Christmas & Chill

Christmas & Chill
EP by Ariana Grande
Released December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18)
Recorded December 2015
Genre
Length 13:08
Label Republic
Producer
  • Tommy Brown
  • Ariana Grande
  • Mr. Franks
  • Magi
  • Travis Sayles
Ariana Grande chronology
The Remix
(2015)		 Christmas & Chill
(2015)		 Dangerous Woman
(2016)
Alternative cover
Japanese reissue cover

Christmas & Chill is the second holiday EP by American singer Ariana Grande. Republic Records released it on December 18, 2015,[1] as a follow-up to her 2013 holiday EP Christmas Kisses and her 2014 Christmas single "Santa Tell Me". The EP features six original holiday tracks written by Grande, all of which have an R&B, soul and trap sound.

The project received favorable reviews by critics, most of them noting the new sound for Grande. Despite not having any singles and receiving zero promotion, the EP had huge commercial success during the holiday season of 2015. It reached a peak of number 3 on the worldwide iTunes album chart, debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Holiday Albums[2] chart and at number 34 on the Billboard 200 chart.

On November 18, 2016, Christmas & Chill was released on CD in Japan.[3][4]

Recording and music

According to Tommy Brown, the EP was recorded in 4 days at Grande's home studio.[5] Songwriting credits are shared by Grande with Tommy Brown, Michael Foster, Steven Franks, Victoria Monet, Travis Sayles, Ryan Matthew Tedder and Peter Lee Johnson.[6] For Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos, the EP consists of "romantic Christmas ballads over trap beats", commenting that "the one song to stand out from the more R&B-leaning EP is the folky 'Winter Things', where the acoustic track sounds a bit like Jason Mraz, as Grande sings 'My baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things'."[7]

Critical reception

Jaleesa M. Jones in USA Today called it "a festive ode to winter romance."[8] Emma Garland from Noisey said the album "basically sounds like a Cassie album ... but with sleigh bells and lyrics like 'tis the season for some love giving!' It's basically the perfect festive romp."[9] Apple Music described the EP as "a sultry set of modern holiday originals". Two years after its release, MTV's Sydney Gore and Brian Anthony Hernandez revisited the EP, calling it "a new holiday classic" and "a catalyst of original Christmas carols for the so-called doomed millennial generation. ...[T]his EP has the power to melt any trace of snow that's piling up on your front porch. ... There's a playful, eflish energy about ["True Love"] that makes you want to hang mistletoe everywhere to secure a smooch with that special someone."[10]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
  • Mr. Franks
  • Magi
  • Sayles
  • Brown
1:05
2."Wit It This Christmas"
  • Grande
  • McCants
  • Brown
  • Sayles
  • Foster
  • Tedder
  • Peter Lee Johnson
  • Mr. Franks
  • Magi
  • Sayles
  • Brown
2:41
3."December"
  • Grande
  • McCants
  • Brown
  • Sayles
  • Franks
  • Foster
  • Tedder
  • Mr. Franks
  • Magi
  • Sayles
  • Brown
1:56
4."Not Just on Christmas"
  • Grande
  • McCants
  • Brown
  • Sayles
  • Franks
  • Johnson
  • Sayles
  • Brown
2:02
5."True Love"
  • Grande
  • McCants
  • Brown
  • Sayles
  • Franks
  • Foster
  • Tedder
  • Johnson
  • Mr. Franks
  • Magi
  • Sayles
  • Brown
2:46
6."Winter Things"
  • Grande
  • McCants
  • Brown
  • Sayles
  • Franks
  • Johnson
  • Sayles
  • Brown
2:38
Total length:13:08

Charts

Chart (2015–17) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 49
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 43
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 30
US Billboard 200[14] 34
US Holiday Albums (Billboard)[15] 3

References

  1. ↑ "Christmas & Chill - EP", iTunes, December 18, 2015
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 "アリアナ・グランデ、日本のファンに贈るクリスマスミニアルバムを11月リリース". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ "CDJapan: Christmas & Chill by Ariana Grande". Cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  5. ↑ https://instagram.com/p/BNqqUQaBe7d/ An Instagram post by Tommy Brown, December 6, 2016
  6. ↑ Christmas & Chill, Allmusic.com, accessed December 28, 2015
  7. ↑ Spanos, Brittany. "Hear Ariana Grande's Surprise-Released EP 'Christmas & Chill'", Rolling Stone magazine, December 17, 2015
  8. ↑ "Ariana Grande wants to 'Christmas & chill' on new EP", USA Today, December 18, 2015
  9. ↑ Garland, Emma. "Ariana Grande's Christmas & Chill Is the Perfect Festive Romp", Noisey, December 18, 2015
  10. ↑ Gore, Sydney and Brian Anthony Hernandez. "Let's Talk About How Ariana Grande’s Christmas & Chill EP Is a New Holiday Classic", MTV, December 6, 2017
  11. ↑ [EP&cat=a "Australiancharts.com – Ariana Grande – Christmas & Chill [EP]"]. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Ariana Grande Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  13. ↑ [EP&cat=a "Swedishcharts.com – Ariana Grande – Christmas & Chill [EP]"]. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Ariana Grande Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Ariana Grande Album & Song Chart History: Holiday Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.