''This Is Christmas'' is the fourth studio and first Christmas album by Australian recording artist

Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and stage actor who rose to prominence as the runner-up in the 2004 season of '' Australian Idol''. Callea's debut single, a cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocel ...

. It was released on 8 November 2013 by

ABC Music ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. The album mostly consists of Christmas classics such as "

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

" and "

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 ...

", but also includes cover versions of recent Christmas pop songs by such as " Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" by

Céline 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 ...

and "

Note to God "Note to God" is a song written by Diane Warren and first recorded by American R&B singer JoJo in 2006 for her album '' The High Road''. "Note to God" is partly an emotional prayer. The lyrics are composed of things that would be written in a le ...

" by JoJo.

Review

Ben Ryan of ''

Renowned for Sound ''Renowned for Sound'' is an Australian online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a pri ...

'' gave the album 4 of out 5, saying; "If you pick this album up, expect vocal gymnastics, and expect lead-footed vibrato. Callea is obviously an accomplished vocalist, but for the greater part of the record there is just one level he sings at – there is the occasional dynamic variation, but for the most part the tunes are sung with incessant vigour." He added, "The choir is a particularly appealing feature of this record; there is great poignancy inherent in any well-organised raft of young voices, and employing them in a moving piece like 'Ave Maria' almost guarantees some goose bumps".

Track listing

Charts

The album debuted at number 60 on the

ARIA Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

Ryan Gavin (16 November 2013
ARIA Albums: Eminem Blocks Lady Gaga From Top Of Chart
Noise11. Retrieved 16 November 2013 but peaked at #47.

References

{{Anthony Callea 2013 Christmas albums Christmas albums by Australian artists Pop Christmas albums Anthony Callea albums