

[giovannina]

I'm impressed with how well MCWL keeps selling each year around the holidays despite almost total lack of promo and not a lot of push from RCA for distribution. CDs that didn't sell anywhere near as many copies as MCWL in 2004 (e.g., Jessica Simpson's Christmas album and pretty much all the other holiday albums that debuted that year) seem to have been in much greater supply and more visibly placed in the big box stores in 2005 and now than MCWL is, even though MCWL was the best-selling single of 2004 and had the highest debut week sales since Celine Dion's Christmas album. I just don't understand RCA's lack of follow-through.

[giovannina]

These are comments (from another Clay thread) posted about a clip from Clay's "Joyful Noise Tour #2, last year. Instead of a regular concert, Clay decided to embed the songs -- many of them from his "Merry Christmas With Love" album -- within a series of vignettes that told a story about a lonely widow (played by Clay's former high-school chorus teacher, Allison Lawrence) at Christmas time and a neighbor boy who befriends her.

Some people found the clip silly and commented how silent the audience seemed to be for a "concert."
pulsemusic.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=news&action=display&thread=1163393317&page=11#1164606149

splitchick59 said:

i might be wierd, but i personally like to HEAR an artist when i'm going to see them live. it bugs me to no end when people scream (or worse, TALK) DURING songs. i didn't pay to hear that s**t.

anyway, the Christmas tour was pretty low key and not very energetic in general, and more "serious" (despite that video, lol). the audience is pretty active during his pop tours.

timmay said:

gayboykellycfan said:

timmay said:

What should the audience be doing?  I was at that particular concert and if I recall correctly, I was listening and watching the show.  Don't recall yelling or screaming just to made my presence known, sorry.  Visually, it was quite a good show.

It's a live concert. People go to have a good time, sing along, scream, laugh, or that's why I go. I don't go to sit and be silent. haha

I had a great time.  Sometimes it is just rude to scream and laugh loudly and for this particular concert experience that would have been the case.  The concert really showcased Clay's vocals and would have been unpleasant with the audience covering that up with their own yelling and screaming.

I was at one of the first showings of that concert and, frankly, I was very disappointed. Clay's singing and the rest of the music sounded excellent, though I thought the show needed more up-tempo numbers. I was introduced to the newer version of O Come, O Come, Emanuel and was disappointed with the new arrangement; unfortunately, it was Jacob Lutrell singing it, and though he did a good job, he's not Clay, but after I heard Clay sing it, I began to like the new version.
I thought the "play" had all the professionalism and excellence of a high-school or college musical. While it was enjoyable enough, I didn't think it was anywhere near worth the rather high price of admisssion (over $70 apiece for our balcony seats); it was the music I wanted, not one of those feel-good heart-cockle-warming mini-dramas.

And it wasn't like Clay's usual concerts, where he banters and jokes with the audience and teases them. In fact, his role was sort of like the narrator (an angel?), so he wasn't front and center during the first act and he hardly interacted with the audience at all. The dancing was done by the other characters in the skit. I missed the screams and boisterous laughter, but I realized that was the nature of the show. (There were some funny parts, and people did laugh then.)
The second half of JNT2 was a "Christmas Eve church service," where Clay did a lot of singing, but it definitely did not call for screams, laughter, or thundering applause.

It's silly to attribute the relatively subdued reaction of the audience to disappointement with the show -- even though some of us were less than thrilled with the "vignettes" concept.

[doodlebug]

I guess I looked at the whole thing different. I looked at it as a Christmas "show" or "program," not a "concert." There is a huge difference in the 2 concepts. I have seen other artists also do Christmas programs and they are NOT expected to be like concerts with screaming, hollering, laughing, and dancing. I just think it was a miscommunication in what Clay wanted to present and what the fans wanted or thought they would get. But after the JNT tour of 04, I can't imagine that anyone would have thought 05 would be a typical concert with lots of that type of thing. Oh well, that's what makes the world go around. Personally, I adored the JNT05 and wish I could have seen more than 1. I did sit in cellcerts most night and heard it live each time. I also downloaded the entire thing, and I have actually watched it several times. I totally love some of the songs that they did during the show and I guess I'm just a sap, but I liked the story too. I think those who could relate to the story maybe through personal life, having that empty nest, or having lost a partner in the past, and losing the Christmas spirit, took something totally different from the show than those who were looking for a typical Clay concert.

