Home for Christmas is the first Christmas album and second studio album by American boy band NSYNC. The album was released, exclusively in the United States, on November 10, 1998, by RCA Records following the success of their self-titled debut album. On October 27, 1999, Home for Christmas was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA for shipment of two million copies in the United States.[4][5] Home for Christmas was released on September 30, 2002 in the United Kingdom as The Meaning of Christmas on Ariola Express with an altered track listing.[6]
Home for Christmas | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 10, 1998 | |||
Recorded | 1998 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 55:36 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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NSYNC chronology | ||||
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Singles from Home for Christmas | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | C[2] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
"Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" was released as a single in the United States, and in Germany as well, due to its inclusion on the group's German seasonal album, The Winter Album.[7] As of December 2014, Home for Christmas has sold 2.8 million copies in the United States, making it the fifteenth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the U.S. since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking music sales in 1991.[8]
During its time of release in 1998, Home for Christmas was met with lukewarm to negative reviews from critics who derided the song lyrics as “sentimental-sounding non sequiturs”[2] and contended the group did not have the same charisma of fellow pop groups like the Backstreet Boys or the Spice Girls.[1] At Rate Your Music, a website where users submit reviews, Home for Christmas was given a very low rating: 1.43 out of 5.[9] However, critics also praised the album for having eleven original tracks, as well as for its “slickly produced adult contemporary ballads and lite dance-pop”.[1]
In the years since, the album has been commended for the strength of its five-part harmonies, displayed in songs like the group’s a capella of “O Holy Night.”[10][11][12] It is also known as a rare NSYNC album that gives Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass vocal opportunities to shine.[10]
Most of the lead vocals are provided by Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Home for Christmas" |
|
| 4:28 |
2. | "Under My Tree" |
| Veit Renn | 4:32 |
3. | "I Never Knew the Meaning of Christmas" |
| 4:45 | |
4. | "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" | Renn | 4:12 | |
5. | "The Christmas Song" |
| Gary Carolla | 3:16 |
6. | "I Guess It's Christmas Time" |
| Carolla | 3:52 |
7. | "All I Want Is You This Christmas" |
| Renn | 3:43 |
8. | "The First Noel" | Traditional | Carolla | 3:28 |
9. | "In Love on Christmas" |
| Renn | 4:06 |
10. | "It's Christmas" |
|
| 4:29 |
11. | "O Holy Night" | Traditional | Robin Wiley | 3:33 |
12. | "Love's In Our Hearts On Christmas Day" | Haase | Renn | 3:54 |
13. | "The Only Gift" |
| Renn | 3:51 |
14. | "Kiss Me at Midnight" |
| Renn | 3:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I Guess It's Christmas Time" | |
2. | "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" | |
3. | "I Never Knew the Meaning of Christmas" | |
4. | "Love's in Our Hearts on Christmas Day" | |
5. | "Home for Christmas" | |
6. | "In Love on Christmas" | |
7. | "The Only Gift" | |
8. | "It's Christmas" | |
9. | "All I Want Is You This Christmas" | |
10. | "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" (Remix) | |
11. | "Kiss Me at Midnight" | |
12. | "The Christmas Song" | |
13. | "The First Noel" | |
14. | "O Holy Night" |
Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.[13]
NSYNC
Additional personnel
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada)[20] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[21] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |