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8 Days of Christmas

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8 Days of Christmas
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 30, 2001 (2001-10-30)
RecordedJuly 2000; July–September 2001
Genre
Length41:00
LabelColumbia
Producer
Destiny's Child chronology
Love: Destiny
(2001)
8 Days of Christmas
(2001)
This Is the Remix
(2002)
Singles from 8 Days of Christmas
  1. "8 Days of Christmas"
    Released: December 16, 2001
  2. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
    Released: January 3, 2002

8 Days of Christmas is the fourth studio album and only Christmas album by American R&B girl group Destiny's Child, released on October 30, 2001 by Columbia Records.

Background

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The album contains twelve tracks featuring traditional Christmas songs and three original songs. Most of them are re-arranged with up-tempo beats in a contemporary R&B style. The album was recorded in Summer 2001 in the United States, but Kelly Rowland stated during the "8 Days of Christmas" video premiere on BET's 106 & Park in Fall 2001 that parts of the album were also recorded in Japan during Destiny's Child's overseas promo tour. In the same interview, Beyoncé revealed, "Actually we wrote the song two years ago when we went in the studio to do some Christmas something. That's what started the idea of doing a Christmas album."[1] The song "8 Days of Christmas" first appeared on the double-disc reissue of The Writing's on the Wall in November 2000.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
Peoplemixed[5]
Slant Magazine[6]

8 Days of Christmas received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, gave the album 2.5 out 5 stars. In his review, he felt that it did not offer anything different from any other Christmas album and that it had the same formula as every other Christmas album, making it very predictable.[2] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+. He felt that the album had a rough start, stating that song lyrics such as, "a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring" were too materialistic, leaving a bad taste in your mouth, however, he stated that originals like "Winter Christmas", and "This Christmas" helped the album quickly recover.[7] People gave the album a mixed review, stating that some songs of the album fell short, but despite that, there were a few gifts on the album, such as "Carol of the Bells". They came to the conclusion that while it was good, it was not destined for success.[5] Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars. She said that the album sounded like a, "Survivor II: Winter Ghetto-chic," and that the album brought little justice to the original songs.[6]

Commercial performance

[edit]

8 Days of Christmas made its debut on the Billboard 200 at number 59.[8] On the chart issue dated December 22, 2001, it reached its peak at number 34. On December 3, 2001, the album was certified Platinum in 2020 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting shipments of 1,000,000 copies.[9]

Track listing

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[10]

8 Days of ChristmasStandard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."8 Days of Christmas"
3:31
2."Winter Paradise"
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Moore
3:36
3."A "DC" Christmas Medley"
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Moore
3:59
4."Silent Night" (Beyoncé)B. Knowles3:41
5."Little Drummer Boy" (Solange)
  • B. Knowles
  • Alonzo Jackson
3:36
6."Do You Hear What I Hear" (Kelly Rowland)
  • Wirlie Morris
  • Alan Floyd
3:47
7."White Christmas"Irving Berlin
  • B. Knowles
  • Damon Elliott
1:42
8."Platinum Bells"
  • B. Knowles
  • Elliott
1:26
9."O' Holy Night" (Michelle Williams)E. Williams4:24
10."Spread a Little Love on Christmas Day"3:41
11."This Christmas"
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Calvin Gaines[c]
  • Bill Lee[c]
3:38
12."Opera of the Bells"B. Knowles4:34
8 Days of ChristmasInternational bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."The Proud Family" (Solange featuring Destiny's Child)
  • Kurt Farquhar
  • Gerald Harbour
  • B. Knowles[d]
  • Farquhar
2:17
8 Days of ChristmasJapan and Wal-Mart edition[11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Emotion" (with strings)
4:23
8 Days of Christmas2005 reissue and digital edition[12]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Home for the Holidays"
3:10
2."Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"Johnny Marks
  • B. Knowles
  • McCalla
2:34
3."8 Days of Christmas"
  • B. Knowles
  • McCalla
  • B. Knowles
  • McCalla
  • M. Knowles
3:31
4."Winter Paradise"
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Moore
  • Michael
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Moore
3:36
5."A "DC" Christmas Medley"
  • Gillespie
  • Coots
  • Pierpont[a]
  • Nelson
  • Rollins
  • Marks
  • Oliphant[a]
  • Autry
  • Haldeman
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Moore
3:59
6."Silent Night" (Beyoncé)
B. Knowles3:41
7."Little Drummer Boy" (Solange)
  • Davis
  • Onorati
  • Simeone
  • B. Knowles
  • Jackson
3:36
8."Do You Hear What I Hear" (Kelly Rowland)
  • Regney
  • Shaine
  • Morris
  • Floyd
3:47
9."White Christmas"Berlin
  • B. Knowles
  • Elliott
1:42
10."Platinum Bells"
  • Evans
  • Livingston
  • B. Knowles
  • Elliott
1:26
11."O' Holy Night" (Michelle Williams)
E. Williams4:24
12."Spread a Little Love on Christmas Day"
  • B. Knowles
  • Edwards Jr.
  • B. Knowles
  • Focus...
  • Wake
3:41
13."This Christmas"
  • Hathaway
  • McKinnor
  • B. Knowles
  • Fusari
  • Gaines[c]
  • Lee[c]
3:38
14."Opera of the Bells"
B. Knowles4:34

