“I was inspired by the traditional tunes of Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby — I really love those albums. I also enjoyed the festive-sounding ones like those by The Jackson 5. As a result, there are different influences in this album. I also wanted it to be like ‘Part 2’ of the Merry Christmas album. I wanted to keep it classic, traditional, festive and happy and have a warm feeling for the holidays so people will love it. In the spirit of classic Christmas records made in the 1950s, we had a huge orchestra session, and I’ve never experienced anything so beautiful and rich in my musical career as being in the room listening to the lush orchestral moments.”
Merry Christmas II You is the thirteenth studio album and second Christmas album by Mariah Carey. It was released by Island Def Jam on November 2, 2010. Recording began in April 2010 and continued while Carey became pregnant. She was the executive producer of Merry Christmas II You and worked with various record producers, including Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Randy Jackson, James Poyser, Marc Shaiman, James “Big Jim” Wright and Johnny “Sev” Severin of RedOne. The album features Carey’s mother Patricia Carey as a guest vocalist on “O Come All Ye Faithful” / “Hallelujah Chorus”. The album serves as a sequel to her fourth studio album Merry Christmas (1994). It is composed of original songs and covers, ballads and uptempo tracks, incorporating R&B, soul, and house music in its composition.
It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, and reached number one on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Holiday Albums charts. It was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments exceeding 500,000 copies. Elsewhere, the album was also a success, reaching the top-ten in South Korea and Taiwan; the top-twenty in Canada and Hong Kong; the top-thirty in Australia, Hungary and Japan; and the top-forty in Sweden. It missed out on the top 100 in the United Kingdom by one position, peaking at number 101 on the albums chart.
The album produced three singles, including the US Adult Contemporary record-breaking song “Oh Santa!”. It reached number-one in its second week, the quickest ascent in the history of the chart and the only song to do so. Other singles included “Auld Lang Syne (The New Year’s Anthem)”, a single release version of “When Christmas Comes” in 2011 with John Legend and the promotional “Christmas Time Is in the Air Again” in 2012. To support the album, Carey made promotional appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Lopez Tonight, and hosted her own television special called Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You.
Tracklisting
| 1 |
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town Intro
Written by J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Marc Shaiman.
|
0:22 |
| 2 |
Written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox.
|
3:31 |
| 3 |
Written by Phillips Brooks, Lewis H. Redner / Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone.
Produced by Mariah Carey, James “Big Jim” Wright, Randy Jackson.
|
3:32 |
| 4 |
Written by Mariah Carey, Marc Shaiman.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Marc Shaiman.
|
3:02 |
| 5 |
— Traditional —
Produced by Mariah Carey, James “Big Jim” Wright and Randy Jackson.
|
4:32 |
| 6 |
Written by Mariah Carey, James Poyser.
Produced by Mariah Carey and James Poyser.
|
4:46 |
| 7 |
Written by Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox.
|
3:29 |
| 8 |
Written by Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson.
Produced by Mariah Carey, James “Big Jim” Wright and Randy Jackson.
|
2:49 |
| 9 |
— Traditional — / George Frideric Handel.
Produced by Mariah Carey, James “Big Jim” Wright and Randy Jackson.
|
3:38 |
| 10 |
O Holy Night – Live From WPC In South Central LA
— Traditional —
Produced by Walter Afanasieff and Mariah Carey.
|
5:00 |
| 11 |
Written by Mariah Carey, Marc Shaiman.
Produced by Mariah Carey and Marc Shaiman.
|
4:25 |
| 12 |
Written by Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff.
Produced by Mariah Carey, James “Big Jim” Wright and Randy Jackson.
|
4:02 |
| 13 |
Written by Robert Burns.
Produced by Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Johnny “Sev” Severin.
|
3:47 |
| Bonus |
Written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox.
Produced by Jump Smokers.
|
3:53 |