The Gift (Susan Boyle album)

The Gift
Studio album by Susan Boyle
Released	8 November 2010
Recorded	July–September 2010 London, England
Genre	Operatic pop, holiday, crossover, adult contemporary, easy listening, Christmas[1]
Length	35:13
Label	Syco/Columbia
Producer	Steve Mac[2]
Susan Boyle chronology
I Dreamed a Dream (2009) The Gift (2010) Someone to Watch Over Me (2011)
Singles from The Gift
"Perfect Day" Released: 8 November 2010

The Gift is the second album and first Christmas album by Scottish singer Susan Boyle, which was released on 8 November 2010.^[3] Boyle hinted that the album has a 1960s feel "because that was [her] era".^[4][5] on 30 November 2011, the album received a nomination in 54th Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Background

It was produced by Steve Mac, who says, "Now Susan’s used to the studio and the recording process, this time round we might go even further down a traditional route of recording by getting a band together and rehearsing songs before we go into the studio to see what works, how she reacts with certain parts, and so we can change the arrangements that way. I think that’s going to work much better... With Susan it's very important she connects with the public and the public connect with her. She doesn’t want to sing anything that hasn’t happened to her or she can't relate to."^[2] Boyle included some Jazz numbers now she's "a bit more content" within herself. "My next album has to have an element of surprise in it again. I'm hoping to make it better and a bit extra special."^[6]

Susan's Search competition

In a lead up to the release, Boyle offered her fans a chance to duet with her, with a competition titled Susan's Search. Applicants had to record a video of themselves singing "Silent Night" and upload it to her YouTube channel.^[7] The winner was 33-year-old paramedic Amber Stassi of Brewerton, New York.^[8]

Reception

Commercial performance

In the UK, The Gift debuted at No. 1. However, it only remained at the top spot for one week and dropped out of the chart altogether after eleven weeks.^[9] In comparison, Boyle's first album topped the UK chart for four weeks and remained on the chart for 39 weeks.

In the United States, The Gift debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 318,000 copies.^[10] In its second week, the album stayed at No. 1, and sold even more copies: 335,000.^[11] In its third week, it dropped to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 263,000 copies.^[12] In its fourth week, The Gift returned to No. 1, selling 272,000 additional copies.^[13] The album remained at No. 1 in its fifth week with sales of 243,000 copies.^[14] By the end of 2010, sales of the The Gift totalled 1,852,000 copies in the United States, and was the fifth best-selling album for the year.^[15][16] As of November 2014, the album has attained cumulative sales of 2,180,000 copies in the United States according to SoundScan.^[17]

The album debuted at No. 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 13,000 copies in its first week.^[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[19]
BBC Music	(favourable)[20]
Metro International	(mixed)[21]
Yahoo! Music	[22]
InYourSpeakers	(55/100)[23]

The album has received generally mixed reviews from critics.^[24] According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 62, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews".^[24] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album two and a half out of five stars, complimenting Boyle as the right person to make a holiday album, but referred to the music as "predictable".^[19] Graham Rockingham of Metro International gave the album mixed reviews, criticising how the album can be a number 1 charter, but at the same time be well suited for traditional carols.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist	Length
1.	"Perfect Day"	Lou Reed	Lou Reed	4:31
2.	"Hallelujah"	Leonard Cohen	Leonard Cohen	3:53
3.	"Do You Hear What I Hear?" (featuring Amber Stassi)	Noël Regney, Gloria Shayne Baker	Harry Simeone Chorale	3:55
4.	"Don't Dream It's Over"	Neil Finn	Crowded House	3:47
5.	"The First Noel"	Trad/Arranger Steve Mac, David Arch	Christmas carol	2:59
6.	"O Holy Night"	Adolphe Adam, John Sullivan Dwight / Arranger Steve Mac, David Arch	Christmas carol	4:05
7.	"Away in a Manger"	Trad/Arranger Steve Mac, David Arch	Christmas carol	2:56
8.	"Make Me a Channel of Your Peace"	Trad/Arranger Sebastian Temple	Christian hymn	4:24
9.	"Auld Lang Syne"	Robert Burns, Trad/Arranger Steve Mac, David Arch	Folk song	2:45
10.	"O Come All Ye Faithful"	Trad/Arranger Steve Mac, David Arch	Christian hymn	2:06
11.	"Vapor Trail" (Japanese bonus track)	Yumi Arai	Yumi Arai	3:46

^[25]

Release history

Country	Release date	Format(s)
United Kingdom	8 November 2010	CD, digital download
Canada	9 November 2010
United States
Japan	10 November 2010
Argentina	10 November 2010

