The Spirit of Christmas (Michael W. Smith album)

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The Spirit of Christmas
File:Michael smith christmas.jpg
Studio album by Michael W. Smith
Released September 30, 2014 (2014-09-30)
Genre Holiday, CCM, country
Label Capitol
Producer Robert Deaton, David Hamilton, Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith chronology
Sovereign
(2014)Sovereign2014		 The Spirit of Christmas
(2014)

The Spirit of Christmas, officially titled as Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas is a duet Christmas album by Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith, released on September 30, 2014, through Capitol Records. This is Smith's fourth Christmas album. His previous Christmas album, It's a Wonderful Christmas, was released in 2007. The Spirit of Christmas won 2015 Dove Award for Christmas Album of the Year.[1]

Background

This album features duets with several country music artists, including Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Martina McBride, and Vince Gill.[2] Other artists on it include U2 frontman Bono, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald.[3] Bono is featured in spoken word on the track "The Darkest Midnight."[4]

Tour

Cracker Barrel sponsored Smith's 2014 "Spirit of Christmas Tour",[5] which started on November 30, 2014, and finished on December 21, 2014. The tour features a full symphony and consists of 14 shows, 3 of which were co-headlined with Amy Grant.

Smith toured this album again in 2015, also with Cracker Barrel sponsoring.[6] This time Amy Grant was featured in 8 of 13 shows. The tour began on December 4, 2015 in Kentucky, and ended on December 20, 2015 in Virginia.

Critical reception

Jeffrey Lee Puckett for The Courier Journal said the album "gets the season of holiday Christmas albums off to a big start."[7]

Commercial performance

The album sold 4,000 copies in its first week of release, debuted at No. 80 on the Billboard 200[8] and peaked at No. 16 as of December 2014.[9] It also reached No. 13 on Top Album Sales Chart which counts traditional album sales and does not include streaming.[10] On the Top Christian Albums Chart, the album debuted at No. 5 and peaked at No. 1.[8] This marks Smith's third new album for 2014 to enter the Billboard 200. He previously released Sovereign, which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies;[11] and Hymns, which debuted at No. 25 with 12,000 copies.[12] As of January 2015, The Spirit of Christmas has sold 145,000 copies.[13]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Miracle of Christmas"   Michael W. Smith 1:43
2. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"   Edward Pola, George Wyle 2:38
3. "Happy Holiday / Holiday Season"   Irving Berlin, Kay Thompson 3:06
4. "Christmas Time Is Here" (featuring Vince Gill) Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson 3:00
5. "White Christmas" (featuring Lady Antebellum) Berlin 3:49
6. "Somewhere in My Memory" (featuring Audrey Smith and the Nashville Children's Choir) John Williams, Leslie Bricusse 3:21
7. "The Spirit of Christmas" (medley: Deck the Halls/Good King Wenceslas/O Little Town of Bethlehem/Feels Like Christmas/O Come All Ye Faithful) Traditional; arr. by Smith 5:21
8. "Silent Night" (featuring Little Big Town) Traditional 4:18
9. "What Child Is This?" (featuring Martina McBride) Traditional 4:20
10. "Almost There" (featuring Amy Grant) Smith, Amy Grant, Wes King 3:38
11. "All Is Well" (featuring Carrie Underwood) Smith, Wayne Kirkpatrick 3:55
12. "Christmas Day" (featuring Jennifer Nettles and the Nashville Children's Choir) Smith, King, Cindy Morgan 3:13
13. "The Darkest Midnight" (with spoken word by Bono) Traditional; arr. by Smith 1:39
14. "Peace" (featuring Michael McDonald) Beth Nielsen Chapman, McDonald 3:11

Charts

Album
Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[14] 16
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[15] 13
US Christian Albums (Billboard)[16] 1
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[17] 13
US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)[18] 41
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[19] 1
Songs
Year Song US peak chart positions
Christian
[20]		 Christian
Airplay[21]		 Christian
Digital[22]		 Christian
AC[23]		 Christian
Soft AC[24]
2014 "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" 38 24 – 13 –
"Happy Holiday / Holiday Season" 39 22 – – –
"White Christmas" (featuring Lady Antebellum) 39 – – – –
"Silent Night" (featuring Little Big Town) 48 – – – –
"Almost There" (featuring Amy Grant) 27 35 – – 19
"All Is Well" (featuring Carrie Underwood) 6 22 3 30 –
"Christmas Day" (featuring Jennifer Nettles) 49 – – – –

References

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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Michael W. Smith – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Michael W. Smith.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ "Michael W. Smith – Chart history" Billboard Christian Albums for Michael W. Smith.
  17. ↑ "Michael W. Smith – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for Michael W. Smith. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Michael W. Smith – Chart history" Billboard Top Catalog Albums for Michael W. Smith. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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