"These Are Special Times" album - Official Topic

[smw]

Celine is so effortlessly powerful here:

 

https://youtu.be/9tbXD2mNHZg?si=H7UGqlEyLwdKfsTw

 

😍

 

Edited December 14, 2023 at 10:36 PM by smw

[DCCeline]

Celines Oh holy night has the highs and the lows and choir plus the power that Mariahs doesn't have. Mariah has to fall back on her whistle notes, which I would choose power over dog whistling any day.

[tomantha]

The insecurity shows whenever Mariah’s name come up in here. It’s sad, always diminishing her voice, her accomplishments and her catalog.

 

Celine’s Christmas album sold great at the time because of her status, longevity shows otherwise. Imagine Taylor Swift releasing a Christmas album now, it’d do amazing numbers, 30 years from now? God only knows.

 

Ave Maria is nothing of a masterclass. A lot of Celine song could be named that but none of them are on this album.

 

Truth is, a lot of y’all would dieeee to see Celine having the same Christmas success as Mariah. It can’t be just marketing, the GP has to embrace the song. Mariah accepted she’s a legacy artist and she’s capitalizing on it. Nothing to be ashamed of.. No tracks on TAST could pretend to have that kind of success, even with all the marketing in the world (since apparently if you shove it enough down people’s throats every year, it goes number one on the BB hot 100 for multiple weeks).

 

Sometimes this forum sounds like Christina Aguilera’s fans on Twitter. I mean… just go a couple pages up here. Not a single criticism, Celine’s the best, Mariah and all the others suck.

 

Mariah’s O Holy Night is still insanely superior vocally and her Merry Christmas is the blueprint of Christmas albums. Her second one is inaudible to me tho lol

 

 

[DCCeline]

I have every single Mariah Carey album, single, and DVD. Shes in my top 5 favorite singers. So no insecurities. I just think celine is a better singer and her Christmas album is 10 times better. And your argument about it selling better continuously is so dumb, because Mariah is literally pushing it down everyone's throat for the past 20 years. The amount of payola that she's doing. Edited December 14, 2023 at 11:26 PM by DCCeline

[tomantha]

if you really think payola is what brings that song to number one every year maybe you should take some marketing classes.

You need way more than that to get a number one. Mariah’s not paying farms of streaming to have it breaks records every year. She promotes it, the GP does the rest. It’s literally effortless at this point. And God knows they’re trying to have Last Christmas to number one for years…

Rockin Around The Xmas Tree went to number one this year cause it was doing amazing numbers to begin with, they pushed it with promo for the first time, adding a music video and have her perform to various places which is great. Mariah’s lead for the weeks to come show that it’s more than payola.

That’s the easy argument lol

[smw]

Mariah’s voice was gorgeous when she was young. It deteriorated quickly. And she’s never had the live vocal ability of Celine Dion or Whitney Houston.

 

There are far superior Christmas albums to Mariah’s. Karen Carpenter’s Christmas album, as The Carpenters, is the blueprint of Christmas albums in my opinion.

 

Mariah’s enjoyed monumental success with her song AIWFCIY and the rest of her Christmas album has reaped the benefits as a result.

 

It does sting to see Mariah’s success as Celine’s fans… because Mariah has gone out of her way to shade Celine in interviews and in her book. It used to not bother me because Celine remained such a force of nature with her live performances and ticket sales, but since Celine’s gotten sick… things have shifted.

 

And all of us big fans here just want Celine and her music to be celebrated like it used to be. Hopefully the tide will turn in the coming months and years.

 

And I was a big Mariah fan back in the day. Learning more about her personality just turned me off over time.

 

Edited December 15, 2023 at 12:01 AM by smw

[incognito]

I prefer Mariah’s Christmas album, also. But I prefer Celine’s OHN.