Charts

Peak positions Chart (2010) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[26] 2 Austrian Albums Chart[26] 38 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[26] 2 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[26] 30 Canadian Albums Chart[27] 1 Danish Albums Chart[26] 14 Dutch Albums Chart[26] 1 European Top 100 Albums[28] 5 French Albums Chart[26] 29 Finnish Albums Chart[26] 20 Greek Albums Chart[26] 7 Hungarian Albums Chart[29] 7 Irish Albums Chart[30] 4 Italian Albums Chart[31] 97 Japanese Oricon Chart[32] 18 Mexican Albums Chart[33] 71 New Zealand Albums Chart[26] 1 Norwegian Albums Chart[26] 6 Swedish Albums Chart[26] 10 Swiss Albums Chart[26] 19 UK Albums Chart[34] 1 U.S. Billboard 200[35] 1 U.S. Holiday Albums[36] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position US Billboard 200 100[37] Chart (2011) Position Canadian Albums Chart 11[38] US Billboard 200 5[39] Certifications and sales Region Certification Certified units/Sales Australia 3× Platinum[40] 210,000 Belgium Gold[41] 10,000 Canada 2× Platinum 160,000[42] Hungary Gold[41] 3,000 Ireland 2× Platinum 30,000[43] Netherlands Gold[41] 25,000 New Zealand 4× Platinum[44] 60,000 Sweden Gold[45] 20,000 United States 3× Platinum[46] 2,180,000[17] United Kingdom 2× Platinum[47] 600,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart procession and succession

References

1. Christman, Ed (22 July 2010). "Susan Boyle Recording Christmas Album: Sources". Billboard.com. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
2. Bouwman, Kimbel. "Interview with Steve Mac, producer for Susan Boyle, JLS, Il Divo, The Saturdays". HitQuarters.
3. "Susan Boyle: Gift (2010)". HMV Group. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
4. "Q&A With Susan Part 3". Susan Boyle official website. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
5. Kaufman, Gil. "Susan Boyle's Debut Smashes U.S. Chart Records". MTV.
6. Robertson, Colin (15 April 2010). "Intruder Scared The Living Daylights Out Of Me". The Sun. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
7. Reuters. "Susan Boyle launches contest to find duet partner". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
8. "Susan's Search Winner Announced!". Susan Boyle official website. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
9. "ChartArchive - Susan Boyle - The Gift". archive.is. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
10. "Susan Boyle Tops Billboard 200, 'Glee' Reigns On Digital Songs – Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
11. "Susan Boyle's 'Gift' Tops Rihanna, Kid Rock on Billboard 200 – Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
12. Grein, Paul (28 November 2010). "Week Ending Nov. 28, 2010: The King And Queen Of Hip-Hop". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
13. Grein, Paul (8 December 2010). "Week Ending Dec. 5, 2010: The "Gift" That Keeps On Giving". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
14. Kaulfield, Keith (15 December 2010). "Boyle's 'Gift' Keeps Giving on Billboard 200, 'Tron' Hits Top 10". Billboard. Billboard.com. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
15. Kaulfield, Keith (5 January 2011). "Eminem's 'Recovery' Is 2010's Best-Selling Album; Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' Top Digital Song". Billboard. Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
16. "Eminem's 'Recovery' Is 2010's Best-Selling Album; Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' Top Digital Song". Billboard.com. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
17. "The Gifts That Keep on Giving: Biggest Radio and Album Hits of the Holidays". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
18. John Williams, Qmi Agency (17 November 2010). "Bon Jovi boots Swift from No. 1 | Music | Entertainment". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
19. "allmusic ((( The Gift > Overview)))". Allmusic. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
20. "Music - Review of Susan Boyle - The Gift". BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
21. "Metro - Susan Boyle makes for a pleasant enough Christmas album". Metronews.ca. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
22.  2 hrs ago (20 April 2011). "Yahoo! UK & Ireland omg! - Celebrity Gossip | News | Photos | Videos". New.uk.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
23. Williamson, Clayton (20 December 2010). "InYourSpeakers: Reviews: Susan Boyle: The Gift". Retrieved 23 March 2011.
24. "The Gift - Susan Boyle". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
25. ""The Gift" by Susan Boyle". Susan Boyle official website. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
26. "Susan Boyle – The Gift". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
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28. "European Albums – Week of November 27, 2010". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
29. "Top 40 album- és válogatáslemez-lista – 2010. 49. hét" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
30. "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 11 November 2010". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
31. "Chart Track". FIMI. GfK. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
32. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Retrieved 22 November 2010.
33. "Mexico Top 100" (PDF). AMPROFON. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
34. "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
35. "Susan Boyle Sees 'Dream' Soar To No. 1 On Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
36. "Susan Boyle Album & Song Chart History – Holiday Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
37. "Best of 2010 - Billboard Top 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
38. "Canadian Albums : Jan 12, 2014 - (Chart position) – Billboard Chart Archive". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
39. "Billboard 200 Year-End 2011". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
40. Top 50 Albums Chart Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 14 November 2010.
41. "Adatbázis - Arany- és platinalemezek - MAHASZ - Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Mahasz.hu. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
42. John Williams (8 December 2010). "Boyle battles Peas on charts | Music | Entertainment". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
43. Jaclyn Ward (1 October 1962). "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
44. https://web.archive.org/web/20100602125740/http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=61. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
45. "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
46. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
47. [|http://www.bpi.co.uk/searchresult/bpi-sales-awards-launch-automatic-certification.aspx "BPI SALES AWARDS LAUNCH AUTOMATIC CERTIFICATION"] Check |url= value (help). BPI. Retrieved 26 July 2013.