Christmas (album)
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| Studio album by Helene Fischer | ||||
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Publication |
November 13, 2015 |
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admission |
2013-2015 |
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| Label (s) | Polydor | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, DVD, Blu-ray, |
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Title (number) |
16 |
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Christmas is the seventh studio album by Helene Fischer and her first Christmas album. The album was released on November 13, 2015 by the record label Polydor and reached number 1 in the German annual charts in 2015 . In January 2017, the album cracked the one million mark, making the album one of the best-selling music albums in Germany since 1975. With the titles from the album, Helene Fischer gave a concert in the Vienna Hofburg on October 23 and 24, 2015 in front of 400 invited guests .
History of origin
The album was created in close cooperation with producer Alex Christensen over a period of about two years. It was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London's Abbey Road Studios . The two conductors Paul Bateman and Richard Balcombe have also been hired as guest musicians . The pieces were arranged by Cliff Masterson , Chris Walden and Steve Sidwell, among others .
It contains 35 Christmas carols and ranges from classic Christmas carols such as Silent Night , Ave Maria and Adeste fideles to modern classics such as Last Christmas by Wham! and The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (the latter is not a Christmas song, but is on numerous Christmas samplers). Xavier Naidoo , Ricky Martin and Plácido Domingo are represented as musical guests . In addition, duets with the late singers Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby were created using computer technology .
Versions
In addition to the normal version, a deluxe edition was also released, which contains a DVD with 60 minutes of exclusive film material as an extra. On December 4th, a limited fan box was also released, which also contained the DVD / Blu-Ray release Christmas - Live from the Hofburg Vienna as well as two Christmas tree balls and four Christmas cards. A quadruple LP box with MP3 download was also released. A new version of the album was announced for November 18, 2016, which includes eight new interpretations. Helene Fischer can be heard in the song Aba heidschi bumbeidschi with Heintje .
Track list
The pieces were distributed on two CDs, CD1 containing the German-language songs and CD2 containing the English-language songs.
The bonus tracks of the 2016 edition are highlighted in yellow.
Disk 1
| # | title | length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Silent Night Holy Night | 4:23 |
| 2. | O you happy | 3:33 |
| 3. | Come ye Ye Children | 3:14 |
| 4th | Merry Christmas everywhere | 2:29 |
| 5. | Every year again | 3:06 |
| 6th | Sweeter the bells never sound | 3:23 |
| 7th | From the sky up, there I come from ( feat.Xavier Naidoo ) | 3:22 |
| 8th. | Let us be happy and cheerful | 3:04 |
| 9. | Let it snow | 3:19 |
| 10. | Maria walked through a thorn forest | 3:07 |
| 11. | Adeste Fideles | 3:55 |
| 12. | Daughter of Zion, rejoice | 3:05 |
| 13. | The lights are on on the Christmas tree | 3:32 |
| 14th | In the Christmas bakery | 3:01 |
| 15th | O Christmas Tree | 2:38 |
| 16. | A rose has sprung up | 2:41 |
| 17th | Holy Night | 4:03 |
| 18th | Ave Maria | 5:16 |
| 19th | Jingle Bells | 2:31 |
| 20th | Aba Heidschi Bumbeidschi ( feat.Heintje ) | 3:19 |
| 21st | Snowflake whitedress | 2:46 |
| 22nd | Still, still, still | 2:31 |
Disk 2
| # | title | length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | White Christmas ( feat.Bing Crosby ) | 3:11 |
| 2. | Winter wonderland | 2:51 |
| 3. | Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer | 2:57 |
| 4th | Let it snow | 2:27 |
| 5. | Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (feat.Frank Sinatra ) | 4:00 |
| 6th | Little drummer boy | 3:05 |
| 7th | We Wish You a Merry Christmas | 2:13 |
| 8th. | What Child Is This (feat. Plácido Domingo ) | 3:52 |
| 9. | The Power of Love | 4:03 |
| 10. | Driving Home for Christmas | 4:13 |
| 11. | Last Christmas (feat. Ricky Martin ) | 4:25 |
| 12. | Santa Claus is coming to town | 2:28 |
| 13. | Jingle Bells | 2:26 |
| 14th | Feliz Navidad | 3:33 |
| 15th | The Christmas Song | 3:52 |
| 16. | Hallelujah | 4:33 |
| 17th | I'll Be Home for Christmas | 3:42 |
| 18th | All I Want for Christmas Is You | 3:02 |
| 19th | Santa baby | 3:31 |
| 20th | Sleigh ride | 3:16 |
| 21st | The First Noel | 4:11 |
success
Christmas could take the top of the album charts in Germany and Austria. In Switzerland, it came second behind Justin Bieber's Purpose . In Belgium, Christmas entered the album charts at number 20 and in the Netherlands at number 23.
