''It's Christmas'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba. In 1995, Ledisi formed a band afte ...

, and her first

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, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Je ...

. Released by

Verve Forecast Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

on September 23, 2008, the album features

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular Christmas songs in addition to original material.Ledisi - It's Christmas
AllMusic. Retrieved on October 18, 2024 Ledisi worked with

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

, Rex Rideout, and Luther "Mano" Hanes, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Ledisi's interpretations of the covered material. "Give Love on Christmas Day" was released as a radio single from the album. Critical response to the album's contemporary Christmas theme was positive. Some music critics complimented the "fiery gospel-soul" vocals and called the album a "more personal, more instinctual record."LEDISI "It's Christmas" Verve Forecast
Washington Post. Retrieved on October 18, 2024

Conception and composition

Throughout the album's development, Ledisi worked with Rex Rideout, with whom she collaborated on ''

Lost & Found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Freq ...

'' (2007) and Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire (2007). Together, they wrote one of the album's original songs, as well as producing most of the traditional tracks. In July 2008, Ledisi announced her plans to release a Christmas album.Ledisi Proclaims ‘It’s Christmas’ On First Holiday Album
Billboard. Retrieved on October 18, 2024 In an interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine, she confirmed to be working with American trumpeter Christian Scott, American blues musician

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that tra ...

, and female quartet Perri. In addition, Ledisi recorded a cover of "

What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong on August 16, 1967. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed p ...

" by

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, as well as classics such as " Please Come Home for Christmas", "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

", and "

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical '' Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. ...

Release and promotion

''It's Christmas'' was released on September 23, 2008, by

; becoming her second album release on a major record label. On December 7, 2008, the

Gospel Music Channel UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...

aired a thirty-minute Christmas program titled ''Ledisi Christmas''. The program featured Ledisi performing selected songs from ''It's Christmas'' in addition to her single "

Alright Alright, All Right or Allwright may refer to: Music Albums * ''Alright!'' (album), a 2007 album by Bogdan Raczynski * ''Alright'', a 2011 album by Jerry Williams * ''All Right'', a 1982 album by Himiko Kikuchi Songs * "Alright" (Cast song) * ...

". ''It's Christmas'' was supported by the commercial single and cover version of "

Give Love on Christmas Day "Give Love on Christmas Day" is a Christmas song first recorded by Motown Records' family quintet the Jackson 5. Written by the label's songwriting-producing team, The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Christine Perren, Freddie Perre ...

", which peaked at number thirteen on the US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. An accompanying music video, directed Ron T. Young, was released on YouTube. The song "This Christmas (Could Be the One)" peaked at number twelve on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while her cover version of "

" peaked at number thirteen on the chart. In November 2009, ''It's Christmas'' was re-released as a double box album set along with her album '' Turn Me Loose''.Ledisi - Turn Me Loose & It's Christmas
AllMusic. Retrieved on October 18, 2024

Reception

In ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Geoffrey Himes wrote that "artists have a chance to make a more personal, more instinctual record. There's no better example than Ledisi's terrific new disc."

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 ...

editor Eric Schneider praised her rendition of "

", referring to it as a "graceful take".

Commercial performance

''It's Christmas'' debuted and peaked at number five on the US

Top Holiday Albums Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine only Record chart, charted Christmas Single (music), singles and albums along with the other popular non-holiday Phonograph record, records until the 1958 Christmas and holiday season, holiday season w ...

chart during the week of October 11, 2008.Ledisi Billboard Chart History
Billboard. Retrieved on October 18, 2024 The album remained on the charts for a total of five weeks. During the week of November 1, 2008, the album debuted on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart. During its fifth week on the chart, the album peaked at number twenty-eight. The album spent a total of fourteen weeks on the chart.

Track listing

#"I'll Go" #"

Children Go Where I Send Thee "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" (alternatively "Children, Go Where I Send You" or variations thereof, also known as "The Holy Baby", "Little Bitty Baby", or "Born in Bethlehem") is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Among the many d ...

" #"

" #"Be There for Christmas" #"This Christmas (Could Be the One)" #"

" #"

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" is a popular song written in 1947 by Frank Loesser as an independent song. It was first recorded by Margaret Whiting in 1947 and first charted for The Orioles, peaking at No. 9 on ''Billboard''s Best-Selling ...

" #"It's Christmas" #"

" #" Please Come Home for Christmas" #"

" #"Thank You"

Charts

References

{{Authority control Ledisi albums 2008 Christmas albums Christmas albums by American artists Verve Forecast Records albums