Katherine McPhee - Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You

[Wayne]

http://i7.tinypic.com/2wbw076.jpg (http://i7.tinypic.com/2wbw076.jpg)

Via her official Twitter (http://twitter.com/katharinemcphee) page

So I'm proud 2 announce I will be spending my summer in LA recording a Christmas record! My label decided 2 give it a green light a little late in the year so now there is a bit of a rush but its going to be great

I appreciate all the support and compassion and because of this new record it will take me many places around the country for promo.

[crazycool]

I'll be on the look out for this for sure!

[Wayne]

I can't wait to see the tracklisting for this - I hope its not just a cover of classics, and nothing new. I love McPhee's voice, and I'd love a seasonal ballad of her own!

[crazycool]

^ I agree, I hope she does some original material as well as putting her own stamp on some standards.

[Wayne]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BH4AkUxj8GY/S6BZ2PDhntI/AAAAAAAAKBw/yTFG4ZhGRpQ/s400/Katharine-McPhee-FEED-Foundation-Hungry-In-America-Project-Benefit-Vanity-Fair-Craft-Los-Angeles-Century-City-California-February-28-2010.jpg



Katharine McPhee laughs and exclaims “This feels so wrong,” as she begins recording a Christmas album on a scorching hot July day in Los Angeles. Yet nothing could be more right than for the sensational singer to record some of her favorite Christmas songs for her third album, titled Christmas Is The Time…To Say I Love You, to be released by Verve Forecast in the fall.
“Christmas really is my favorite time of year,” says McPhee. “It takes a little imagination to be recording right now but I don’t need a ton of Christmas lights in the studio to inspire me. I know these songs so well. These are the songs I listened to growing up. Hopefully my versions will be unique but at the same time timeless; full and rich yet simple and intimate.”
Though the title track to Christmas Is The Time…To Say I Love You is a rarely-covered song originally recorded by rocker Billy Squier in 1981, the album will be filled with familiar classics, whether traditional or contemporary, from “O Holy Night” and “This Christmas” to a medley of “Away In A Manger”/“O Little Town Of Bethlehem.” McPhee also wrote an original song for the album. Producing the album is Allen Sides, one of the most respected engineer/producers in music. A two-time Grammy winner for albums with Burt Bacharach and Joni Mitchell, Sides has also worked with Eric Clapton, Alanis Morrisette, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald. And Co-producing the album is Grammy nominated producer/engineer/arranger Steven Miller who has worked with Dave Matthews Band, Pink, Suzanne Vega, George Winston to name a few.

KatharineMcphee.com (http://katharinemcphee.com/news_d.aspx?nid=2148)

[djdiva]

I love her freakin' much and still think her sophomore album deserved a bigger success than what it achieved. Can't wait for her album, and the most intriguing would be to listen to her take on the classic 'O Holy Night'. After what Celine, and to some extent, Mariah did with it, I am not sure how I'd be able to get these two legends' versions out of my head and heart. Celine's version is a class apart and Mariah's take on it made it so much contemporary. Hope McPhee's rendition would be a little pop/rock tinged rather than a classical one.

[crazycool]

Excited for this! and I like the title

[crazycool]

http://musicistheheartofoursoul.toxicstrut.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/75596ae86fe92abf02c8cfe4567781db-300x300.jpg


1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
2. Jingle Bells
3. It’s Not Christmas Without You
4. O Holy Night
5. Silver Bells
6. Christmas Is The Time
7. Medley: O Little Town Of Bethlehem/Away In A Manger
8. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve
9. White Christmas
10. Who Would Imagine A King

Woooooooo nothing like a black album cover for Christmas time...

[HeatSeeker]

How do you think all the new Christmas albums will sell against each other?

[Wayne]

Wow @ that dark, brooding cover. I think it'll go:

Susan - 2 (potentially 3) times multi-platinum
Mariah - GOLD
Katherine - 250,000

Although I hope that Katherine goes Gold, as that's not a bad tracklisting.

[crazycool]

It depends with Katharine.... I can't really predict her sales.

She's a big name but "Unbroken" sold really poorly this year, but that was released in January so it's no wonder it wasn't a big seller. As this is a 4th quarter release and a Christmas album, it could fare much better. I hope she gets lots of promo!

Jessica Simpson's got a Christmas album this year too, so don't miscount her ;) !

[Sergeant Pepper]

Jessica Simpson's sales are hard to predict, she hasn't released anything in a while. Perhaps Gold?

[Wayne]

Well her venture into country music hardly reaped the rewards did it, I don't think she will score much better with this Christmas release if I'm honest!

[djdiva]

WTF @ the album cover!

And her hair's not grown yet? :(

[crazycool]

Jessica Simpson is indeed hard to predict, she could be an unexpected hit! Her debut album and "In This Skin" are HUGE sellers so she does have a previous with bringing in the HUGE sales, but obviously that was many years ago.

[Wayne]

Is it just me, or does she look a bit like Susan Boyle on her album cover?

[Sergeant Pepper]

A younger Susan Boyle, I totally agree with you Wayne.

[Wayne]

Stream the album with 30 second clips @ Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045NCF3S/ref=dm_sp_alb/178-3581493-7216268?ie=UTF8&qid=1286059957&sr=1-1-catcorr)! :D

Her voice sounds brilliant!! Absolutely fantastic. I've always thought of her as one of the better vocalists to come out of reality music shows. I love how she sounds on this record, even if I do think she's taken the fun out of Jingle Bells :P I understand that she's going for the more moody music, rather than the up-tempo joy of Mariah's festive record, Oh Santa. Still, I think that she needs to differentiate herself a bit more from Susan Boyle if she wants a successful album, as Susan will likely sound very old school, like this. O Holy Night sounds very raw, and real - it was the one song on the album I was most aprehensive about, but I think it should finish as a good interpretation of the song. My two favourites and the two standouts from the clips for me are Its Not Christmas Without You and Christmas Is The Time :D

[Wayne]

Two songs leaked. They are Jingle Bells and Christmas Is The Time. Registered members can download them here: http://www.vanityedge.com/forum/showthread.php?4168-Katharine-McPhee-New-Songs

Stream album clips here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFYiGdVWZ6I&feature=player_embedded

[crazycool]

Need to listen to this! What's it like, I've seen that it has leaked...

[Wayne]

Yeah it leaked the other day. I downloaded it then, there is a link in our magic little section if you need it, it's actually pretty good, much better than the 30 second clips would have you believe.