[giovannina]

Amazon temporary price reduction special on "Merry Christmas With Love"
www.amazon.com/Merry-Christmas-Love-Clay-Aiken/dp/B00062ZV2E/ref=pd_sim_m_2/102-1417892-0580143
$5.99 for MCWL
$13.71 for ATDW + MCWL

Amazon shifts their prices often, sometimes within a given day, but if you are interested in checking out MCWL, this is a great time to do it. Amazon offers free shipping on total orders of $25 or more, and they have lots of CDs to choose from (in case you don't need "multiple copies" of Clay's). ;)

[giovannina]

People will get to hear many songs from both "Merry Christmas With Love" and Clay's new EP "All Is Well" in his Christmas concert series this year.

Here's the announcement for tonight's concert in Waukegan, IL:

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/entertainment/155139,5_5_WA30_MAINAIKEN_S1.article

Christmas with Clay 'American Idol' idol to give holiday concert at Genesee Theatre

November 30, 2006
By DAN MORAN [e-mail]

WAUKEGAN -- A little more than three years ago, Clay Aiken was just another kid with a voice going up against Simon Cowell. Today, having achieved his professional dreams, he is yet another star being stalked by a media helicopter.

[We spoke with Clay on] the phone Wednesday morning from his home base in North Carolina ... .

Clay Aiken concert
Where: Genesee Theatre, Waukegan

When: 8 p.m. Dec. 1

Tickets: $53, $65 and $78

Details: Ticketmaster, [phone], www.ticketmaster.com

...

The "American Idol" star, who celebrates his 28th birthday today, is also learning to pace himself through life on the road. Friday night's appearance at the Genesee Theatre will be the first of 18 shows in 22 days, culminating Dec. 23 in Greensboro, N.C.

How will he pull off singing at the top of his register that often over that period of time? "Don't ask me how, because I've never done it before," he said. "When I did the first 'Idol' tour, we did, I think, 50 shows in about 60 days, so typically you do about five shows a week. This is six shows a week or more."

Adding to the challenge, Aiken said, will be performing at each stop with a local symphony. At the Genesee, he will be working with the FullScore Chamber Orchestra.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm going to tell on myself here, but we won't be doing any rehearsing ahead of time," he said. "We do have the same conductor who travels with us, but we're going to fly by the seat of our pants. (We'll) cross our fingers and hope it goes well."

Aiken then joked that "people will hear that and be like, 'Oh, I can't wait to see that train wreck.'" But he added that he will have the advantage of working with familiar material, having spent the last three Christmas seasons conducting some type of holiday tour.

"The first year, December of '03, I spent quite a bit of time leading into Christmas doing 'jingle jams' and (promotions) for radio stations. That did not feel like Christmas at all," he said. "But the last two years (with the Joyful Noise tours) and with a tour like this, people are in the Christmas spirit and we're doing all Christmas music, so it's kind of exciting.

"What I'm really excited about is that usually you just tour with a band; this is a full orchestra, and we're really going to focus on just the music," he said, adding that he has a tough time nailing down a favorite holiday song. "It's tough because every year it becomes something different. This year, I like 'Merry Christmas With Love' and 'Don't Save It All for Christmas,' which I close the show with. And then 'Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel' is probably my favorite standard."

LOL Well, the version of OCOCE that Clay does isn't exactly what I'd call a "standard," since the text is modified and sung to new music by Stephen Curtis Chapman, but it really is impressive. (It's on the AIW CD.)
And, fortunately, Clay doesn't have to sing everything "at the top of his register," because several of his Christmas songs feature his magnificent lower, baritone range.

[shandrim]

The full MCWL album is up for streaming on AOL's Holiday Music Full CD Listening Party. MCWL is not among the 5 CDs shown in the first page, but if you click on the arrow you can scroll to the side and see it. It's CD #14 of 19.

