''8 Days of Christmas'' is the fourth and penultimate

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

and the first and only

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

by American R&B girl group

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

, released on October 30, 2001 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

Background

The album contains twelve tracks featuring traditional Christmas songs and three original songs. Most of them are re-arranged with up-tempo beats in a contemporary R&B style. The album was recorded in Summer 2001 in the United States, but

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the g ...

stated during the "

8 Days of Christmas ''8 Days of Christmas'' is the fourth and penultimate studio album and the first and only Christmas album by American R&B girl group Destiny's Child, released on October 30, 2001 by Columbia Records. Background The album contains twelve track ...

" video premiere on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

'' in Fall 2001 that parts of the album were also recorded in Japan during Destiny's Child's overseas promo tour. In the same interview,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

revealed, "Actually we wrote the song two years ago when we went in the studio to do some Christmas something. That's what started the idea of doing a Christmas album." The song "8 Days of Christmas" first appeared on the double-disc reissue of ''

The Writing's on the Wall ''The Writing's on the Wall'' is the second studio album by American girl group Destiny's Child, released in Japan on July 14, 1999, and in the US on July 27, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Missy Elliott, Kevin "She'kspere" ...

'' in November 2000.

Critical reception

''8 Days of Christmas'' received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

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 Music ...

, gave the album 2.5 out 5 stars. In his review, he felt that it did not offer anything different from any other Christmas album and that it had the same formula as every other Christmas album, making it very predictable.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

. "8 Days of Christmas - Destiny's Child"

. Chris Willman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' gave the album a B+. He felt that the album had a rough start, stating that song lyrics such as, "a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring" were too materialistic, leaving a bad taste in your mouth, however, he stated that originals like "Winter Christmas", and " This Christmas" helped the album quickly recover. ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'' gave the album a mixed review, stating that some songs of the album fell short, but despite that, there were a few gifts on the album, such as "

Carol of the Bells "Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, with music by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914 and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on the Ukrainian folk chant " Shchedryk". The music is in the public domain; Wil ...

". They came to the conclusion that while it was good, it was not destined for success. Alexa Camp of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars. She said that the album sounded like a, " Survivor II: Winter Ghetto-chic," and that the album brought little justice to the original songs.

Commercial performance

''8 Days of Christmas'' made its debut on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 59. On the chart issue dated December 22, 2001, it reached its peak at number 34. On December 3, 2001, the album was certified Platinum in 2020 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting shipments of 1,000,000 copies.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

Notes * signifies a writer credited as "traditional" * The album liner notes credit "

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 " Opera of the Bells" as being written by

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

. * The album liner notes credit " O' Holy Night" as being written by Michelle Williams, Erron Williams and Kim Burse. * signifies a producer and vocal producer Sample Credits *"8 Days of Christmas" contains re-sung lyrics from Traditional Christmas Carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" & a replayed element from "Jingle Bells" written by James Pierpont *"Winter Paradise" contains replayed elements from "

Father Figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal te ...

", written & performed by

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

. *"A 'DC' Christmas Medley" incorporates lyrics from "

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then ...

", "

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 ...

", "

Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success of A ...

", "

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas ''Have a Holly Jolly Christmas'' is a Christmas album by American folk singer Burl Ives, first released by Decca Records in October 1965 (recorded in November 1964). It peaked at #32 on ''Billboards Best Bets For Christmas album chart on Decemb ...

", " Deck the Halls" and "

Here Comes Santa Claus "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song written and originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Claus as "Santy Cl ...

". *"Little Drummer Boy" originally performed by The Harry Simeone Chorale and based on "Carol of the Drum" performed by The Trapp Family Singers *"Do You Hear What I Hear?" originally performed by The Harry Simeone Chorale *"White Christmas" originally performed by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

*"Platinum Bells" is a semi-remake of "Silver Bells" originally performed by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards *"This Christmas" originally performed by

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

*"Opera of the Bells" is a remake of "Carol of the Bells" originally by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky.

Personnel

- vocals performed by (tracks 1-3, 5, 7-8, 10-12) *Asif Ali - recording engineer (track 5) *

Pablo Arraya Pablo Guillermo Arraya (born 21 October 1961) is a former tennis player from Peru. Arraya was born in Córdoba, Argentina, and moved to Peru at a young age with his family. He began playing tennis at 9 years old and turned professional in 1980. H ...

- recording engineer (track 6) *

- group member (tracks 1-5, 7-8, 10-12), musical arrangement (4), vocals (performed by) (4) *Derrick Coleman - additional background vocals (sung by) (track 9) *

Dylan Dresdow Dylan Dresdow aka "3-D", is an audio mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Usher, Black Eyed Peas, Nas, Afrojack, Talib Kweli, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Redman, The Wu Tang Clan, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, ...

- recording engineer (track 9) *Alan Floyd - musical arrangement (track 6) *David Guerrero - assistant audio mixing (tracks 1, 4-10, 12) *Jaime Guidewicz - assistant recording engineer (track 6) *

James Hoover James Hoover (February 28, 1971 in Morgantown, West Virginia) is a Grammy Award-winning freelance audio engineer who has worked with performers such as Beyoncé, ZZ Top, Chamillionaire, South Park Mexican Carlos Coy (born October 5, 1970), kno ...

- recording engineer (tracks 2-3) *

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, whi ...

- guest vocals (performed by) (track 5) *

Tony Maserati Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen ...

- audio mixing (tracks 2-3, 11) * Errol "Poppi" McCalla - music programming *Bill Meyers - string arrangements, string conductor * Michael Morales - acoustic guitar (track 4) *Ramon Morales - recording engineer (tracks 11-12) *Tom Morris - recording engineer (tracks 7-8) *John Naslen - recording engineer (track 1) *Flip Osman - assistant audio mixing (tracks 2-3, 11) * Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado - audio mixing (tracks 1, 4-10, 12) *Marius Perron - recording engineer (track 4) *Juan Ramirez - assistant recording engineer (track 5) *Sharay Reed - bass guitar (track 9) *Byron Rickerson - recording engineer (track 9) *

Frank Romano Frank Romano is an American born guitarist, songwriter and record producer, influenced by a number of musical styles and backgrounds. Career Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, Romano grew up in a musical family in the suburbs of Cle ...

- guitar (track 3) *

- group member (tracks 1-3, 5-8, 10-12), vocals (6) *Motonori Sasaki - assistant recording engineer (track 11) *Stephen Stephanie - assistant recording engineer (track 1) *Larry Strum - recording engineer (track 9) *Brian Summer - assistant recording engineer (track 9) *David Swope - recording engineer (track 6) *Tucker Allen - recording engineer (track 9) *Kevin Turner - acoustic guitar (track 9) *Robert Valdez - assistant recording engineer (track 7-8) * Michelle Williams - group member (tracks 1-3, 5, 7-12), lead vocals (9)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2001 Christmas albums 2001 video albums Albums produced by Focus... Christmas albums by American artists Columbia Records Christmas albums Destiny's Child albums Destiny's Child video albums Contemporary R&B Christmas albums Albums produced by Beyoncé