[CourageProject]

I don't like TAST either, it's too traditional. Celine needs some upbeat and modern Christmas songs for an every year chart topper album.TAST is too cheesy

[DCCeline]

I can concede on Feliz Navidad because thats like Treat Her Like a Lady. Its embarassing. Some songs are 100% filler like Blue Christmas or Brahms Lullaby but she probably knew it be her only christmas album so it made sense to bloat the album. Edited December 15, 2023 at 02:31 AM by DCCeline

[LukeD]

The insecurity shows whenever Mariah's name come up in here. It's sad, always diminishing her voice, her accomplishments and her catalog.

 

Celine's Christmas album sold great at the time because of her status, longevity shows otherwise. Imagine Taylor Swift releasing a Christmas album now, it'd do amazing numbers, 30 years from now? God only knows.

 

Ave Maria is nothing of a masterclass. A lot of Celine song could be named that but none of them are on this album.

 

Truth is, a lot of y'all would dieeee to see Celine having the same Christmas success as Mariah. It can't be just marketing, the GP has to embrace the song. Mariah accepted she's a legacy artist and she's capitalizing on it. Nothing to be ashamed of.. No tracks on TAST could pretend to have that kind of success, even with all the marketing in the world (since apparently if you shove it enough down people's throats every year, it goes number one on the BB hot 100 for multiple weeks).

 

Sometimes this forum sounds like Christina Aguilera's fans on Twitter. I mean… just go a couple pages up here. Not a single criticism, Celine's the best, Mariah and all the others suck.

 

You are the one who diminished the commercial performance of TAST and its vocal performances which are undeniable. The insecurity and bitterness are showing.

 

And you are acting as if we are criticising everyone but Celine which is far from the case. If anything, the majority of comments are critical about her team and lack of promotion and support of her catalogue. I highly suggest you improve your reading skills. Along similar lines, Mariah is doing a very good job promoting her past albums - everyone would like TeamCeline to give the same treatment to TCOML as Mariah's team did with Music Box. So, it is not as if Mariah is always wrong in our eyes and Celine always right. If you would also like to read critical points about Celine, please have a look in the Courage album threat. I have not even noticed you in the forum the past 10 years that I am active, so I find it very funny that you are having strong opinions about pretty much everything.

 

I can also say that Mariah's version of OHN is excellent but this doesn't mean Celine's is subpar like you describe it. YOU started this comparison because it obviously means something to YOU to compare them and then diminish Celine's success. This is really telling about your choice to be in this forum.

 

Once again, you are saying TAST sold because of the status Celine had achieved, again downplaying its content which resonated with the public. Same could be said about Mariah's Merry Christmas (1994) which was released at the peak of her commercial success, literally between her two best selling albums (Music Box 1993, Daydream 1995). However, I do not see you making that point about Mariah. Why is that? Biased much? See? The contradictions are glaring! Of course MC included AIFCIY but TAST was also supported by a smash hit IYA and the critically acclaimed The Prayer which has since become an adult contemporary standard. Even today, Happy Christmas (War Is Over) is doing numbers despite 0 promotion.

 

And on that note, I am going to ask you to be more mindful of the things you are posting. This is a forum, not your playground to post inaccuracies and then insult people as insecure for calling you out. Nobody is insecure, we simply do not tolerate unsubstantiated nonsense.

[stone]

I love Mariah’s version of Baby Please Come Home, Joy To The World, Hark The Herald, and her original Jesus Born on This Day…and of course AIWCIY. With that being said I listen to both, but TAST more. I like that it has a traditional pop sensibility to it, with different styles. I do think it may be a bit over-produced, but almost to perfection…with the exception of Feliz Navidad (cringe).

 

With that being said, both albums can co-exist and if Mariah wants to milk it and try to be #1 at everything, she can. I don’t Celine really cares that much, especially after René…he was definitely the one working hard to cement her status.

[smw]

I don't Celine really cares that much, especially after René…he was definitely the one working hard to cement her status.

 

Exactly. This has become very clear since Rene died. He was the one working so hard to ensure she was perceived as the biggest and the best. Celine seems content with the fact that she's already been there, done that. She's not interested in chasing the top anymore. Even if she wasn't sick, she'd still be mostly focused on her kids. She has, however, always loved to be onstage. That's her passion. And I hope she is able to perform again.