[giovannina]

Thanks, Shandrim!
I already have the album but I'll pass that link on to some others who may not have heard it yet.

[giovannina]

Also, you can hear Clay singing several songs - The First Noel, The Christmas Waltz, Merry Christmas With Love, The Christmas Waltz, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, etc. here.  This is from his Christmas concert appearance on 12-2-06.

[giovannina]

Clay has three (count 'em), three different albums on the Billboard charts this week.
Pretty good, considering how little promo there has been, especially for his Christmas albums, and the fact that RCA hasn't exactly been pushing his CDs on the supply and distribution side.

www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentalbum.jsp
Week Ending 12-19-06

TW Rk LW Rk 2Wks Rk Wks On Album, Artist Label, Cat. # List $ Peak

Billboard Top 200:
135[/b]  155 147 11  A Thousand Different Ways, Clay Aiken   RCA 78846 | RMG | 18.98  2

Top Comprehensive Album:
54  NEW  1  All Is Well: Songs For Christmas (EP) (Wal*Mart Exclusive), Clay Aiken  RCA 02699 | RMG | 6.98  54

Top Comprehensive Album:
95  139 144 18  Merry Christmas With Love, Clay Aiken   RCA 62622 | RMG | 18.98  4

Top Internet Album:
15  NEW  1  All Is Well: Songs For Christmas (EP) (Wal*Mart Exclusive), Clay Aiken  RCA 02699 | RMG | 6.98

Top Holiday Albums:
28  30 26 22  Merry Christmas With Love, Clay Aiken   RCA 62622 | RMG | 18.98  1

Top Pop Catalog:
29  23 30 19  Merry Christmas With Love, Clay Aiken   RCA 62622 | RMG | 18.98  8

[giovannina]

This is a review of a recent Clay concert, which included the 4 songs from Clay's new EP "All Is Well" and more than that from his 2004 full album "Merry Christmas With Love."

content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=115697&ran=112426

Concert review: Clay goes a-carolin' at the Scope
By MALCOLM VENABLE, The Virginian-Pilot © December 8, 2006

NORFOLK — Clay Aiken is a phenomenon.

He lost on “American Idol,” but his debut “Measure of a Man,” sold 3 million copies. He has appeared on TV with Oprah Winfrey, Barry Manilow and a digitally revived Bing Crosby in “A Clay Aiken Christmas.”

He is a force. He is a movement, one led by a tribe dubbed “Claymates” ... [who] came to see Clay ... Thursday night at Norfolk’s Scope.

Prior to Clay’s performance, the Ed Walters Orchestra warmed the crowd ... . Christmas trees and illuminated drums adorned the stage. Violinists, bassists and a harpist set the scene, a scene beautiful enough to forget the ugliness Clay has endured lately.
...

... Clay [is] a phenomenon.

Judging from the audience at Scope, Clay’s fans ... like Clay for who he is: a tender, sugary and sassy performer with timeless charisma.

... He sang “The First Noel” with control and verve, and later “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Clay’s renditions were superbly done – potentially flawless – yet it’s enough to cause sudden pangs of numbing boredom.

But here’s why Clay is savvy: he knows this. He had the confidence of a minister. He wooed the shrieking women and cracked jokes, some at his own expense. He asked men if their wives dragged them there. He said the Enquirer would soon have a story about his love child.

“I am the sultan of scandal,” he said. “This business about putting hands over people’s mouths – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Sometimes people need scandal.”

Clay, a North Carolina native and former schoolteacher with a philanthropic bent, walked into the crowd. He danced with his mother, and gave a shout-out to his brother and other relatives in attendance. He called his audience his family. He called someone rude for using a cell phone.

“It took me 20 minutes to squeeze into this sweater, and you’re on the phone.”

He noted that Thursday was Pearl Harbor Day ... .

This is why Clay Aiken is a phenomenon. He gives his audience ... warm, cherry-pie carols appropriate for hanging stockings and trimming the tree. The world... could flood again or burn to ashes, but Clay would always be there as a reminder that some things never change and good always prevails.

Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with that.

[giovannina]

Christmas CDs aren't ringing up any record sales

NY Daily News, Dec 12 2006, Jim Farber

... which star racked up the most [sales]? It depends on how you measure it.

By pure SoundScan standards, the biggest gift-getter would be Sarah McLachlan, whose "Wintersong" has moved 346,285 copies so far ... .

But another holiday album claims to have the last ho-ho-ho. George Strait's "Fresh Cut Christmas" allegedly moved 1 million copies in just one week in November, according to the company that released it: Hallmark.

There's no independent way to verify this, but it makes sense Strait's CD would be the champ given its marketing coup. Hallmark gives the thing away for $7.95 when you snap up a few of its cards.

Hallmark moved ca. 1 million copies James Taylor's Christmas album in 2004 the same way (with a price of $6 or $7).

Regardless, overall sales of this year's stocking stuffers haven't proved as fat as those of the past. Last year, top holiday disk honors went to Il Divo's "The Christmas Collection" (with over 620,000 sales) and Diana Krall's "Christmas Songs," which topped 556,000.

Even those numbers pale against 2004's top red-and-green-season serenade: Clay Aiken's "Merry Christmas With Love" at over 1.2 million.

However meager this year's sales look by comparison, a few stars out there are making cash registers jingle, including the "Now That's What I Call Christmas" compilation, to the tune of 291,961 CDs sold, James Taylor's "Christmas Album," at 191,789, Bette Midler's "Cool Yule" with 91,171, and Celtic Woman's "Christmas Celebration," at 119,507, so far.

I believe I read that MCWL had sold around 100,000 copies this year too.

[audiogarden]

Ken Barnes of USA Today's Idol Chatter blog says that MCWL sold 22,000 last week, for a total of 1.3 million.

The Hallmark numbers are a bit funky.

Hallmark bought 1 million copies of JT's and George Strait's Christmas CDs.

That means they are each certified platinum, having shipped a million units.

Who knows how long it takes Hallmark to sell those CDs, because they don't seem to report such things.

[giovannina]

Thanks for the update, audiogarden.

Some Chart stats for MCWL:

MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH LOVE
Billboard 200 Albums

www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/char...e+Billboard+200

Nielsen/Soundscan
Merry Christmas With Love/ Clay Aiken

Week Ending . . . . . .Units Sold . . . . . . . Cumulative . . . % Change
11-25-06 . . . . . . . . 6,543 - 6,623 . . . >1,200,000
...
12-23-16 . . . . . . . . . . 22,000 . . . . . . >1,300,000

Billboard Top Internet Albums
Chart Date TW Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On

Billboard Top Digital Albums
Chart Date TW Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On

Billboard Comprehensive Albums
www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/char...e+Billboard+200

Chart Date TW Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On
11-25-06 . . . ??? . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . . (15)*
12-02-06 . . . 144 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . (16)*
12-09-06 . . . 139 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . (17)*
12-16-06 . . . . 95 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . .(18)*
12-23-06 . . . .? ? . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . (19)*

Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart

Chart Date Rank Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On
11-25-06 . . . . 25 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 1 (19)*
12-02-06 . . . . 26 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 2 (20)*
12-09-06 . . . . 30 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 3 (21)*
12-16-06 . . . . 28 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 (22)*
12-23-06 . . . . 25?. . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 5 (23)*


Top Pop Catalog Albums
Chart Date . . TW . . Artist Name - Album Title / Label . . . . . Peak . . . Wks On


*Holiday Albums Chart just re-opened for 2006 this week. Numbers in parentheses are apparently total weeks, over all years since release.

[doodlebug]

Well since the other thread is locked I'll just put it here -- Clay was ill tonight in NY -- he has vertigo and clung to the stool most of the night to keep from falling off. His cousin had to walk him off stage at the end and back on for the encore and back off again. But he totally nailed every song, including the ungodly notes on DSIAFCD and AIW. What a performer to see the show goes on, instead of cancelling as so many do.

