''This Christmas Day'' is the fifth studio album and first official Christmas album by English singer

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

, released by

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

on 26 October 2018. The album, a follow-up to her four-part fourth studio album ''

R.O.S.E. ''R.O.S.E.'' is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Jessie J. It was released by Republic Records in four parts, starting on 22 May 2018, and finishing on 25 May 2018, with a part being released on each day. The four parts rel ...

'' which had been released earlier that year, marked the singer's first

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

. Recording took place, at short notice, in both Europe and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in August 2018. ''This Christmas Day'' consists of eleven tracks, featuring ten cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, two of which are duets featuring recording artists

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

, and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

, and one original song. Upon release, the album earned a mixed reception from music critics who were impressed with Jessie J's vocals and the work of her team of iconic producers such as

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Rodney Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

, and

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

, but found that the singer was overselling and the classic material on the album lacked originality. On the charts, ''This Christmas Day'' debuted and peaked at number 48 on the US

Top Holiday Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

. Its release was accompanied by a

lyric video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the promotional single "This Christmas Day", penned by Jessie J.

Background and recording

In May 2018, Jessie J released her fourth studio album ''

''. Issued in four parts, consisting of the EPs ''Realisations'', ''Obsessions'', ''Sex'', and ''Empowerment'' that create an acronym for ''R.O.S.E.'', the R&B-heavy album failed to chart. Throughout the summer, she embarked on the R.O.S.E. Tour, playing summer shows and festivals, but was looking for a different project "as a thank-you to fans for their support and to celebrate how great this year has been." In July 2018,

greenlit the recording of a Christmas album. Much of the album was recorded in two weeks around the tour, in both Europe and

. Jessie J stated that her decision to create the album was "very last minute", and that working with "classic producers" such as

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...

and

on the album was a "dream come true". Apart from her cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, Jessie J wrote "This Christmas Day" for the album, its only original song, produced by Jerkins. The song was inspired a friend of Jessie J who had lost her brother.

Critical reception

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 ...

editor Neil Z. Yeung called the album "a collection of faithful renditions of beloved Christmas classics. Soothing and nostalgic, the 11-song set pairs big-band glitz and jazzy swing with a '90s R&B touch ..As Christmas albums go, ''This Christmas Day'' benefits from Jessie J's powerful vocals and inspired arrangement from her team of iconic producers. Much like

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

's ''

Kylie Christmas ''Kylie Christmas'' is the thirteenth studio album, and first Christmas album, by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 13 November 2015 by Parlophone. Following the release of her twelfth studio album, ''Kiss Me Once'', Minogue ...

'' or

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

's '' Merry Christmas'', ''This Christmas Day'' is pleasant, wintry fun for pop fans in need of updated takes on songs they already know by heart." ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' critic Craig Jenkins felt that ''This Christmas Day'' "is solid, but it missed a chance to be cool" and added: "It might surprise you that the album these collaborations landed on is mostly a drippy collection of melismatic readings of Christmas standards." Ben Beaumont-Thomas, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', remarked that "flanked with beautifully arranged backings that emphasise the “big” in big band, you initially worry she oversells these standards ..Every note, no matter how short, is spritzed with earnest vibrato, and also occasionally toasted with vocal fry. But if your Christmas involves a 12 ft illuminated Santa on the lawn, eggnog on the breakfast table and red glitter on everything, you will find much to love here." Connor Ratliff called ''This Christmas Day'' "jazzy and professional" but noted: "There is an aspect to a record like this that feels like it is exactly what people hate about Christmas music – the same 10 songs being modernized by 20 new artists every year, in more or less the same way." In 2022 ''Billboard'' listed ''This Christmas Day'' as the 15th ''Best Christmas Albums of the 21st Century.''

Commercial performance

''This Christmas Day'' debuted and peaked at number 48 on the US

. The second track from the album, "Man with the Bag", managed to peak at number 70 on the UK Singles chart.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2018 Christmas albums Jessie J albums Republic Records albums Christmas albums by English artists Contemporary R&B Christmas albums