Merry Christmas With Love

Product Description Clay Aiken, one of the biggest new stars in pop music today, releases what is sure to be the hottest Christmas album of the year, & a "new classic" for years to come. With a handpicked track listing including timeless favorites & contemporary classics, Clay's Christmas album will stand the test of time & be embraced by consumers of all ages. Capping off a triumphant 2004 in which he conquered the road with a nine-month tour, ruled the charts with another #1 single, & was named the "sexiest male singer" by In Style magazine, Clay will be inescapable this holiday season. This special Christmas release is the centerpiece of a November & December campaign that will also include a holiday tour, a one-hour network TV special, & the release of his inspirational memoirs. Get ready for a very Clay Christmas! Amazon.com Clay Aiken may look wide-eyed and unassuming, but when it comes to figuring out what his fans want for Christmas, he's got it all figured out. On Merry Christmas with Love he so cannily anticipates the musical sugarplums dancing in the heads of his devotees that you half expect him to climb down the chimney and hand-deliver it. Key to the dozen-song collection's appeal is its straightforwardness: Parting ways with the sea of celebrities who use holiday discs as an excuse to cut loose, Aiken banishes irony and coyness so absolutely here that certain carols--the medley "Hark the Herald Angels Sing/O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night" especially--take on church-like tones; expect tree trimmers to put aside their tinsel and contemplate the meaning of the season. Yet don't expect them to miss out on any merriment. On less chestnutty selections like the ballads "Mary Did You Know" and 's "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day," Aiken lets it rip, reining in a passion and pure-heartedness so believable that fans will wish he, rather than the guy in the red velvet suit, were Santa Claus. -Tammy La Gorce