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''Merry Christmas'' is the first Christmas album, and the fourth studio album, by American singer, Mariah Carey. Released by Columbia Records on November 1, 1994, the album features cover versions of popular Christmas tunes and original material. Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote all of the original tracks, as well as producing Carey's interpretations of the covered material. The album contains a contemporary holiday theme, and featured "authentic, gospel flavored background vocals". The album features instrumentation from keyboards, bass guitars, drums, percussion and heavy backing vocals. After its release, the album received generally positive reviews and became a worldwide success. Critics praised Carey's uplifting and flavored vocals, as well as her skilled songwriting alongside Afanasieff. Singles were released from the album, being sent to different radio stations for promotional purposes. ''Merry Christmas'' was released at the peak of the initial stretch of Carey's career, between ''Music Box'' (1993) and ''Daydream'' (1995). The album produced the worldwide classic single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which became the best-selling holiday ringtone in the US.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' Is World's First Double Platinum Holiday Ringtone )〕 The album has sold 5,370,000 copies in the United States as of November 2014 according to Nielsen SoundScan, and has been certified five-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of five million copies in the United States.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database )〕 In Japan, ''Merry Christmas'' has sold 2,500,000 copies and is the third best-selling album of all time by a non-Asian artist, behind Carey's other release ''#1's'' (1998) and Whitney Houston's ''The Bodyguard''. ''Merry Christmas'' has sold 15 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling Christmas album of all time.〔 A Deluxe Anniversary Edition was released on October 23, 2015.〔http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B014882NMC?ie=UTF8&at=&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links〕 ==Background== Carey has expressed her belief in God and her connection between music and spirituality, and felt the album was finally a way to portray her mysticism into music. After the success of Carey's previous effort, ''Music Box'', there was speculation of a new project in the works; however it was not until October 1994, only one month before the album's release, that ''Billboard'' announced Carey would be releasing a holiday album for the Christmas season.〔 Initially, critics were shocked; they did not know how Carey would fare as an entertainer, as she had previously only been viewed as a pop star.〔 Nevertheless, Carey, unaffected by the speculation, continued working on, and promoting the album in high spirits, confident in her work.〔 The idea proved to be wise, earning Carey recognition in various markets including Christian radio and contemporary R&B stations, as well as extended her fame in Japan, where the album experienced much of its success.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Merry Christmas (Mariah Carey album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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