This Christmas (John Travolta and Olivia Newton John album)

Background and development

In March 2012 Newton-John was interviewed by Malaysian newspaper The Star and was asked when was the last time which she talked with Travolta, her answered: "About a month ago. We’re working on a project together. [...] It’s not about Grease!". In late September the virtual shops of Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com listed an album named This Christmas by Travolta and Newton-John, set to be released on November 13, 2012. Rav Holly, from Rav Media Group, posted on Facebook a photo with Travolta and Newton-John, and stated that the company was making the album photoshoot. An official statement came on October 2, with a post on Olivia's official website and Facebook page.

According to statement, This Christmas is "the audio equivalent of those classic network TV specials hosted from the stars’ homes, an intimate, warm set of traditional holiday songs [...]". The album producer was the Grammy Award-winner composer Randy Waldman. All tracks are covers of classic Christmas songs, except "I Think You Might Like It", which was targeted as the "You're the One That I Want sequel." The song was written by Newton-John long-time collaborator John Farrar, who also wrote "You're the One That I Want", according to Newton-John: "If it wasn’t for that song, we wouldn’t be here talking about it 30 years later." The album also features the well-known musicians Kenny G, Barbra Streisand, Chick Corea, Cliff Richard, Tony Bennett, Count Basie Orchestra and James Taylor as special guests on some tracks. All of the album tracks were recorded in one take.

The idea from recording an album came when Newton-John sent a Christmas card to Travolta, noting that the songs of Grease become the best-selling duet in pop music history. Travolta commented: "I thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t people want to hear us do other songs?’ and immediately came up with the idea of doing a holiday album together. [...] From the moment we decided to do this, magic happened. Everyone we contacted agreed to do it." The two have been good friends since Grease was filmed, and agree to donate the artist proceeds from the album equally to their respective charities, the Jett Travolta Foundation for children's disabilities and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.

It is the second time that "White Christmas" is featured on a Newton-John album, the first time was on 2003 compilation The Christmas Collection, as a duet with Kenny Loggins and Clint Black. The songs "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (also a duet with Loggins) and "Silent Night" also are featured on this album. Her 2007 album, Christmas Wish, features "Silent Night", as a duet with Jann Arden, and an instrumental interlude version of "Deck the Halls".

Critical response

This Christmas received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars, felling that "This Christmas winds up serving both audiences equally well: it'll brighten the season of fans who take this at face value, and for those looking for a ridiculous dose of celeb Christmas cheer." Amanda Ash of the Edmonton Journal gave a less positive review, stating "This Christmas is a train wreck would be an understatement. [...] Depressingly devoid of sentiment, Newton-John and Travolta’s duets also sound incredibly awkward." Phil Johnson of The Independent wrote that "If Christmas is a slush-fest, here's your soundtrack", despite "John Travolta might act singing rather than sing." The Guardian writer Caroline Sullivan commented that "The potential for schmaltz here is great, but it bobs along tastefully, even when Cliff Richard turns up". About the vocal performances, she found that "Travolta and Newton-John themselves sound unfeasibly young and earnest, except when they steer 'Baby It's Cold Outside' in a toe-curlingly 'sexy' direction." Josh Nicholson of The Courier stated that "It all seems very lovey-dovey which is what you want from a Christmas album. It’s a bit of a stocking filler for the over-40s though. It’s a good album I admit that, but it’s no Christmas with Dean Martin."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number eighty-one on the Billboard 200, making the first Newton-John's album entry on top 100 since Back with a Heart, which peaked at number fifty-nine in 1998. On December 26, 2012 the album had sold 35,596 in the United States. This Christmas peaked at number thirty-three in Newton-John's native country Australia.

Promotion

Travolta and Newton-John made several promotional appearances to promote This Christmas in the album release month. They answered questions from fans on the Google Play (December 4) and also were interviewed on Extra (December 4), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (December 5), Australia's Today (December 5), Rove LA (December 6) and Live! with Kelly and Michael (December 19) about the album creation and the Grease phenomenon.

Although no singles were released from the album, a music video for the song "I Think You Might Like It" was released on December 4, 2012. The video was directed by Rav Holly and Corey Molina and received generally negative reviews among music critics and the general public, which criticized the video low-budget production and bad acting. Rolling Stone magazine commented that "the holidays have rarely seemed so sterile." Courtney Hazlett of Today Entertainment called the video "bizarre." Katie Kilkenny of Slate magazine found the video "a new Christmas camp." The Huffington Post gave it a positive review, stating: "There is thumbs-in-the-belt-loops line-dancing, an soul patch on a pocket-chain wearing John Travolta, and a running scene straight out of '10.' All in all, fun for the whole family." According to Billboard, the video was the thirteenth most watched music video on YouTube on week of December 22, 2012, having more than 6 million views in its first week.

Credits and personnel

Credits for This Christmas adapted from Allmusic.