Notes

  • ^a signifies a writer credited as "traditional"
  • ^b The album liner notes credit "Silent Night" and "Opera of the Bells" as being written by Beyoncé Knowles.
  • ^c The album liner notes credit "O' Holy Night" as being written by Michelle Williams, Erron Williams and Kim Burse.
  • ^d signifies a producer and vocal producer

Sample Credits

Personnel

[edit]
  • Destiny's Child - vocals performed by (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–8, 10–12)
  • Asif Ali - recording engineer (track 5)
  • Pablo Arraya - recording engineer (track 6)
  • Beyoncé - group member (tracks 1–5, 7–8, 10–12), musical arrangement (4), vocals (performed by) (4)
  • Derrick Coleman - additional background vocals (sung by) (track 9)
  • Dylan Dresdow - recording engineer (track 9)
  • Alan Floyd - musical arrangement (track 6)
  • David Guerrero - assistant audio mixing (tracks 1, 4–10, 12)
  • Jaime Guidewicz - assistant recording engineer (track 6)
  • James Hoover - recording engineer (tracks 2–3)
  • Solange Knowles - guest vocals (performed by) (track 5)
  • Tony Maserati - audio mixing (tracks 2–3, 11)
  • Errol "Poppi" McCalla - music programming
  • Bill Meyers - string arrangements, string conductor
  • Michael Morales - acoustic guitar (track 4)
  • Ramon Morales - recording engineer (tracks 11–12)
  • Tom Morris - recording engineer (tracks 7–8)
  • John Naslen - recording engineer (track 1)
  • Flip Osman - assistant audio mixing (tracks 2–3, 11)
  • Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado - audio mixing (tracks 1, 4–10, 12)
  • Marius Perron - recording engineer (track 4)
  • Juan Ramirez - assistant recording engineer (track 5)
  • Sharay Reed - bass guitar (track 9)
  • Byron Rickerson - recording engineer (track 9)
  • Frank Romano - guitar (track 3)
  • Kelly Rowland - group member (tracks 1–3, 5–8, 10–12), vocals (6)
  • Motonori Sasaki - assistant recording engineer (track 11)
  • Stephen Stephanie - assistant recording engineer (track 1)
  • Larry Strum - recording engineer (track 9)
  • Brian Summer - assistant recording engineer (track 9)
  • David Swope - recording engineer (track 6)
  • Tucker Allen - recording engineer (track 9)
  • Kevin Turner - acoustic guitar (track 9)
  • Robert Valdez - assistant recording engineer (track 7–8)
  • Michelle Williams - group member (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–12), lead vocals (9)

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for 8 Days of Christmas
Chart (2001–02) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 65
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[21] 10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22] 60
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[23] 34
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[24] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 24
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 134
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 80
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[29] 117
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[30] 19
US Billboard 200[31] 34
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[32] 27
US Holiday Albums (Billboard)[33] 3

