One Wish: The Holiday Album

One Wish: The Holiday Album
Studio album by Whitney Houston
Released	November 18, 2003
Recorded	1996, 2002–2003
Genre	Christmas, R&B, pop, holiday, gospel, soul
Label	Arista
Producer	Whitney Houston, Mervyn Warren, Troy Taylor, Gordon Chambers, Barry Eastmond
Whitney Houston chronology
Just Whitney... (2002) One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003) The Ultimate Collection (2007)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]
The New York Times	Positive[3]
Rolling Stone	(unfavorable)[4]
Slant	[5]

One Wish: The Holiday Album is the sixth studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released in November 2003. The album is a Christmas album, and featured the single "One Wish (for Christmas)", which reached the top twenty on Billboard's U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. The album spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 and as of January 2013 it had sold over 546,000 copies to date.^[6] The album also features a duet with Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina on "The Little Drummer Boy." The album also re-uses "Joy to the World" and "Who Would Imagine a King" from 1996's The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album.

Critical reception

Moscow-Pullman Daily News wrote that Houston's "voice [...] dazzles on [the album] [...] as she soulfully interprets holiday classics[.] Her voice - though at times a bit raspy - captivates on every track [.]"^[7] The New York Times noted the "lavish swoops, the sultry whispers, the gospelly asides and the meteoric crescendos" from Houston.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The First Noel"	Traditional	Troy Taylor	3:14
2.	"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"	Mel Tormé Robert Wells	Taylor	3:12
3.	"Little Drummer Boy" (featuring Bobbi Kristina Brown)	Katherine Davis Henry Onorati Harry Simeone	Mervyn Warren	4:29
4.	"One Wish (For Christmas)"	Gordon Chambers Barry Eastmond Freddie Jackson	Chambers Eastmond	4:12
5.	"Cantique de Nöel (O Holy Night)"	Traditional	Warren	3:48
6.	"I'll Be Home for Christmas"	Kim Gannon Walter Kent Buck Ram	Warren	3:45
7.	"Deck the Halls/Silent Night"	Traditional	Warren	4:29
8.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Ralph Blane Hugh Martin	Warren	4:49
9.	"O come, O come, Emmanuel"	Traditional	Warren	3:06
10.	"Who Would Imagine a King" (featuring The Nativity Choir)	Warren Hallerin Hilton Hill	Warren Whitney Houston	3:30
11.	"Joy to the World" (with The Georgia Mass Choir)	Traditional	Warren Houston	4:41
Total length:				43:15

Credits and personnel

Production

Producers: Mervyn Warren, Gordon Chambers, Barry Eastmond, Whitney Houston, Troy Taylor Engineer: Barry Eastmond, Tom "TK" Kidd, Joseph Magee, Tony Shepperd, Michael White, Frank Wolf Mixing: Ray Bardani, Dave Reitzas, Tony Shepperd Mastering: David Kutch A&R: Joey Arbagey, Michelle George, Matthew Schwartz Assistants: Steve Fisher, John Holmes, Jason Locklin, Nick Marshall, Roger Moody, Jeff Moses, Jack Odom, Zack Odom, Alex Reverberi, Marnie Riley, Anthony Ruotolo, Rob Skipworth, Matt Snedecor, Craig "Niteman" Taylor Production coordination: Ivy Skoff String engineer: Phil Magnotti Vocal contractor: Sally Stevens Programming: Troy Taylor

Drum programming: Scott Frankfurt, Mervyn Warren Percussion programming: Scott Frankfurt, Mervyn Warren Arrangers: Mervyn Warren, Troy Taylor Choir arrangements: Mervyn Warren String arrangements: Mervyn Warren, Barry Eastmond Vocal arrangements: Mervyn Warren, Gordon Chambers, Whitney Houston, Ezekiel Lewis, Troy Taylor Creative director: Joe-Mama Nitzberg Art direction: Richard Thomas Jennings Design: Richard Thomas Jennings Photography: Sante d'Orazio Make-up: Roxanna Floy Stylist: Timothy Snell Hair stylist: Ellin La Var

Personnel

Whitney Houston – vocals, vocal arrangement Julien Barber – viola Sandra Billingslea – violin Edie Lehmann Boddicker – background vocals Joseph Bongiorno – upright bass Alfred Brown – viola Carmen Carter – background vocals Gordon Chambers – background vocals Bernard Davis – drums John R. Dexter – viola Earl Dumler – oboe Barry Eastmond – conductor, keyboard Max Ellen – violin Ian Freebairn-Smith – background vocals Roger Freeland – background vocals Sharlotte Gibson – background vocals Sandi Hall – background vocals Phil Hamilton – acoustic guitar, electric guitar Reggie Hamilton – bass Ashley Horne – violin Gary Houston – background vocals Regis Iandiorio – violin Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar Ronald Jenkins – bass Bashiri Johnson – percussion Olivia Koppell – viola Gail Kruvand – upright bass

Leonid Levin – violin Jesse Levy – cello Ezekiel Lewis – background vocals Stephen Mackey – background vocals Margaret Magill – violin Myrna Matthews – background vocals Kermit Moore – cello Michael Morton – flute Eugene J. Moye – cello Dean Parks – guitar Carol Pool – violin Maxine Roach – viola Andy Stein – violin Katherine LiVolsi Stern – violin Sally Stevens – background vocals Marti Sweet – violin Gerald Tarack – violin, concert master Troy Taylor – bass, drums, keyboard, background vocals Shelene Thomas – background vocals Carmen Twillie – background vocals Mervyn Warren – percussion, piano, conductor, keyboard, electric piano, vocals, background vocals Oren Waters – background vocals John West – background vocals Gerald White – background vocals Belinda Whitney – violin Harry Zaratzian – viola

Charts

Chart (2003/2012)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[8]	49
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[9]	14
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[10]	5

References

1. "Allmusic review".
2. Lewis, Randy (December 11, 2003). "Tinsel tunes for holidays". Los Angeles Times.
3. Pareles, Jon (December 5, 2003). "Holiday Albums; WHITNEY HOUSTON". The New York Times.
4. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/whitney-houston/albumguide
5. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/whitney-houston-one-wish-the-holiday-album/370
6. "Ask Billboard: Madonna vs. Whitney: Who's Sold More?".
7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P-8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ONEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4131,444774&dq=whitney+houston+fine&hl=en
8. "Whitney Houston – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Whitney Houston. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
9. "Whitney Houston – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Whitney Houston. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
10. "Billboard". Retrieved February 12, 2012.

External links

• One Wish: The Holiday Album at Allmusic
• One Wish: The Holiday Album at Discogs