 

With that said, I do hope that Celine will work with a better team in order to keep her legacy of work thriving. She's already put in the time and effort... and her songs deserve to have better streaming numbers.

Edited December 15, 2023 at 06:07 AM by smw

[Alex_Incognito]

I don't like TAST either, it's too traditional. Celine needs some upbeat and modern Christmas songs for an every year chart topper album.TAST is too cheesy

 

What!? Songs like "These Are Special Time", "Christmas Eve", "Another Year Has Gone By"...too traditional!?

[Állex Sodi]

I don’t care for any christmas album as I despise christianity in all its forms, but I will agree with that person and say most of you dismiss Mariah a lot. Celine herself couldn’t care less, but you all so insecure about her.

 

To say Mariah Christmas success it’s only because she “push down our throats” her song is ridiculous. If Mariah had the power to make this huge success just with aggressive marketing, she would’ve done with each and everyone of her latest albums that, at least since 2010, has been flopping tremendously. AIWFCIY is a success because people like it, the digital era (since the beginning, on ITunes sales) embraced and THEN Mariah’s team capitalized on it, as they should.

 

And it’s not a surprise Celine didn’t have the same outcome despite having greater success when the album was released. First of all, her album it’s more classical, while Mariah has pop/R&B songs, so it connects with younger generations way more. And then we have the fact that Celine’s team never bothered to learn how digital era works.

[PuraVida]

I think TAST is a a fantastic blend of fresh and traditional. The title track is a good example of that blend imo. I think the goal with any holiday album is to make it somewhat timeless.

 

And why are we talking about Mariah? Instead let’s discuss…What are y’all’s top 5 tracks off TAST?

[mebe]

My favorite songs are:

Christmas' Eve

Happy Xmas

Another year has gone by

O' Holy Night

The Magic of Xmas Day

I Met an Angel on Xmas Day

 

Envoyé de mon SM-A526W en utilisant Tapatalk

 

 

[tomantha]

I don’t care for any christmas album as I despise christianity in all its forms, but I will agree with that person and say most of you dismiss Mariah a lot. Celine herself couldn’t care less, but you all so insecure about her.

 

To say Mariah Christmas success it’s only because she “push down our throats” her song is ridiculous. If Mariah had the power to make this huge success just with aggressive marketing, she would’ve done with each and everyone of her latest albums that, at least since 2010, has been flopping tremendously. AIWFCIY is a success because people like it, the digital era (since the beginning, on ITunes sales) embraced and THEN Mariah’s team capitalized on it, as they should.

 

And it’s not a surprise Celine didn’t have the same outcome despite having greater success when the album was released. First of all, her album it’s more classical, while Mariah has pop/R&B songs, so it connects with younger generations way more. And then we have the fact that Celine’s team never bothered to learn how digital era works.

 

This !!!!! 100000%%%%.

 

I would have LOVED TAST to be a fun pop/rock Christmas album. But we ended up with the boring traditional and predictable thing she released unfortunately.

 

Whitney’s Christmas album is not my favorite but it is what I expect when I think Whitney and Christmas. Her Joy To The World version is fantastic! I wonder how her streaming numbers compare to the other two.

 

 

[smw]

I don’t think Mariah’s Christmas album’s success was due to her shoving it down our throats. I think she’s a smart business-minded person who knows how to capitalize on things.

 

She’s a better business person than performer.

 

But I just don’t think her Christmas album, overall, is that great. It just gets a lot of attention because of the huge success of AIWFCIY. That’s not a dig - just facts.

 

Mariah had to take the reins of her career at a young age - after splitting with Tommy Mottola. And she’s learned how to play the game.

 

Celine’s focused on live performance and now she needs a better team more than ever.

 

Edited December 15, 2023 at 05:02 PM by smw

[rodrigofreitas]

It's interesting how this Xmas songs works in the other plataforms...

