My Kind of Christmas – Christina Aguilera
Now let’s go even further back, to the year 2000. Teen pop was all the rage, and blonde pop stars were ruling the airwaves. Christina Aguilera was fresh off the success of her debut self-titled album and her Latin album Mi Reflejo, so the young singer tried her hand at Christmas music and decided to release My Kind of Christmas to show off her powerhouse vocals.
My Kind of Christmas featured several original songs to showcase Christina’s unique voice. Those songs included “Christmas Time” and “This Year” and a cover of Celine Dion’s “These Are the Special Times”. The album wouldn’t be complete without the standards, and Christina belted out her own versions of “Oh Holy Night”, “This Christmas”, “The Christmas Song”, and more. The album infused traditional holiday sounds with more modern, urban R&B beats, and plenty of dance-pop influences that now feel very early-2000s.
Christina’s Christmas album hit the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by RIAA. It sold over 1,015,000 copies in the United States alone, and 7 million copies worldwide. You can still hear her songs being played on the radio and on Christmas playlists around the world almost 20 years later, so that’s the sign of a true hit!
One interesting thing about this album is the special collaboration that never was. There were plans for Christina to record a duet with her musical idol, the amazing Etta James. She was supposed to be featured on the track “Merry Christmas, Baby”, but the idea was eventually scrapped and the final version featured jazz singer Dr. John. It’s a shame it never happened, because that could’ve been one legendary Christmas hit.