''Believe'' is the fifth studio album and first

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

album by

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

singer by

Natalie Grant Natalie Diane Grant (born December 21, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years (2006, 2007, 2008 an ...

. It was released on October 25, 2005, through

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

Critical reception

Johnny Loftus of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said "Natalie Grant follows her Dove Award-nominated work on '' Awaken'' with a Christmas album called ''Believe''. Her opening rendition of '

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...

' harks back to Grant's days a gospel singer, while ' Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow' is lighter and happier (as would be appropriate for such a joyously repetitive song title), Grant's vocal dancing across a jazzy arrangement fluffed up with brass. Her take on '

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then ...

' is similarly bold. But besides these pleasant reads of the season's standards, Grant and producer

Bernie Herms Bernhard "Bernie" Herms (born March 26, 1972) is a Canadian composer, songwriter, and music producer in Nashville, Tennessee. He has received and been nominated for Grammy Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and GMA Canada Covenant Awards, due to his songw ...

also explore some original material and expansive arrangements. A breathy ' Silver Bells' medleys into an epic '

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a well-known sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that co ...

', while the collection's title track is a Grant original that uses the story of the birth of Jesus as a basis for her faith and inspiration." ''

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. Hi ...

''s Nigel Harris stated "Christmas albums can too easily slide into slushy sentimentality or banal, unimaginative rehashing of secular Christmas favorites. Natalie Grant dips more than a toe into both in this reissue of her 2005 Christmas release, which when originally released charted at number 13 on Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. 'O Come All Ye Faithful' and '

O Little Town of Bethlehem "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a Christmas carol. Based on an 1868 text written by Phillips Brooks, the carol is popular on both sides of the Atlantic, but to different tunes: in The United States, to "St. Louis" by Brooks' collaborator, Lewis R ...

' showcase Natalie's voice without breaking much new ground. Sadly, 'Let It Snow' and 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' sound like the sort of music you hear in supermarkets in December. However the title track lifts the whole album and earns it a good three squares more than most of the rest of the album deserves. With vocals reminiscent of

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

at times Natalie soars and swoops though one of the best new Christmas songs I have heard in years. 'What Christmas Means To Me' is an over-the-top Motown pastiche, but the final tracks, especially the medley 'Silver Bells/Savior Came For Me/O Holy Night' again lift the standard. If you're looking for something new next Christmas, don't dismiss this album for its weaker tracks; the stronger ones more than compensate."

Track listing

Charts

Release history

Awards

''Believe'' was nominated for Inspirational Album of the Year at the

37th GMA Dove Awards The 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards, also called the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards, were held on April 5, 2006 recognizing accomplishments of Christian musicians for the year 2005. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, ...

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums 2005 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Curb Records albums Natalie Grant albums