On Deezer:

15 - The Prayer from Bocelli album

30 - Happy Xmas from Christmas Hits

32 - Ave Maria

43 - The Prayer from The Collector's Series Vol. 1

44 - Holly Night

61 - Don't Save it All

62 - Blue Xmas

63 - The Magic of Xmas Day

68 - These Are the Special Times

75 - The Xmas Eve

77 - Another Year has gone by

79 - Feliz Navidad

83 - Adeste Fideles

88 - I meet an Angel

89 - The Xmas Song

94 - The Xmas Eve from under the mistletoe

96 - Brahms' Lullaby

 

In albums:

1 - D'Eux

2 - These Are Special Times

 

On Amazon Music

10 - Don't Save It All

14 - Ave Maria

17 - Adeste Fideles

18 - Another Year Has Gone By

20 - The Magic of Xmas Day

22 - Les Cloches du Hameau

24 - Xmas eve

26 - Feliz Navidad

40 - Holy Night

43 - Happy Xmas

49 - I Met an Angel

61 - The Christmas Song

94 - Blue Xmas

 

In albums

1 - Falling Into You

2 - These Are Special Times

Edited December 15, 2023 at 05:28 PM by rodrigofreitas

[tomantha]

Celines Oh holy night has the highs and the lows and choir plus the power that Mariahs doesn't have. Mariah has to fall back on her whistle notes, which I would choose power over dog whistling any day.

 

There’s literally 1 whistle in Mariah’s O Holy Night. This makes no sense.

 

Rest of the album:

Silent Night : no whistle

All I Want For Christmas is You: no whistle

O Holy Night : 1 whistle (« divine » at the end)

Christmas Baby Please Come Home : no Whistle

Miss You Most : no whistle

Joy To The World: no Whistle

Jesus Born On This Day: no Whistle

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: no whistle

Hark the Herald Angels Sing: no whistle

Jesus What A wonderful Child: no whistle

God Rest que Merry Gentlemen: no whistle in the lead (multiple as a backing vocal because it’s only an acapella song) - this track was not available everywhere, it was a bonus track.

 

 

Not sure how she « falls back » on her whistle register here. Are we listening to the same Merry Christmas album?

The rest is insanely powerful vocals what are you talking about. Especially in 1994 her vocals were unmatched. 5 octave range, insane lows, insane highs, insane control and agility. She lost it all over the years yes, but when I say Merry Christmas is a masterpiece, I’m not over hyping it. She was at her prime. The gospel choir on this album is out of this world.

 

I invite you to go listen to the acapellas available on YouTube to see what she falls back on 😊 cause it’s only her talent.

 

Let’s no forget she also wrote and produced some of these classics.

 

 

[CelinesDIVO5]

Wow. This thread has become a Yuletide nightmare.

[Davey84]

Yeah please quit the Mariah/Céline discussion. If you want to discuss Mariah's xmas album, you can go to the Mariah thread in the Off Topic section.

 

https://www.celinedionforum.com/topic/30455-mariah-carey-official-topic/page__st__9330

 

 

This thread is about These Are Special Times.

[LukeD]

I don't care for any christmas album as I despise christianity in all its forms, but I will agree with that person and say most of you dismiss Mariah a lot. Celine herself couldn't care less, but you all so insecure about her.

 

To say Mariah Christmas success it's only because she "push down our throats" her song is ridiculous. If Mariah had the power to make this huge success just with aggressive marketing, she would've done with each and everyone of her latest albums that, at least since 2010, has been flopping tremendously. AIWFCIY is a success because people like it, the digital era (since the beginning, on ITunes sales) embraced and THEN Mariah's team capitalized on it, as they should.

 

And it's not a surprise Celine didn't have the same outcome despite having greater success when the album was released. First of all, her album it's more classical, while Mariah has pop/R&B songs, so it connects with younger generations way more. And then we have the fact that Celine's team never bothered to learn how digital era works.

