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 and Mi Reflejo. 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 received generally mixed to negative reviews from music critics, who criticized its musical style, as well as Aguilera's vocal delivery. The album peaked at number 28 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, 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. My Kind of Christmas was recorded from late-1999 to mid-2000, when Aguilera was touring to support her two debut recordings. Originally, Aguilera's idol Etta James was planned to be included as a featured performer on the track "Merry Christmas, Baby". However the idea was later canceled, and Dr. John was chosen as her replacement afterwards. It is a Christmas and dance-pop album, which contains mainly cover versions of Christmas standards and several new tracks, including "Christmas Time", "This Year" and "Xtina's Xmas". "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 the two "painful" tracks. "Christmas Time" and "This Year" are the two "hip hop influenced" pop tracks. "The Christmas Song " was remade as a dance-styled number, which is set to "a kicking dance beat". "The Christmas Song " released as a single in late-1999 was included in the album.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 and Mi Reflejo. It was released as two formats: CD and cassette. 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. 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. 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". There, she performed the track with Brian McKnight. The concert was filmed and released as a DVD entitled My Reflection.Critical reception
The album garnered mixed to negative reviews from music critics, some of them criticized her vocals. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "none of the new songs are knockouts" but "it does suggest that she may not be a mere one-album wonder". 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". Jaan Uhelszki from Rolling Stone criticized the album as being "chilly, forced and overdone", while The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was not impressed toward Aguilera's vocal ability on the album, giving it a mixed review.My Kind of Christmas debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, and later climbed to number 28, its peak. It eventually peaked atop the Billboard Holiday Albums. Due to its chart success, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album platinum, having sold more than 1,015,000 copies in the country. "The Christmas Song" became Aguilera's fifth top-twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 18 on the chart.
Track listing
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 | Peak position |
| South African Albums | 29 |
| Chart | Peak position |
| South Korean International Albums Chart | 37 |