"These Are Special Times" album - Official Topic

[DCCeline]

I heard that AVE MARIA has been added to the Christmas Hits Playlist

Is that real?😍😍😍

 

Yes but toward the bottom. Like 3/4 of the way down.

 

I shouldnt complain but part of me is still bitter its not OHN or Happy Xmas War is Over.

 

Like why split streams even more.

 

[comingback]

https://open.spotify...F1DX0Yxoavh5qJV

 

Ave Maria #56

Edited December 11, 2025 at 02:35 PM by comingback

[LukeD]

Mariah is the face of the Playlist, she's got the #1 song that out-streams Celine's entire catalogue and here we are celebrating 'Ave Maria' being added at #56 two weeks before Christmas. It is f****** appalling. And to think there was a time when TAST was edging MC out in terms of total sales. Thanks, Team Celine!

[comingback]

WOW. The Prayer is also on the list (of course at the bottom of the list).

Why is Kelly Clarkson at the top of the list?

I hate it that they treat Celine like a has been/ghost from the past.

She is not dead like Frank Sinatra.

Why didn't they put Christmas Eve or Happy Christmas at the top of the list?

[DCCeline]

Guys for those that have Spotify they place songs based on engagement/skips a lot of times. Makes sure you play the songs from that playlist all the way through. Its possible it can move up the playlist.

[Fanxiaoqiang]

Mariah is the face of the Playlist, she's got the #1 song that out-streams Celine's entire catalogue and here we are celebrating 'Ave Maria' being added at #56 two weeks before Christmas. It is f****** appalling. And to think there was a time when TAST was edging MC out in terms of total sales. Thanks, Team Celine!

What a joke we are

Fcking team ,the most stupid team ever in the world

 

[manu23]

Position on playlists is often paid by record labels. Clearly they put money behind OHN last year. I don't understand why they don't stick to one song if they want to make it a classic. Anyway, too late now. Until streams started dominating the charts, TATST charted higher than Mariah's album every year. Now it is just sad...

[comingback]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQvLDt898dU&list=RDgQvLDt898dU&start_radio=1

 

]Christina Aguilera's Christmas performance from the Eiffel Tower

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQvLDt898dU

Edited December 12, 2025 at 12:34 PM by Davey84

[DCCeline]

Position on playlists is often paid by record labels. Clearly they put money behind OHN last year. I don't understand why they don't stick to one song if they want to make it a classic. Anyway, too late now. Until streams started dominating the charts, TATST charted higher than Mariah's album every year. Now it is just sad...

 

Its paid, discretion of Spotify, and engagement once on the playlist.

[manu23]

Its paid, discretion of Spotify, and engagement once on the playlist.

 

If it was only engagement deciding position in the playlists I doubt OHN would have been so high in top 5 last year, much higher than other well know Christmas hits. I have no doubt they paid to ensure the placement. What I don't know the reason they are not doing the same this year. Were they planning a Celine come back in 2025 and hence the investment to build momentum? Where they hoping that her increase in streams and artist rank on Spotify could improve her overall stream numbers if the algorithms would start picking her up more and this in the end didn't happen? Pure speculation from my side, but that they put money behind OHN last year I'm sure about.

[DCCeline]

Of course they put money. Thats why Brenda Lee and Mariah are always on top of playlists. Im just saying spotify playlist placements are determined in a few ways and of course money is the number 1 reason

 

In any event Ave Maria went from hovering around 35-45k a day to 74k after being added to the playlist

 

So thats like going from 5 cents to 7 cents. Hopefull this just brings engagement to the album itself

Edited December 12, 2025 at 02:04 PM by DCCeline

[isurrender]

WOW. The Prayer is also on the list (of course at the bottom of the list).

Why is Kelly Clarkson at the top of the list?

I hate it that they treat Celine like a has been/ghost from the past.

She is not dead like Frank Sinatra.

Why didn't they put Christmas Eve or Happy Christmas at the top of the list?

 

Funny you mentioned Frank Sinatra...because he is way higher than Céline on the playlist.

[rodrigofreitas]

Position on playlists is often paid by record labels. Clearly they put money behind OHN last year. I don't understand why they don't stick to one song if they want to make it a classic. Anyway, too late now. Until streams started dominating the charts, TATST charted higher than Mariah's album every year. Now it is just sad...

 

Considering the success of both albums, they aren't very different.

 

RIAA

The Song IWFCIY is 16 x Platinun

The album 9x Platinun

 

These Are Special Times is 6X Platinun

I don't know the exact number of streams Mariah's album has on Spotify. But on YouTube Music, if we remove the streams from the lead single,

the album has fewer streams than "These Are Special Times."

Therefore, Mariah has a very famous and powerful Christmas song, but that song alone isn't enough to make the album as a whole be listened to.

