My Kind of Christmas

Background and composition

Aguilera achieved her early success following the release of the two first studio albums, Christina Aguilera in 1999 and Mi Reflejo in mid-2000, both of which were certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). My Kind of Christmas was recorded from late-1999 to mid-2000, when Aguilera was touring to support her two debut recordings. Originally, Aguilera's idol Etta James was planned to be included as a featured performer on the track "Merry Christmas, Baby". However the idea was later canceled, and Dr. John was chosen as her replacement afterwards. It is a Christmas and dance-pop album, which contains mainly cover versions of Christmas standards and several new tracks, including "Christmas Time", "This Year" and "Xtina's Xmas". "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Merry Christmas, Baby" are the two "soulful" ballads from the album, backed by a 70-piece orchestra. "Christmas Time" and a cover of Celine Dion's "These Are the Special Times", meanwhile, are the two "painful" tracks. "Christmas Time" and "This Year" are the two "hip hop influenced" pop tracks. "The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)" was remade as a dance-styled number, which is set to "a kicking dance beat". "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" released as a single in late-1999 was included in the album.

Promotion

The album was released on October 24, 2000, by RCA Records as Aguilera's third studio album in the United States, following her two first albums Christina Aguilera (1999) and Mi Reflejo (2000). It was released as two formats: CD and cassette. In order to promote the album, Aguilera promoted the album on a number of shows, including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Early Show, and David Letterman Show. On December 10, 2000, Aguilera performed "The Christmas Song", "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants" during a concert at Franklin High in Milwaukee, being watched by 1,300 students. She also performed during an ABC special concert later in December; the set list included songs from her three first studio albums, including a song from My Kind of Christmas, "Have Yourself A Little Merry Christmas". There, she performed the track with Brian McKnight. The concert was filmed and released as a DVD entitled My Reflection (2001).

Reception

The album garnered mixed to negative reviews from music critics, some of them criticized her vocals. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "none of the new songs are knockouts" but "it does suggest that she may not be a mere one-album wonder". Chris Willman from Entertainment Weekly thought that "Aguilera oversings so wildly that there wouldn't have been enough oxygen in the booth to sustain another life form". Jaan Uhelszki from Rolling Stone criticized the album as being "chilly, forced and overdone", while The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was not impressed toward Aguilera's vocal ability on the album, giving it a mixed review.

My Kind of Christmas debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200, and later climbed to number 28, its peak. It eventually peaked atop the Billboard Holiday Albums. Due to its chart success, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum, having sold more than 1,015,000 copies in the country. "The Christmas Song" became Aguilera's third top-twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 18 on the chart. It also charted at number 22 in Canada. By the end of 2000, My Kind of Christmas was the second best selling holiday album of the year, making Aguilera one of the four female artists to have the second best selling holiday album of a calendar year, among Amy Grant (1992), Mariah Carey (1994), and Jackie Evancho (2010). In November 2013, the album entered the International Albums chart in South Korea at number 37.