Label The MWS Group | Release date 30 September 2014 | |
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Released September 30, 2014 (2014-09-30) Genre Contemporary Christian music Producers David Hamilton, Michael W. Smith Similar Michael W Smith albums, Contemporary Christian music albums |
Michael w smith michael w smith friends the spirit of christmas album trailer
The Spirit of Christmas, officially titled as Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas is a duet Christmas album by Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith, released on September 30, 2014, through Capitol Records. This is Smith's fourth Christmas album. His previous Christmas album, It's a Wonderful Christmas, was released in 2007. The Spirit of Christmas won 2015 Dove Award for Christmas Album of the Year.
Contents
- Michael w smith michael w smith friends the spirit of christmas album trailer
- Michael w smith it s the most wonderful time of the year lyric video
- Background
- Tour
- Critical reception
- Commercial performance
- Personnel
- Charts
- Songs
- References
Michael w smith it s the most wonderful time of the year lyric video
Background
This album features duets with several country music artists, including Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Martina McBride, and Vince Gill. Other artists on it include U2 frontman Bono, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald. Bono is featured in spoken word on the track "The Darkest Midnight."
Tour
Cracker Barrel sponsored Smith's 2014 "Spirit of Christmas Tour", which started on November 30, 2014, and finished on December 21, 2014. The tour features a full symphony and consists of 14 shows, 3 of which were co-headlined with Amy Grant.
Smith toured this album again in 2015, also with Cracker Barrel sponsoring. This time Amy Grant was featured in 8 of 13 shows. The tour began on December 4, 2015 in Kentucky, and ended on December 20, 2015 in Virginia.
Critical reception
Jeffrey Lee Puckett for The Courier Journal said the album "gets the season of holiday Christmas albums off to a big start."
Commercial performance
The album sold 4,000 copies in its first week of release, debuted at No. 80 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 16 as of December 2014. It also reached No. 13 on Top Album Sales Chart which counts traditional album sales and does not include streaming. On the Top Christian Albums Chart, the album debuted at No. 5 and peaked at No. 1. This marks Smith's third new album for 2014 to enter the Billboard 200. He previously released Sovereign, which debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies; and Hymns, which debuted at No. 25 with 12,000 copies. As of January 2015, The Spirit of Christmas has sold 145,000 copies.
Personnel
Charts
Songs
1The Miracle of Christmas1:43
2It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year2:38
3Happy Holiday / Holiday Season (medley)3:07