 

Look this, On YoutubeMusic

 

Merry Christmas 2,533,600,000 Billion is Mariah most streaming album

If We deleted the most streaming song on the album = 233,600,000 million

 

These Are Special Times 369,400,000 million

In short, Mariah doesn't have enough streams to boost album sales. Only enough to boost sales of the lead single.

[Fanxiaoqiang]

Ave Maria on Spotify (daily streams)

Well done😍😍😍

December 6: 41, 203

December 7: 44,012

December 8: 38,555

December 9: 31,592

December 10: 74,925

December 11: 294,515

[isurrender]

 

In short, Mariah doesn't have enough streams to boost album sales. Only enough to boost sales of the lead single.

 

This is not totally true.

 

Parts of the streams of AIWFCIY go to album streams (and thus to album sales). There is a ratio ( I don't remember exactly but I think this is 1/3).

 

Album streams = streams of all songs of the album + 1/3 of the streams of the most streamed song of the album.

 

Otherwise, MC album wouldn't be 9x platinum or chart ( so high) when we know sales were once closed to Céline's.

 

There regularly are debates about this process. Last one I've read was when Lady Gage included her duet with Bruno Mars on her last album. Some thought it wasn't fair because it was a side project.

 

So, in short, let's say, an artist has a single with 3 billions streams. Then release his next album 2 years later and includes his single. On day 1 the album has already 1 billion streams.

 

Impact is minimal if there's no real big hit (like in Céline's case) but once you have billions of streams for one song, this is interesting to boost album sales.

[DCCeline]

MC will soon have 4 diamond albums and Celine will remain at 2 so clearly they are very different.

 

At least team Celine is doing something. Even if its the bare minimum.

[CélineI'mAlive]

MC will soon have 4 diamond albums and Celine will remain at 2 so clearly they are very different.

 

At least team Celine is doing something. Even if its the bare minimum.

Honestly, it feels like an attempt to keep fans from forgetting Céline, to keep her artistic and public life alive while something is going on behind the scenes. They could release a Christmas DVD with the These Are Special Times special or some Christmas album like These Are Special Times, but I don’t understand why—they say nothing. Something must be happening behind the scenes. The most frustrating part is that Céline, in her messages, speaks completely normally, as if everything is fine, as if everything is fine and we don’t deserve any explanation from her.

[Fanxiaoqiang]

12/12

SPOTIFY

 

AVE MARIA- 326,631

[rodrigofreitas]

This is not totally true.

 

Parts of the streams of AIWFCIY go to album streams (and thus to album sales). There is a ratio ( I don't remember exactly but I think this is 1/3).

 

Album streams = streams of all songs of the album + 1/3 of the streams of the most streamed song of the album.

 

Otherwise, MC album wouldn't be 9x platinum or chart ( so high) when we know sales were once closed to Céline's.

 

There regularly are debates about this process. Last one I've read was when Lady Gage included her duet with Bruno Mars on her last album. Some thought it wasn't fair because it was a side project.

 

So, in short, let's say, an artist has a single with 3 billions streams. Then release his next album 2 years later and includes his single. On day 1 the album has already 1 billion streams.

 

Impact is minimal if there's no real big hit (like in Céline's case) but once you have billions of streams for one song, this is interesting to boost album sales.

 

I don't know the international rules or the rules of each country (I know there are differences), but in Brazil, for an album to receive a sales certification,

10 songs need to have the same number of streams; otherwise, the album doesn't receive a certificate.

In this case, a single song won't get an entire album certified as a sales success; at least 10 tracks need to have the same sales number.

 

 

But speaking of Céline, she received 1.65 billion streams in Brazil from YouTube alone (between 2018 and 2024),

in which case she would have sold more than 2 million units from YouTube alone.

I hope Sony updates the sales figures (and their certifications) soon.

[CélineI'mAlive]

What a joke we are

Fcking team ,the most stupid team ever in the world

I think that people who are truly fans of Céline, like all the users of this forum, are already getting bored of her entire discography. Nothing new to listen to, nothing new to release, nothing new to comment on. If Céline ever returns (I hope she does), many longtime fans may be gone for good, because she created false expectations. It’s understandable that it’s due to her illness, but at the very least, consider the people who have been listening to you over the years, the ones who have always been there, and say something about your health. You had no problem doing so during I Am Céline Dion, so why not now?

[mebe]

I always thought that Christmas Eve would have been a great song to promote over the years. It could have been Celine's signature song for Christmas. Maybe i'm wrong but when I see everything that it's done for AIWFCIY every year, I think Celine 's songs would have benefited from more promotion.

