Musicman-ia

Thursday, December 24, 2009

The MJ Show #17 (A Pop Christmas)

I was almost about to forget what is possibly one of the biggest genres in the world. I mean I told you that I'd give you Rock, Country, R&B/Motown and Oldies Christmas specials. How could I possibly forget Pop!
(This list also consists of some artists who could be considered almost jazz or classical singers as well. The great thing about Pop however is that it is all encompassing and all the artists here fit it perfectly in the Pop bracket too.)
Well, I'm glad I remembered in time.
Here we go...some of my favourite Pop Christmas hits!

I love these guys. I call them the boy band for the artsy types :)
Jokes apart, these guys can sing! Oh can they sing! :)
1st Song - Il Divo - Oh Holy Night #TheMJshow

Another kid who can really really wail is Josh Groban :) Man what a powerful voice he has. Here's a song from Noël, a #1 Christmas album by him. It was released on October 9, 2007, and on December 13, 2007, the RIAA certified it Quintuple Platinum, recognising five million shipments in America.
2nd Song - Josh Groban - I'll Be Home For Christmas #TheMJshow

And while we're on this classical voices thing, I just can't miss out Andrea Bocelli. One of my favourite operatic singers. Here he is singing one of my favourite Christmas songs and he's doing it with the daughter of the man who really sang the definitive version of this song.
3rd Song - Andrea Bocelli & Natalie Cole - The Christmas Song #TheMJshow

The lady has just made a comeback after many years with a new album called "I Look To You" but here's something from one of her older albums. Just listen to her voice on this! Brilliant!!
4th Song - Whitney Houston - Joy To The World #TheMJshow

Taylor Swift is just about the hottest new thing around in America and why not? She's got a brilliant voice and a phenomenal sales record. Here's something from a 2007 Christmas EP that she put out.
5th Song - Taylor Swift - Christmas Must Be Something More #TheMJshow

But if you're talking about really hot stuff...the fairy tale kinda crazy mad hot stuff...look no further. Take a look at my next singer. Her name is Susan Boyle and I wouldn't be surprised if you told me that you had no idea who she was a year ago...but this year, thanks to the magic of a show called "Britain's Got Talent", Susan Boyle has now become a household name!
After doing really well in the competition, she released her first album in November 2009 and it debuted as the number one best-selling CD on charts around the globe.
Here's some trivia:
I Dreamed a Dream became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales on 4 September 2009, three months before the scheduled release. In Britain, Susan's debut album was recognised as the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 copies beating the previous fastest selling debut of all time, Spirit by Leona Lewis. In the U.S., the album sold 701,000 copies in its first week, the best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade. It has gone on to sell 527,000 in its second week at number one and is expected by Billboard to top the chart a third week and to become the biggest selling LP of the year. The album has topped the chart for the 3rd consecutive week selling another 582,000 copies, as reported by Billboard, and as of November 17, 2009 is 700,000+ from album of the year. This has in turn garnered more media attention, as mentioned by People Magazine.
I Dreamed a Dream also outsold the rest of the top 5 albums combined. It's the first album of the month in the Italian #1 Account by a non-Italian artist ever. In only a week, it already sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, becoming the Fastest Selling Global Female Debut Album.
Holy crap eh!! And you thought reality shows were for the birds? Think again!
Here's a beautiful classic done her way, from that album.
6th Song - Susan Boyle - Silent Night #TheMJshow

Okay, this next song is a brilliant song, but I'll admit it, it's a total eye-candy song :)
Chose it just cause Jessica Simpson's singing it :) She's hot! :) Come you know she is :) heh.
7th Song - Jessica Simpson - Let It Snow #TheMJshow

My next song is sung by an absolutely wonderful singer. She sings jazz and jazz standards and here's her take on a Christmas classic!
8th Song - Diana Krall - Jingle Bells #TheMJshow

I truly believe that my next singer has one of the greatest voices in female pop history. Sure she's a little weird and had some super-freaky stages in her career but which young poplet these days doesn't?
All of that doesn't take away anything from her singing chops! The lady can sure sing! Don't believe me...here...listen!
9th Song - Christina Aguilera - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas #TheMJshow

For me, it's just not Christmas till I hear Celine Dion singing. I LOVE this song and the way she sings it!
10th Song - Celine Dion - Feliz Navidad #TheMJshow

