Wikipedia

A Mary Christmas

Not to be confused with A Mary Mary Christmas.

A Mary Christmas is the eleventh studio album and first Christmas album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was released on October 15, 2013, by Matriarch, Interscope and Verve Records. The album was primarily produced by David Foster, and features guest appearances from Barbra Streisand, Chris Botti, Jessie J, The Clark Sisters, and Marc Anthony.

A Mary Christmas
Studio album by
Mary J. Blige
ReleasedOctober 15, 2013 (2013-10-15)
Length45:53
Label
ProducerDavid Foster
Mary J. Blige chronology
My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)
(2011) 		A Mary Christmas
(2013) 		Think Like a Man Too
(2014)

The album peaked at number ten on the US Billboard 200, becoming her twelfth top-ten entry on the chart. It also peaked at number five on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It marked Blige's fifteenth top-ten entry on the latter chart, tying her with Snoop Dogg for second-most top ten entries in the Nielsen SoundScan era.[1] Upon its release, A Mary Christmas received generally mixed reviews amongst critics. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 4, 2013, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies.

In October 2023, Blige released a deluxe version of the album, titled A Mary Christmas: Anniversary Edition, which saw four additional tracks.[2][3]

Background edit

It was confirmed in June 2013 that Blige had been working on a Christmas album, in an interview with Charleston Scene.[4] In that interview, Blige revealed featured artists to be on the record would be Jessie J, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Barbra Streisand, with whom she duets a "jazzy version" of "When You Wish Upon a Star."

This album is the first collaboration between legendary producer and hit-maker David Foster and Blige. The album will also be released on The Verve Music Group, in which Foster is the chairman of. Foster is also the producer of multi-platinum Christmas albums by Michael Bublé, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Celine Dion.[5] Chris Walden wrote two arrangements for the album.[6]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic49/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
The Guardian     [9]
The Independent    [10]
Los Angeles Times    [11]
Slant Magazine     [12]

A Mary Christmas received generally mixed or average reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 49, based on five reviews.[7] Andy Kellman of AllMusic rated A Mary Christmas three out of five stars. He felt that the album "won't likely reach the high status of, say, Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas, but it's a full-effort holiday release that many of her fans should be able to enjoy for several years."[8] In his review for Renowned for Sound, Josh Dixon remarked that with A Mary Christmas "Blige has provided listeners with something unique and thoroughly pleasant. This album will undoubtedly remove any notions of stress you may feel about the holidays, and for that reason, along with its stunning instrumentation and impressive vocal range, it deserves to be recognized as a thoughtful and well-crafted holiday album."[13]

Tim Jonze from The Guardian gave the album two stars, saying that it seemed very similar to a formula used by The X Factor contestants of putting out Christmas albums. He applauded Blige's vocals, but specifically criticized her cover of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," calling it "unlistenable."[14] Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine gave the album two and a half out of five stars, criticizing the album for not taking any risks, along with the kid-friendly songs included on the album.[15] Randy Lewis of The Los Angeles Times gave the album two stars, criticizing the album's overproduction, stating the production made the songs very overwhelming.[16] Andy Gill from The Independent felt that "one hardly looks to Mary J Blige for restraint, but here the combination with David Foster's orchestrations adds an extra layer of icing to an already sickly cake. Even when things start out sensitively, as with the twinkling celesta of "My Favourite Things," they inevitably end up in a welter of soupy strings, with Blige seeking to import surplus emotion where none is required. Barbra Streisand, on "When You Wish Upon a Star," is the best of her several duetters."[10]

Commercial performance edit

A Mary Christmas debuted at number 23 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with first week sales of 12,000 copies. After four weeks of fluctuating on the chart, A Mary Christmas entered the top 20 for the first time in its sixth week, rising from number 22 to number 13 with a 110% sales increase to 31,000 copies.[17] In its seventh week, the album experienced an 82% increase to 57,000 copies sold, despite falling two positions to number 15.[18] In its eight-week, the album rose to number 10 despite a 10% drop to 51,000 copies, giving Blige her 12th top ten album.[19] A Mary Christmas rose less than 1% to 52,000 copies sold in its ninth week, falling one spot to number 11.[20] In its tenth week, A Mary Christmas fell to number 13 with a 25% increase to 64,000 copies sold, the album's best-selling week.[21] In its eleventh week, the album sold approximately 32,000 copies (a decline of 49% from the previous week) and placed at number 21 on the Billboard 200, reflecting the end of the 2013 holiday season.[22][23][24] A Mary Christmas was the third best-selling Christmas album of 2013 with 328,000 copies sold for the year.[25][26]

On December 4, 2013, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA.[27]

Track listing edit

All songs produced by David Foster.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Drummer Boy"
4:09
2."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
4:37
3."My Favorite Things"
3:51
4."This Christmas"
3:18
5."The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"
3:53
6."Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer"Johnny Marks2:27
7."When You Wish Upon a Star" (featuring Barbra Streisand and Chris Botti)
3:42
8."Mary, Did You Know"
3:48
9."Do You Hear What I Hear?" (featuring Jessie J)
4:19
10."Petit Papa Noel"
  • Raymond Vincy
  • Henri Martinet
3:57
11."The First Noel" (featuring The Clark Sisters)Traditional4:24
12."Noche De Paz (Silent Night)" (featuring Marc Anthony)Joseph Mohr3:28
Target bonus tracks[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Winter Wonderland"
2:50
14."Silent Night"Mohr4:10
2023 anniversay edition[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."O Holy Night"Traditional3:56
16."Do You Hear What I Hear?" (solo version)
  • Regney
  • Baker
4:21

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Certifications for A Mary Christmas
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[43] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Release history and formats for A Mary Christmas
Region Date Format(s) Label Edition(s) Ref
Various October 15, 2013
Standard edition
[8]
October 6, 2023 Anniversary edition
[44][29]

References edit

  1. ^ Ramirez, Rauly (2013-10-24). "Eminem's 'Rap God' Debuts at No. 2 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  2. ^ Folk, Antwane (October 7, 2023). "Mary J Blige Releases Deluxe Edition of 'A Mary Christmas' Album". Rated R&B. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "A Mary Christmas (Anniversary Edition)". Spotify. October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "As the 'Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,' Mary J. Blige still seeks to inspire". Charleston Scene. 2013-06-26. Archived from the original on 2013-07-06. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  5. ^ Robbins, Caryn (2013-07-25). "Mary J Blige Is Set To Release Her First Christmas Album With Legendary Producer David Foster". Broadway World Music. BroadwayWorld.
  6. ^ "CHRIS". Chriswalden.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
  7. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for A Mary Christmas". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Kellman, Andy. "A Mary Christmas". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Review. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Jonze, Tim (December 12, 2013). "Mary J Blige: A Mary Christmas – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Gill, Andy (December 21, 2013). "Christmas album reviews: Leona Lewis, Erasure, Bright Eyes, Mary J Blige, Richard Durrant". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  11. ^ Lewis, Randy (November 29, 2013). "Review: Rating the new crop of holiday albums". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  12. ^ Henderson, Eric (November 15, 2016). "A Mary Christmas". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  13. ^ Dixon, Josh. "Album Review: Mary J. Blige – A Mary Christmas". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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  43. ^ "American album certifications – Mary J. Blige – A Mary Christmas". Recording Industry Association of America.
  44. ^ Folk, Antwane (October 7, 2023). "Mary J Blige Releases Deluxe Edition of 'A Mary Christmas' Album". Rated R&B. Retrieved November 7, 2023.

External links edit

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