''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'', originally released under the title ''Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'', is a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

-special

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

. The EP was first released as a

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

exclusive on October 14, 2007, by Big Machine Records. It was released to other retailers on December 2, 2008 and was re-released to Target on October 6, 2009. ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' consists of six tracks—four are

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 Christmas classics (" Last Christmas", " Santa Baby", " Silent Night", and "

White Christmas White Christmas most commonly refers to: * White Christmas (weather), snowfall or snow-covered ground on Christmas Day * "White Christmas" (song), a 1942 song written by Irving Berlin White Christmas may also refer to: Film, television, and the ...

") and two are original tracks written by Swift ("Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Christmas Must Be Something More"). Produced by Nathan Chapman, the EP has a country pop sound using instruments such as

fiddles A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, ...

and pedal steels. Songs from the EP received airplay on US

country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. The ...

, with "Last Christmas" becoming the best-charting track, reaching number 28 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. Music critics thought the EP was fine but praise was reserved. Some critics praised Swift's self-written material and wished the EP had been longer, but others disliked the country-pop makeover of the Christmas classics. ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' peaked at number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and at number one on Top Holiday Albums. It was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

and has sold over one million copies in the United States.

Background and release

The EP was originally titled ''Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection''. For the release, Swift and Big Machine Records partnered with

, who exclusively distributed the EP in the United States. It was commercially released via Target on October 14, 2007. ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'''s cover art is taken from Swift's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "

Teardrops on My Guitar "Teardrops on My Guitar" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her self-titled debut album (2006). Swift wrote the song with Liz Rose, and Nathan Chapman produced it. Big Machine Records released "Teardrops on My Gui ...

" (2007). The EP was released to other retailers, including the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

, on December 2, 2008. On October 6, 2009, the EP was re-released by Target and made available as a digital download on the

and

, both making minor adjustments to its cover art and removing ''Sounds of the Season:'' from the title, leaving it as simply ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection''.

Composition

''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' is holiday music with a country pop inclination. The EP is mainly composed of

s of holiday hits and

Christmas carols Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

. The EP's opening track is a cover version of " Last Christmas" (1986) by the English pop duo Wham! The original song "Christmases When You Were Mine" was written by Swift, Liz Rose, and Nathan Chapman. Lyrically, the track fixates on prior Christmases, in which the song's protagonist was happier. The lyrics also express that the current Christmas is much harder to cheer for than previous ones. It is the only song to date that Swift has ever recorded in which Chapman is credited as a co-writer. In all of their other collaborations, Chapman is only credited as a producer, while Swift and sometimes other songwriters are credited. Swift covered " Santa Baby", a 1953 song originally performed by

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

. " Silent Night" is a Christmas carol cover that is musically performed differently, replacing the instrumentation from

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

; Swift's vocals are also faster than traditionally recorded for the song. "Christmas Must Be Something More" is the second original song from ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'', self-penned by Swift. The lyrics attempt for audiences to recognize the reason for the celebration of Christmas, the commemoration of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

's birth. The closing track is a rendition of Irving Berlin's "

", which was popularized 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 ...

on his 1942 album of the same name.

Promotion

On November 27, 2007, Swift promoted ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' through an autograph-signing event held at NBC's Experience Store in New York. The following day, she performed "Silent Night" on a rhinestoned acoustic guitar for ''Today'' at the Rockefeller Center; she dressed in a long black dress and a white winter coat. She then performed "Christmases When You Were Mine" on November 29, 2007, in

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

, at the Family Arena, as part of her set for WIL's Jinglefest 2007, and "Santa Baby" in

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

, at the

Mall of America Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...

on December 8, 2007. Swift appeared on ''Today'' again on Christmas Day of 2007, performing "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Silent Night". Songs from the EP received airplay on US

starting from the week of December 10, 2007, with "Last Christmas" being the week's most-added Christmas song. Two songs, "Santa Baby" and "Christmases When You Were Mine", were among the top 100 most-played country-music holiday songs of 2007 in the United States. For the holiday season of 2008, all EP songs again aired on US country radio stations beginning from the week of November 24, 2008, with "Last Christmas" being among the 10 most-played holiday songs on country radio of the season. All EP tracks except "Christmas Must Be Something More" charted on ''Billboard'''s airplay chart