One of my favourite singer-songwriters in the world and a man I immensely admire is James Taylor. He's always been one of my biggest influences and here he is singing another Christmas Classic.
11th Song - James Taylor feat. Chris Botti - Winter Wonderland #TheMJshow

Another lady with an incredible voice comin up!
12th Song - Mariah Carey - Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town #TheMJshow

Of all the people who've performed on the American Idol stage, this next guy always stands out in my eyes. I loved the way he did Angels by Robbie Williams and Imagine by John Lennon. Great covers.
Here's a song from his Christmas album.
13th Song - David Archuleta - O Come All Ye Faithful #TheMJshow

"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" was the song that shot this next singer to fame. Here she is doing a Christmas classic.
14th Song - KT Tunstall - Sleigh Ride #TheMJshow

People LOVE this next song. Was one of the biggest hits for Wham! The song was written by George Michael and is one of his most covered songs. What I mean is, a whole bunch of people have recorded this song after Wham! put it out in 1984.
15th Song - Wham - Last Christmas #TheMJshow

"Jingle Bell Rock" is the name of a popular Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. The song has been recorded by a LOT of artists since then. Here's a very intresting video :) Heh :) Check out Hall and Oates version of the song!
16th Song - Hall and Oates - Jingle Bell Rock #TheMJshow

"Early Christmas Morning" was the only single from Cyndi Lauper's Christmas album Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life. That's the song I've got coming up next!
17th Song - Cyndi Lauper - Early Christmas Morning #TheMJshow

Now how can you have Christmas with the next song or the next band! :)
18th Song - Boney M - Mary's Boy Child #TheMJshow

Ok I'm admitting it. I'm kinda embarrassed about the next couple of bands on this list. But hey...the songs are good...and to be honest so are the men singing it. Ahem...boys I meant :)
19th Song - *NSync - The First Noel #TheMJshow

20th Song - Backstreet Boys - Christmas Time #TheMJshow

My next singer had some massive hits like "Can't Smile Without You", "I Write the Songs", "Mandy", "Weekend in New England" and "Copacabana". Here's a Christmas song by the very same man who sang all of those beautiful songs.
Oh by the way, did you know this...
Apparently, in 1984, due to perceived similarities between "Last Christmas" by Whem! and the song "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow, an out of court settlement was reached in which the first year's royalties for "Last Christmas" were donated to "Band Aid" charity which had just started off around then.
21st Song - Barry Manilow - Because It's Christmas (For All the Children) #TheMJshow

Harry Connick, Jr. is an American singer, actor, composer, and pianist. Connick has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. He is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States since 1952, by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million certified albums. He has seven top-20 U.S. albums, and ten number-one U.S. jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in the US jazz chart history. He has won three Grammy awards and one Emmy Award.
Incredible eh! Here's a Christmas song by the man.
22nd Song - Harry Connick Jr. - The Blessed Dawn of Christmas Day #TheMJshow

Alvin and the Chipmunks was an animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. They went from being on an animated tv show to having a movie made on themselves! Not band for 3 chipmunks eh?
The next song I have for you was a song written by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. (a.k.a. David Seville) in 1958. Although it was written and sung by Bagdasarian (in the form of a high-pitched chipmunk voice), the singing credits are given to The Chipmunks, a fictional singing group consisting of three chipmunks by the names of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The song won three Grammy Awards in 1958: Best comedy performance, Best children's recording, and Best engineered record (non-classical)!!
23rd Song - Alvin & The Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) #TheMJshow

Now what can I say, another artist I really need to hear at Christmas is Kenny G.
Silver Bells is a Christmas song I love! Here's Kenny G's version of the song!
24th Song - Kenny G - Silver Bells #TheMJshow

Okay, I'm kinda cheating on this next one :) I just wanted an excuse to have Bing Crosby on the show...and here, I got it. Check out this awesome rare song that I have for you!
25th Song - David Bowie and Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy #TheMJshow

Hope you enjoyed this Christmas special as much as I enjoyed putting it up!

A lot of these songs can be found on a brilliant 3CD set called "The Very Best Of Christmas". It was put out a couple of years ago by @sonymusicindia
I'm sure it's still in the markets. Go pick it up today!

Right then!
Merry Christmas to you all once again. There's still loads more music to come this season on The MJ Show!!!

This is your "Musicman" Mihir and I'll see you again soon...
Take care...and...have a great day!