''If I Can Dream'' is a compilation album by American singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. It was released on October 30, 2015 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and Legacy Recordings. The album features archival vocal recordings of Presley accompanied by new orchestral arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It also features duets with Canadian singer

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

and Italian trio Il Volo. ''If I Can Dream'' was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and it was produced by Nick Patrick and Don Reedman, with piano orchestration (and assistant musical director duties on the accompanying world tour) by Dominic Ferris. The album debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, giving Presley a record-equalling 12th UK number one. As of September 2016, the album had sold 1.6 million copies worldwide. A second album featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, ''

The Wonder of You "The Wonder of You" is a song written by Baker Knight. It was originally recorded by Vince Edwards in 1958, but this recording has never been released. In an interview with a DJ from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ray Peterson told the story of how Bak ...

'' was released on October 21, 2016. The project was backed by

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley ( Wagner, changed by adoption to Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the former wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley ...

, who participated in the proceedings and was co-executive producer of the album. The If I Can Dream UK arena tour included the Czech Symphony Orchestra for the European Tour and Memphis Symphony Orchestra for the USA anniversary tour. It culminated with a performance at Graceland with

for the Elvis 40th Anniversary celebration

Background

''If I Can Dream'' was released in commemoration of Presley's 80th birthday celebration throughout 2015. In an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', Elvis's ex-wife

, said the vision of the album was to keep Elvis relevant: "Our culture and music has changed so drastically, I think that we have to keep lvisright in line and do whatever we can to keep him current". Priscilla Presley also said the album is carrying the "DNA of Elvis Presley and keeping him authentic". The album was named after Elvis's 1968 single of the same name. Presley continued: "This would be a dream come true for Elvis. He would have loved to play with such a prestigious symphony orchestra. The music...the force that you feel with his voice and the orchestra is exactly what he would have done."

Commercial performance

After debuting at number 1 in the UK, ''If I Can Dream'' tied Presley with Madonna for the most UK number-one albums by a solo artist, with each having 12. It is also Presley's 50th album to hit the UK top 10, and 59 years since his first number-one album on the chart, also a record. It sold 79,000 units in its first week at number one. It became the year's top selling album by a non UK artist, the top three being Adele's '' 25'',

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

's '' x'' and

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

's ''

In the Lonely Hour ''In the Lonely Hour'' is the debut album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2014 via Capitol UK and Method Records. In the United States, it was released on 17 June 2014 through Capitol ...

''. On January 5, 2016, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' reported that the album was the 12th best-selling home entertainment title of 2015, which, along with the tremendous success of the aforementioned Adele and Sheeran albums, helped drive a 4% increase in UK music sales with respect of those of 2014. As of October 2016, ''If I Can Dream'' had sold 1,062,457 copies in the UK. In the United States, the album debuted and peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' 200 after having entered the ''Billboard'' Classical Chart at number 17 the previous week. Due to the inclusion of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, this marked the first time a Presley record had entered that chart. It then jumped from #17 to #1 in its second week and held that position in its third week, while then successively remaining inside the top 15 positions for the next forty eight weeks. As of September 2016, the album had sold nearly 100,000 copies in the United States. ''If I Can Dream'' debuted at number 3 on the

New Zealand Albums Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and entered at number 1 in both the Scottish and Australian album charts. In the former, he remained in the first three positions for the next seven weeks, returning to number 1 in the ninth. In the latter, it held the top spot for a second week, became Presley's second chart-topping album after '' ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits'' in 2002 and by December 31 had become the 11th biggest album seller of 2015.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Elvis Presley 2015 compilation albums Elvis Presley compilation albums RCA Records compilation albums Legacy Recordings compilation albums Orchestral pop albums Royal Philharmonic Orchestra albums Albums produced by Nick Patrick (record producer) Compilation albums published posthumously Priscilla Presley