Nobody said that Mariah is successful because she pushed her Christmas music down our throats. We said that this is the reason why her album edged out/outsold TAST during the past 10 years. So the comment is not about Mariah achieving success in general - her success is undeniable and well-deserved. The comment was more about the longevity her Christmas music achieved the past decade and in response to that member criticising TAST as irrelevant.

 

Sorry but it is simply not true to describe TAST as a celebrated flop and at the same time perceive MC as a blockbluster. I agree with everything you say about Celine and her team though.

[jpatdeleon09]

Looks like we have a lamb here. Who forgot to close the door? LOL

[jpatdeleon09]

 

 

There’s literally 1 whistle in Mariah’s O Holy Night. This makes no sense.

 

Rest of the album:

Silent Night : no whistle

All I Want For Christmas is You: no whistle

O Holy Night : 1 whistle (« divine » at the end)

Christmas Baby Please Come Home : no Whistle

Miss You Most : no whistle

Joy To The World: no Whistle

Jesus Born On This Day: no Whistle

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: no whistle

Hark the Herald Angels Sing: no whistle

Jesus What A wonderful Child: no whistle

God Rest que Merry Gentlemen: no whistle in the lead (multiple as a backing vocal because it’s only an acapella song) - this track was not available everywhere, it was a bonus track.

 

 

Not sure how she « falls back » on her whistle register here. Are we listening to the same Merry Christmas album?

The rest is insanely powerful vocals what are you talking about. Especially in 1994 her vocals were unmatched. 5 octave range, insane lows, insane highs, insane control and agility. She lost it all over the years yes, but when I say Merry Christmas is a masterpiece, I’m not over hyping it. She was at her prime. The gospel choir on this album is out of this world.

 

I invite you to go listen to the acapellas available on YouTube to see what she falls back on 😊 cause it’s only her talent.

 

Let’s no forget she also wrote and produced some of these classics.

 

Wow! All you have just said clearly you’re a lamb. So detailed LOL

 

Well, you’re a lamb. Understandable with the praises of the MC’s album.

 

We respect.

Edited December 16, 2023 at 10:25 AM by jpatdeleon09

[jpatdeleon09]

Cased close. Back to the real deal. Céline Dion

[tomantha]

Wow! All you have just said clearly you're a lamb. So detailed LOL

 

Well, you're a lamb. Understandable with the praises of the MC's album.

 

We respect.

 

and me liking Mariah dismisses the fact the Celine's album's not up to her own standards imo?

 

"back to the real deal" clearly shows Celine can't do ANYTHING wrong lol it's sad.

 

Well... enjoy Feliz Navidad, the best song ever created on the best Christmas album ever released by the best singer this earth has ever known

[LukeD]

and me liking Mariah dismisses the fact the Celine's album's not up to her own standards imo?

 

"back to the real deal" clearly shows Celine can't do ANYTHING wrong lol it's sad.

 

Well... enjoy Feliz Navidad, the best song ever created on the best Christmas album ever released by the best singer this earth has ever known

Imagine coming to a Celine forum to post inaccuracies about Celine, be called out on it, and then act as a victim. The narcissism is off the charts.

[DCCeline]

 

 

and me liking Mariah dismisses the fact the Celine's album's not up to her own standards imo?

 

"back to the real deal" clearly shows Celine can't do ANYTHING wrong lol it's sad.

 

Well... enjoy Feliz Navidad, the best song ever created on the best Christmas album ever released by the best singer this earth has ever known

 

Well youre welcome to say something nice about Celines albums? If youre not just a Lamb. Does Mariah do everything better including voice? Im talking about in general not just christmas albums

 

[jpatdeleon09]

 

 

and me liking Mariah dismisses the fact the Celine's album's not up to her own standards imo?

 

"back to the real deal" clearly shows Celine can't do ANYTHING wrong lol it's sad.

 

Well... enjoy Feliz Navidad, the best song ever created on the best Christmas album ever released by the best singer this earth has ever known

 

Well, you just have proven you’re really a lamb lol

 

Delusional as always 😂

Edited December 17, 2023 at 05:36 AM by jpatdeleon09