A Mary Christmas | ||||
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Studio album by Mary J. Blige | ||||
Released | October 15, 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2012–2013 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:53 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | David Foster | |||
Mary J. Blige chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 49/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
The Guardian | |
The Independent | |
Los Angeles Times | |
Slant Magazine |
A Mary Christmas is the eleventh studio album and first Christmas album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. Produced by David Foster, it was released on October 15, 2013 via Matriarch, Interscope and Foster's Verve Records, compromising soulful interpretations of classic holiday tunes such as "Little Drummer Boy", "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".
Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews amongst critics. Commercially, it opened at number 23 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with 12,000 copies. It marked Blige's 15th top ten title on the latter chart, tying her with Snoop Dogg for second-most top ten entries in the Nielsen SoundScan era. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 4, 2013, which indicates sales of over 500,000 copies.
It was confirmed in June 2013 that Blige had been working on a Christmas album, in an interview with Charleston Scene. In that interview, Blige revealed featured artists to be on the record would be Jessie J, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Barbra Streisand, with whom she duets a “jazzy version” of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”