It Must Be Christmas

It Must Be Christmas
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 14, 2016 (2016-10-14)
Recorded2016
Genre
Length34:00
LabelRCA Nashville
Producer
  • Corey Crowder
  • Chris Young
Chris Young chronology
I'm Comin' Over
(2015)
It Must Be Christmas
(2016)
Losing Sleep
(2017)

It Must Be Christmas is the sixth studio album and first Christmas album by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released on October 14, 2016, by RCA Records Nashville.[1] Young co-wrote two of the album's ten tracks. The album features collaborations with Boyz II Men, Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated the album three stars out of five. "[It] does everything a modern mainstream holiday album should do," writes Erlewine, "it plays upon memories of Christmas while appealing to the moment at hand." He added that the original songs "feel like radio tunes" rather than seasonal material.[1] Chuck Dauphin of country music blog Sounds Like Nashville wrote a positive review in which he praised Young's "classic approach" to the holiday fare. "Whether it be a "New" classic or an evergreen one," he writes, "Young hits all the right notes on the album."[2]

Commercial

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Upon release, It Must Be Christmas debuted in the top five of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at number four and also topped the Holiday Albums chart. The album has sold 74,100 copies in the US as of November 2017.[3]

Track listing

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Personnel

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Credits adapted from AllMusic.[4]

Vocals

  • Boyz II Men – featured vocals (9)
  • Corey Crowder – background vocals
  • Alan Jackson — featured vocals (4)
  • Brad Paisley – featured vocals (7)
  • Kristen Rogers – background vocals
  • Chris Young – lead vocals, background vocals

Musicians

Production

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 14, 2016). "It Must Be Christmas - Chris Young". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. ^ Dauphin, Chris (October 17, 2016). "Album Review: Chris Young's 'It Must Be Christmas'". Sounds Like Nashville. SpinMedia. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. ^ Bjorke, Matt (November 26, 2017). "Top Country Catalog Sales Chart: November 26, 2017". Roughstock. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  4. ^ "Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  6. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  7. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  8. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  9. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 4, 2018.