''Connie Talbot's Christmas Album'', sometimes referred to as ''Connie's Christmas Album'' or just ''Christmas Album'', is the second album by English child singer Connie Talbot, released on 24 November 2008. The album is made up of Christmas-themed songs, and was recorded in the middle of 2008. Shortly after the release, Pinnacle Entertainment, the United Kingdom distributor, went into administration. Despite this, the album had some success in Asia and the United States, and Talbot's third album, '' Connie Talbot's Holiday Magic'', included many of the same tracks. Talbot appeared publicly to promote the album, including an appearance on

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in December, and embarked on a tour, making stops around the world. Critics responded warmly to the album, describing Talbot's voice as "sweet".

Recording and release

Talbot's voice was recorded near her home. Other parts of the album were recorded elsewhere in the UK, as well as in the US, Bulgaria and Hong Kong. ''Connie Talbot's Christmas Album'' contains "a mix of classics and modern Christmas tunes", and was produced by Simon Hill and Rob May, who produced her first album, ''

Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'', in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role ...

''.

Big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

arrangements on the album included music from

Laurence Cottle Laurence Cottle (born 16 December 1961) is a Welsh bass guitarist and composer. Career His solo recordings have been mostly in jazz and jazz fusion. He was a member of the fusion quartet The Fents and appeared on their second album, ''The O ...

Big Band, while the orchestral sections of the more traditional songs were performed by the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra. The duet on "When a Child Is Born" was performed by Talbot and Ginger Kwan. Describing the recording of the album, Talbot said "I really liked it. I liked all the songs they picked and everything. It was really good and enjoyable." Five tracks ("Let it Snow!", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and "Frosty the Snowman") were recorded in the style of a big band, while the remainder were recorded in a "more traditional" style. ''Connie Talbot's Christmas Album'' was released on 24 November 2008. The album was difficult to obtain in Britain after the distributor, Pinnacle Entertainment, went into administration. Talbot's mother, Sharon, was quoted as saying, "We don't really know what's going to happen at the moment ... We think they'll probably wait and promote the album later this year. It's a shame, but they can still get the album in Asia and the US." In 2009, Talbot's third album, ''Connie Talbot's Holiday Magic'', was released in the United States, with many of the same songs as ''Connie Talbot's Christmas Album'', but with rerecorded vocals.

Publicity

Before the release of the album, Talbot recorded a "secret concert" at her primary school. The documentary, ''Christmas with Connie'', was shown on

on 18 December. Talbot appeared at the

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branch the day after the release to sign copies of the album and to meet fans. After the release, Talbot embarked on a promotional tour that made stops around the world, including a performance at

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in Korea, where ''Over the Rainbow'' had sold over 30,000 copies. Talbot also performed on the ''A Heart for Children'' television charity gala in Berlin, Germany. Talbot returned home in mid-December, to have "a quiet family Christmas". Plans were made for a promotional trip to the US in 2009.

Critical reception and sales

Ruth Harrison, writing for ''FemaleFirst'' magazine, gave the album 4/5, saying that Talbot has "a great voice when it comes to swing, but lets us down in parts". Harrison said that Talbot struggled with the "

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sound" associated with "Merry Christmas Everybody", but said that the vocals on "Ave Maria" are "incredible", and that the bonus tracks "really are a bonus". The ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...

'' published a review from a nine-year-old critic, Natasha Dattani, who said that Talbot "has a nice voice, it's very cute", and added that "older people, like grandparents, will really like" the album. James Whittle, writing for the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'', described the album as "chock-a-block with old-time favourites", calling Talbot "sweet-voiced". Despite the problems in the United Kingdom, which left hundreds of copies of the album in warehouses, Amy Bowen of the '' Walsall Advertiser'' wrote that the album was proving successful in Asia. In its first week of release, ''Connie Talbot's Christmas Album'' sold 4,551 copies worldwide, and, as of December 2009, it has sold 14,913.

Track listing

This is the main track listing as given by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. The ordering of both the main and bonus tracks varies between releases, and different releases have different bonus tracks.Compare the listings given by AllMusic, Amazon and Evo88, which is linked from Talbot's official site. *" Connie Talbot's Christmas Album.

. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
Connie Talbot's Christmas Album
. Amazon. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
Connie Talbot's Christmas Album
. Evo88.com. Retrieved 8 September 2011. For example, the Hong Kong release contained only the bonus tracks "Silent Night" and "White Christmas".

Bonus tracks

References

;General * ;Specific {{Authority control 2008 Christmas albums Connie Talbot albums Christmas albums by English artists Pop Christmas albums 2000s covers albums