[giovannina]

Thanks for the info, doodlebug.
Actually, stuff about Clay's Christmas concerts probably belongs here more than in the ATDW thread anyway. :)

[giovannina]

I'm posting this in the MCWL thread because in Clay's Christmas concerts he sings more songs from that album than from any other album he's recorded.

Clay Bells Ring, Are You Listening?

Excerpts:

Clay bells ring, are you listening?
Clay Aiken's Christmas show comes to West Point
By Mary Esparra
For the Times Herald-Record, December 15, 2006

OK, his favorite Christmas songs are "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day," "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel," and "Merry Christmas With Love," a song dating back to his ninth-grade choir days. He's not sure what tinsel is, prefers a fake Christmas tree to a real one and turkey to ham for Christmas dinner.

Now that Clay Aiken's "Claymates" know some new juicy tidbits on their (American) idol, why would the rest of the music-loving public want to see his Christmas concert at Eisenhower Hall today?
...
...

Though "Idol" diehards may remember the slings he deflected from Simon Cowell while performing on "Idol" all those years ago, his popularity with the public has never faltered. They continue to swoon at his mesmerizing and unpretentious voice.
His album, "Measure of a Man," went multiplatinum. Concerts sell out fast. ...

...
...
As his bio states,"...
Ultimately, it is an almost inexplicable reaction between a singer and his or her audience that creates a superstar career, sparking the kind of fanatic devotion that propels a performer into the pop stratosphere."

There are few singers in the world today earning such praise. His fans have said his voice fills something inside them, there's just something about the tone and quality. It's raw yet inviting, addictive yet healing.

Aiken will bring that "something" to West Point tonight when he performs with the 50-piece Chelsea Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ankush Bahl. He'll sing songs from his 2004 album, "Merry Christmas With Love," the top-selling holiday album of that year. He'll also sing songs from his limited-edition release "All Is Well," which came out Nov. 28.

...

Hopefully that won't affect fans' chance to hear "that note" in "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day." On the CD, he holds a note perfectly for what seems like minutes. In actuality, it's precisely 22 seconds.

"You've been timing me?" he asks, laughing. "Twenty-two seconds. Now I'm going to have pressure to see if I can do 23."
...
...

...
Mary Esparra is a freelance writer living in Orange County.
Visit: ikehalltix.com

...

[shandrim]

shandrim said:

Upcoming Christmas TV performances:

Nov. 24 (Friday) - Songs of Praise for Christmas, Direct TV Channel 103 (with continuous repeats through Dec. 31) [Silver Bells]
Nov. 26 (Sunday) - GMA Weekend [O Come, O Come Emmanuel]
Dec. 14 (Thursday) - Bravo, 9 PM EST
Dec. 15 (Friday) - Bravo, 12 AM EST
Dec. 17 (Sunday) - Bravo, 10:30 AM EST
Dec. 22 (Friday) - Megan Mullally [Silver Bells duet with Megan]
Dec. 22 (Friday) - Tyra Banks [Mary Did You Know]
Dec. 26 (Tuesday) - Days of Our Lives [O Holy Night, Everything I Have]

Just a correction for the Tyra Banks performance. That one has been moved up for tomorrow, Dec. 18.

Dec. 18 (Monday) - Tyra Banks
Dec. 22 (Friday) - Megan Mullally [Silver Bells duet with Megan]
Dec. 26 (Tuesday) - Days of Our Lives [O Holy Night, Everything I Have]

[giovannina]

The "Mary, Did You Know" performance on Tyra today has still not aired in some locations.
This was taped back in October, when Clay had a bit of a cold or bronchtis. You can hear that on the "glory note" in the bridge, but overall, he sounded really good.