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
1 (41 weeks) | 41 |
 Austria (Ö3)
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1 (29 weeks) | 29 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
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2 (35 weeks) | 35 |
Helene Fischer's Christmas is overall the fourth Christmas album to reach the top position in the German album charts. In the chart week of December 25, 2015, she set Freddy Quinn's record , which had been in place since 1964 , and who also topped the charts for four weeks with his Christmas album Christmas on the High Seas . On December 23, 2016, Fischer reached the top of the chart for the fifth time, making the album the sole record holder.
In the chart week of January 8, 2016, she managed to position three albums in the top 10 of the Austrian album charts with Christmas , Farbenspiel and Best Of .
Annual charts
Shortly after the album was released, it was clear that the album would also top the annual charts in Germany . According to the market research institute GfK Entertainment, four weeks were enough to bring the album forward beyond the reach. Among other things, the album competed against Fischer's own album Farbenspiel , which ultimately reached number 4. Before that were in 2nd place 25 of Adele and native language of Sarah Connor third rank in Austria succeeded Christmas also, to sit on the top spot of the charts of the year, in Switzerland the album managed an eighth place.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
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Germany
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1 | 4th | 49 |
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Austria
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1 | 5 | |
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Switzerland
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8th | 5 |
reception
The album was received rather negatively by the critics:
- The world found: "Christmas Eve with Helene Fischer will be hell."
- Laut.de gave the album two out of five stars and found “Some of the compositions leave the well-known songbook paths and are padded with poppy elements. However, Helene strictly keeps a very slow and contemplative Christmas tree pace, and these two staging elements really repel each other. ”Guest singer Xavier Naidoo sounds“ almost like a weekly show parody of himself ”and the cover of Last Christmas sung with Ricky Martin leaves “ everyone Lightness and any charm are missing and are yodeled into pure kitsch ”. The "outstanding highlight of the record" is the duet with Placido Domingo .
- The Stuttgarter Nachrichten found the album sounded “suitable for Christmas sales”, “classic” and “kitschy”.
Awards
The album won the 2016 Echo Awards in the Album of the Year and Crossover category . Alex Christensen also won an award in the Producer / Team of the Year category with the album .
Concert and DVD release
With the titles from the album, Helene Fischer gave a concert in the Vienna Hofburg on October 23 and 24, 2015 in front of 400 invited guests . The recording of the concert was first broadcast on German and Austrian television on December 3, 2015 on Das Erste and ORF 1 under the title Helene Fischer: Christmas and released on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 4, 2015. The broadcast on Das Erste reached over 5 million television viewers. The publication won nationally at the Echo Awards 2016 in the Music DVD / Blu-ray category . In addition to the artists known from the album, the Vienna Boys' Choir , the Wiener Singakademie , Stella Jones & The American Christmas Gospel and the Gumpolskirchner Spatzen Children's Choir also performed as guests .
Individual evidence
- ^ Official German annual charts: "Cheerleader" was the most successful song in 2015. In: Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment, January 5, 2016, accessed on November 14, 2016 .
- ↑ Helene Fischer & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Christmas , discogs.com
- ↑ a b c The album "Christmas" from November 13, 2015. Official website of Helene Fischer, November 2, 2015, accessed on November 14, 2016 .
- ↑ New deluxe version of "Christmas": Helene Fischer covers Christmas classics again. Münchner Abendzeitung , November 14, 2016, accessed on November 14, 2016 .
- ↑ European chart success for “Christmas” , focus.de, accessed on December 26, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: DE AT CH
- ↑ Chart placements AT
- ↑ "Christmas" is album of the year: Helene Fischer outdoes herself. N-tv , December 15, 2015, accessed on November 14, 2016 .
- ↑ Christmas Eve with Helene Fischer will hell , Die Welt, December 21
- ↑ For the festive occasion there is castor oil for the donkey. accessed on December 25, 2015.
- ↑ Helene Fischer turns cash register into a party , accessed on December 25, 2015.
- ^ A b c Franz Rohleder: Helene Fischer: "Christmas" - Live from the Hofburg Vienna on DVD and BluRay. Rheinischer Merkur , accessed on November 14, 2016 .
- ↑ Exklusiv im Ersten , ndr.de, accessed on December 26, 2015.
- ↑ Helene Fischer suggests Sarah Connor Welt.de, accessed on December 26, 2015.
- ↑ Helene Fischer - Christmas: The big concert with Advent and Christmas carols in the first. The first , accessed November 14, 2016 .