: "Last Christmas" peaked at number 28, Christmases When You Were Mine" at number 48, "Santa Baby" at number 43, "Silent Night" at number 54, and "White Christmas" at number 59. "Last Christmas" and "Santa Baby" also charted on

Holiday 100 The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

, peaking at numbers 18 and 89, respectively. On the all-time Holiday 100 chart published by ''Billboard'' in 2016, Swift's "Last Christmas" ranked at number 56.

Critical reception

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, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said the songs on ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' were "all crisp, cheerful arrangements that are suitably seasonal but also faithful to her bright country-pop." Craig Shelburne of CMT said, "Thanks to this teen star, a new generation of sensitive girls may discover the melancholy but oh-so-melodic 'Last Christmas'. She also includes two original holiday songs." Dan Maclntosh of '' Country Standard Time'' concluded, "Swift is a fine singer, who finds ways to inject sincere emotion into every line she sings. They say the best things come in small packages. And that saying holds true for Swift's new one." In the ''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it rem ...

'', Kellie B. Gormly commented that the EP was "sweet" and highlighted the "deeply spiritual" track "Christmas Must Be Something More" as a standout. David Yonke in ''The Blade'' said that he wished the EP had been longer, and selected two tracks as highlights: "Christmases When You Were Mine" ("a mature, wistful ballad") and "Santa Baby" ("a sassy wink-and-a-nod"). A review in the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' by Scott Iwasaki complimented Swift's self-penned songs and said the EP overall was fine, with the exception of "Silent Night", which he found heavy on the arrangement. Jonathan Takiff from the ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. The ''Dail ...

'' disapproved of the "fiddle and pedal steel-flavoring" makeover of the Christmas classics, but praised Swift's original tracks with "the high gloss". '' The Florida Times-Union'''s Roger Bull was less complimentary, saying that the EP is not bad but questioning whether anyone other than teenage girls would buy it. ''Billboard'' ranked the album as the 18th-best Christmas album of the twenty-first century.

Commercial performance

On the week ending December 8, 2007, ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' debuted at number 88 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It debuted at number 18 on the

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales a ...

chart, selling 15,000 copies first-week. The following week, the EP rose to a new peak at number 46 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Following its 2009 re-release, ''The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' re-entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 20, its peak, and extended its run on the chart to 24 weeks. For the 2007 holiday season, the EP peaked at number 18 on Top Country Albums and at number 22 on Top Holiday Albums, and for the 2009 holiday season, it peaked at number 14 on both Top Country Albums and Top Holiday Albums. For the 2010 holiday season, ''The Taylor Holiday Collection'' re-entered the Top Holiday Albums Chart at number one. As of July 2019, the EP had sold 1.08 million copies in the United States.

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Nathan Chapman.

Personnel

As listed in liner notes. *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

; arrangements for "Silent Night" *Heidi Beall – background vocals *Nick Buda –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Nathan Chapman –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, songwriter,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

, background vocals, mixing *

Eric Darken Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer. Biography Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Rob Hajacos –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

*Andy Leftwich –

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

*Tim Marks – bass guitar *Scotty Sanders –

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

;Production staff *Sue Peterson – executive producer *Shelli Hill – executive producer *Melinda Norris Photography – photographer *Shelli Hill –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

*Kyle Ford – assistant engineer *Sandi Spika Borchetta – dress design, hair *Chad Carlson – recording *Mathieu Bitton – art direction, design *Phil Schullo – additional engineering *Whitney Sutton – production copy *Lorri Turk – make-up *Stacey Ward – project manager *Hank Williams – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time chart

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, The 2007 Christmas albums 2007 debut EPs Taylor Swift EPs Albums produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer) Big Machine Records EPs Christmas albums by American artists Pop Christmas albums Country Christmas albums Christmas EPs