[giovannina]

Updated Chart stats for MCWL:

MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH LOVE
Billboard 200 Albums

www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/char...e+Billboard+200

Nielsen/Soundscan
Merry Christmas With Love/ Clay Aiken

Week Ending . . . . . .Units Sold . . . . . . . Cumulative . . . % Change
11-25-06 . . . . . . . . 6,543 - 6,623 . . . >1,200,000
...
11-16-06 . . . . . . . . ___________ . . . 1,247,579
12-23-16 . . . . . . . . . . 22,321 . . . . . . 1,269,900
12-30-06 . . . . . . . . . . 22,398 . . . . . . 1,292,298
01-07-07 . . . . . . . . . . 21,000 . . . . . . 1,313,000


Billboard Top Internet Albums
Chart Date TW Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On

Billboard Top Digital Albums
Chart Date TW Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On

Billboard Comprehensive Albums
www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/char...e+Billboard+200

Chart Date TW Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On
11-25-06 . . . ? ? . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . (15)*
12-02-06 . . . 144 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . (16)*
12-09-06 . . . 139 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . (17)*
12-16-06 . . . . 95 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . .(18)*
12-23-06 . . . .? ? . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 . . . . . .(19)*

Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart

Chart Date Rank Artist Name - Album Title / Label Peak Wks On
11-25-06 . . . . 25 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 1 (19)*
12-02-06 . . . . 26 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 2 (20)*
12-09-06 . . . . 30 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 3 (21)*
12-16-06 . . . . 28 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 4 (22)*
12-23-06 . . . . 25?. . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 5 (23)*
12-30-06 . . . . ? ?. . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 6 (24)*
01-07-07 . . . . 33 . . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 7 (25)*

*Holiday Albums Chart just re-opened for 2006 this week. Numbers in parentheses are apparently total weeks, over all years since release.

Top Pop Catalog Albums
Chart Date . . TW . . . . . . Artist Name - Album Title / Label . . . . . . . Peak . . . Wks On
11-25-06 . . . . ??. . . Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(17)*
12-02-06 . . . . ?? . . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(18)
12-09-06 . . . . 29 . . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(19)
12-16-06 . . . . 20 . . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(20)
12-23-06 . . . . 18 . . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(21)
12-30-06 . . . . 19 . . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(22)
01-07-07 . . . . 21 . . .Clay Aiken - Merry Christmas With Love/RCA . . . 8 . . . . . .(23)

[doodlebug]

Wow, pretty cool for a CD that came out in '04 and has not really advertised or billed anywhere for the last 2 holiday seasons ('05 and '06). Hopefully it will just continue to grow and be around for years to come.

[shannonk68]

how do you already have the numbers for 12/30/06 and 1/7/07?

His numbers are really good but I'm not surprised Clay does Christmas music really well... Mary Did you Know is probably one of my all time favorite songs...

[giovannina]

My sources, when I don't see the Holiday or Pop Catalog charts posted in the Billboard/SoundScan threads here, are usually Ken Barnes (Idol Chatter) or Donna Reynolds (Idol Chartwatch) or both. Ken and Donna round off their sales figures (hence the italics).
I think MCWL has sold remarkably well in both 2005 and 2006, considering there's hardly been one iota of promo for it either year and it has not been heavily stocked in the retail stores. I mean, I've checked a number of retailers and never found more than a handful of copies (generally about 4 to 6) of MCWL on the racks, while there are often 2 or 3 times that many copies of some other older albums (e.g., Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mariah Carey) on display and (not surprisingly) 3 or 4 times that many copies of new ly released albums (e.g., James Taylor, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley) on the end racks and in the holiday releases sections.
This album was the top-selling Holiday album in 2004 and sold 1.1 million (out of a shipment of 1.2 million) in 6 weeks. It was the top-selling Christian album of 2005, without promo. And while several of its cuts made the AC top 40 in 2004 and a few of them still get occasional airplay, RCA never really seemed to back any single from the album for radio play. I can't help believing it could easily be double platinum by now if in 2005 and 2006 it had been promoted as "The Top-Selling Christmas CD of 2004" and there had been label support for at least one single.
(My pick for radio single would be either the title cut -- because Clay could "own" that song, since it was virtually unheard till he recorded it -- or "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" -- because it hasn't been released by a slew of people and there isn't one version that's accepted as the definitive one (and because Clay does it beautifully, without "glory noting.") But I also love his rendition of "Joy To The World," because it is very upbeat and, well, joyous (not to mention really showing off his voice).

[johnm1120]

Any 07 sales data?