Year-end charts

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Year-end chart performance for 8 Days of Christmas
Chart (2002) Position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[34] 158

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[9] Platinum 1,000,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format
United States October 30, 2001 (2001-10-30) CD
Australia November 11, 2001 (2001-11-11)
Europe[36] November 12, 2001 (2001-11-12)
United States October 18, 2005 (2005-10-18) DualDisc

References

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  1. ^ "Keyta's Vibe – DESTINY'S CHILD". Freewebs.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  2. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "8 Days of Christmas - Destiny's Child". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Colin Larkin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 641. ISBN 9780857125958. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  4. ^ Willman, Chris (November 30, 2001). "Music reviews on MTV TRL Christmas; 8 Days of Christmas; Barbra Streisand's Christmas Memories; NOW That's What I Call Christmas!; Toni Braxton's Snowflakes; They Might Be Giants' Holidayland; A Very Special Christmas 5; Swingin' Christmas; and Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Extraordinare". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Chuck Arnold, Sona Charaipotra, Kyle Smith (December 10, 2001). "Picks and Pans Review: 8 Days of Christmas". People. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Sal Cinquemani (November 11, 2001). "Destiny's Child: 8 Days of Christmas". Slant Magazine.
  7. ^ Willman, Chris (November 30, 2001). "Music reviews on MTV TRL Christmas; 8 Days of Christmas; Barbra Streisand's Christmas Memories; NOW That's What I Call Christmas!; Toni Braxton's Snowflakes; They Might Be Giants' Holidayland; Extraordinaire". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "Top 200 Albums | Billboard 200 chart | Billboard". Billboard. November 17, 2001.
  9. ^ a b "American album certifications – Destiny's Child – 8 Days of Christmas". Recording Industry Association of America. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  10. ^ 8 Days of Christmas (booklet). Destiny's Child. Columbia. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "Destiny's Child - 8 Days Of Christmas +2 - Japanese CD - Music". Musicjapanet. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  12. ^ "8 Days of Christmas di Destiny's Child su Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  13. ^ "8 Days of Christmas" Sample of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/sample/127394/Destiny%27s-Child-8-Days-of-Christmas-Traditional-Folk-The-Twelve-Days-of-Christmas/
  14. ^ "8 Days of Christmas" Sample of "Jingle Bells (One Horse Open Sleigh)". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/sample/127396/Destiny%27s-Child-8-Days-of-Christmas-James-Pierpont-Jingle-Bells-(One-Horse-Open-Sleigh)/
  15. ^ "Destiny's Child and Solange's "Little Drummer Boy" cover of The Harry Simeone Chorale's "The Little Drummer Boy"". WhoSampled.com.
  16. ^ "Kelly Rowland and Destiny's Child's Cover of The Harry Simeone Chorale's "Do You Hear What I Hear?"". WhoSampled.com.
  17. ^ "Destiny's Child's cover of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"". WhoSampled.com.
  18. ^ ""Platinum Bells" Sample of "Silver Bells"". WhoSampled.com.
  19. ^ "Destiny's Child's cover of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas"". WhoSampled.com.
  20. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 31st December 2001" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Australian Web Archive. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  21. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 31st December 2001" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Australian Web Archive. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  22. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Destiny's Child – 8 Days Of Christmas" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  23. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. December 13, 2001. Archived from the original on November 25, 2004. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  24. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. December 20, 2001. Archived from the original on December 23, 2001. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Destiny's Child – 8 Days Of Christmas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  26. ^ "Lescharts.com – Destiny's Child – 8 Days Of Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Destiny's Child – 8 Days Of Christmas" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  28. ^ デスティニーズ・チャイルドのアルバム売り上げランキング [Destiny's Child album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  29. ^ "Chart Log UK: Asher D – Dyverse". Zobbel. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  30. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  31. ^ "Destiny's Child Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  32. ^ "Destiny's Child Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  33. ^ "Destiny's Child – Chart history: Holiday Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  34. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  35. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Destiny's Child – 8 Days of Christmas". Music Canada. June 21, 2005.
  36. ^ "8 Days of Christmas: Destiny's Child: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2011-02-20.