When Christmas Comes
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"When Christmas Comes" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album/thirteenth studio album, ''
Merry Christmas II You ''Merry Christmas II You'' is the thirteenth studio album and second Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Island Records on November 2, 2010. Recording began in April 2010 and continued while Carey bec ...
'' (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with
James Poyser James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, ...
. A
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
song with influences of R&B, the lyrics are about giving the gift of love. In November 2011, Carey re-recorded the song as duet with
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
, which was later released as a single. Both versions of the track were a hit in South Korea, with the duet debuting at number one with sales in excess of 80,000 copies. The song's accompanying music video features Carey and Legend at a hosting a Christmas house party. It has been performed by Carey at her
ABC 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 ...
2010 Christmas special and during her 2014 Beacon Theatre residency
All I Want for Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy and Festivity All I Want for Christmas Is You, a Night of Joy and Festivity was the second concert residency by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. Originally performed annually at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, New York, the residency began on Decembe ...
in December 2014.


Background and composition

"When Christmas Comes" was written and produced by Mariah Carey and
James Poyser James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, ...
for the former's second Christmas album/thirteenth studio album, ''
Merry Christmas II You ''Merry Christmas II You'' is the thirteenth studio album and second Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Island Records on November 2, 2010. Recording began in April 2010 and continued while Carey bec ...
'' (2010). Her vocals were recorded by Brian Garten at Guardian Angel Studios in Bel Air, Westlake Recording Studios and Hensons Studios, both located in Los Angeles, and Germano Studios in New York City. Carey performed her own background vocals along with Melonie Daniels, Sharlotte Gibson and Nicki Richards. The music for the song was recorded by Garten and Kevin Guarnieri; Alex Evans played the drums, while John "Jubu" Smith played the guitar. On November 7, 2011, Carey revealed that she would be releasing "When Christmas Comes" as a duet with
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
. The duet was released in the United States on November 21 and the United Kingdom on November 28. It as an R&B and
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
song with a "simple groove" that lasts for a duration of four minutes and forty-six seconds. The single release version with Legend lasts for additional second. The instrumental consists of horns, including the trumpet performed by Rick Baptist and Greg Adams, and the trombone by Nick Lane. Other brass instruments include Dan Higgins on the sax and flute. In addition to being a producer, Poyser performs the keyboard. Lyrically, the song is about "giving the gift of love", as Carey and Legend harmonize the lyrics "And me and you gon' have ourselves a holiday/ And we don't need nobody else to celebrate/ And we're gon' kiss our worries and our cares away/ I can't wait/ Because this Christmas time, get together / It's gonna be so nice, better than ever/ And baby you’re the one, special treasure." Prior to the final chorus, the pair freelance the a portion of the lyrics from "
Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...
". As noted by Scott Shelter of PopCrush, "listeners are treated to notes from the upper reaches of Mariah’s five-octave range, which she rarely shows off anymore." In an interview for
Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
, Carey stated that she felt that Legend was the "perfect choice" to re-create the song as a duet with, and that his "soulful" creative decisions "took it up several notches".


Critical reception

Mike Diver for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
was complimentary of "When Christmas Comes", writing although the effect is "less instant" compared to the first single, "
Oh Santa! "Oh Santa!" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her second Christmas album and thirteenth studio album, ''Merry Christmas II You'' (2010). Carey wrote and produced the song in collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and Brya ...
", it fits in well with the rest of the album and is "perfectly formed". ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' writer Rich Juzwiak thought that the use of a full band was a "retread" of the songs Carey recorded for her tenth studio album, ''
The Emancipation of Mimi ''The Emancipation of Mimi'' is the tenth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released through Island Records on April 12, 2005. The album was considered Carey's "comeback album" by critics and became her highest-selling release in t ...
'' (2005). Of the duet, Shelter described it as "sultry", awarded it four stars out of a possible five, and labelled it as being superior to the original version with vocals solely by Carey included on the album.


Commercial performance

The original version of "When Christmas Comes" debuted and peaked at number 100 in South Korea, on the chart dated November 14, 2010. The single version with Legend debuted at number one on South Korean Download chart on November 27, 2011, with sales of 81,624. The following week, it fell to number eight with 32,952 copies sold. It sold a further 18,947 and 13,339 copies in its third and fourth weeks, respectively. Despite debuting atop Download chart with 81,624 copies sold, it peaked at number two on the Digital chart. In the United States, the duet debuted at number twenty-five on the Adult R&B Songs chart, and climbed to number seventeen the following week. It dropped one position to number eighteen in its third week, but resurged to a peak of number fifteen the week after on January 7, 2012. "When Christmas Comes" debuted at number seventy on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart, becoming the "Hot Shot Debut" for the week dated December 17, 2011, and the first song from ''Merry Christmas II You'' to enter the chart. It is Carey's fifty-third entry overall. The track peaked at number fifty-seven on the Japan Hot 100 in 2012.


Promotion

An accompanying music video directed by
Sanaa Hamri Sanaa Hamri ( ar, سناء حمري; born November 19, 1977) is a Moroccan-American film, television, and music video director. She has directed music videos for musicians including Prince, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Sting. She is k ...
for "When Christmas Comes" was filmed at Carey's Los Angeles home and features Carey and Legend throwing a celebratory Christmas house party, which includes a cameo by
Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...
. It features footage from the film '' A Charlie Brown Christmas''. On November 15, Carey posted images of the video shoot on her website, one of which shows the two singers sitting at piano. It premiered on December 13, 2011. Carey has performed the track live on her
ABC 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 ...
Christmas Special in December 2010, and at her annual Beacon Theatre residency called
All I Want for Christmas Is You, A Night of Joy and Festivity All I Want for Christmas Is You, a Night of Joy and Festivity was the second concert residency by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. Originally performed annually at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, New York, the residency began on Decembe ...
every December. Legend joined Carey on stage to perform the track at one of the December 2016 concerts.


Track listings

*;Digital download (2010 album version) # "When Christmas Comes" – *;Digital download (2011 single release) # "When Christmas Comes" with John Legend –


Charts


Weekly charts


Original version


Duet with John Legend


Release history


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2010s ballads 2010 songs 2011 songs 2011 singles American Christmas songs Mariah Carey songs John Legend songs Songs written by James Poyser Songs written by Mariah Carey Male–female vocal duets Soul ballads