 

Envoyé de mon SM-S931W en utilisant Tapatalk

 

 

[rodrigofreitas]

MC will soon have 4 diamond albums and Celine will remain at 2 so clearly they are very different.

 

At least team Celine is doing something. Even if its the bare minimum.

 

Mariah most certifications albums (RIAA)

 

Daydream - Diamond (11x platinum)

Music Box - Diamond (10 x platinum)

Merry Christmas 9 x platinum

Mariah Carey 9 x platinum

Emancipation of Mimi 7 x platimum

 

Celine

 

Falling Into You - Diamond (12 x platinum)

Let's Talk About Love - Diamond (11 x Platinum)

All The Way - 7 x Platinum (is eligible for diamond level)

These are Special Times - 6 x platinum

The Colour of My love - 6 x platinum

(The last two will soon be eligible for diamonds as well soon)

 

And Celine is associated with another Diamond album, Titanic:

Titanic - Diamond (11 x Platinum)

+

Back To Titanic - 1 x Platimum = 12 x Platimum

Edited December 15, 2025 at 05:52 PM by rodrigofreitas

[Shaun]

So here in the UK it's the lead up to the Christmas number 1 being announced in the Official UK Singles Chart this Friday and, as ever, the midweek charts provide a look at the race so far. As of today current and legacy artists are charting in the positions as listed below with their new or classic Christmas songs. I'm sure you'd agree it's a real who's who of music and, of course, Celine is nowhere to be seen in the Top 100. Well done and thanks a lot Sony / TeamCeline.

 

1 - Kylie Minogue

3 - Mariah Carey

4 - Brenda Lee

7 - Elton John

8 - Kelly Clarkson

11 - Ariana Grande

16 - Paul McCartney

18 - Michael Buble

19 - Ronettes

20 - John Lennon

26 - Nat King Cole

31 - Darlene Love

33 - Cher

34 - Leona Lewis

41 - Justin Bieber

44 - Bing Crosby

53 - Frank Sinatra

55 - Elvis

66 - Bruce Springsteen

69 - Taylor Swift

70 - Michael Jackson

71 - Beach Boys

74 - Sabrina Carpenter

76 - Eartha Kitt

85 - Waitresses

87 - Gwen Stefani

97 - Queen

98 - Britney Spears

[comingback]

To see Britney and not Celine in the Christmas Charts is so depressing.

[DCCeline]

 

 

Mariah most certifications albums (RIAA)

 

Daydream - Diamond (11x platinum)

Music Box - Diamond (10 x platinum)

Merry Christmas 9 x platinum

Mariah Carey 9 x platinum

Emancipation of Mimi 7 x platimum

 

Celine

 

Falling Into You - Diamond (12 x platinum)

Let's Talk About Love - Diamond (11 x Platinum)

All The Way - 7 x Platinum (is eligible for diamond level)

These are Special Times - 6 x platinum

The Colour of My love - 6 x platinum

(The last two will soon be eligible for diamonds as well soon)

 

And Celine is associated with another Diamond album, Titanic:

Titanic - Diamond (11 x Platinum)

+

Back To Titanic - 1 x Platimum = 12 x Platimum

 

But Titanic is not Celines album so it shouldnt be here.

 

Also TATS and TCOML will not be diamond "soon" it will be YEARS maybe even 10 plus years before they get there. Especially TCOML. It doesnt have that many streams plus divide the total streams by every country and we have no idea how much come from the US.

 

ATW is not eligible for diamond if it was they would have made it diamond when they updated FIY, LTAL, and TATST a couple years ago. Maybe one day but right now all the streams are going to My Love which cannabilized the sales of ATW.

[isurrender]

Why always this obsession with Mariah Carey on this board?

 

First, beside Xmas, her career is as dead as Céline's. Have you seen her last album performance? It only charted in a few countries...her last 3 albums were total flop. Everywhere.

And who recalls Merry Christmas II you?

 

Maybe it's time to leave her alone.

 

Then, what Céline has achieved in the US is extraordinary. She was only a french speaking girl born in a small village.

 

Finally, whatever Mariah accomplished is totally well deserved as well. Right from the start she was totally involved in her music and she keeps it alive perfectly. She didn't remain passive when her team let her down.

 

People needs to go over these fights within "the holy trinity".

Truth is whatever they did or achieved, they all ended the same way in their own way : voiceless.

[KyleVan41]

Speaking of Mariah she just got her third diamond album certified by RIAA for ten million units

 

Meanwhile Celine’s all the way was last certified 25 years ago and should be at least 1-2 million higher than what it is (currently 7x platinum ) whereas pure sales alone stand at 8.3 not to mention streaming

 

Plus the plethora or singles not certified at all.

 

I really cannot put into words how much I despise her team

Edited December 15, 2025 at 09:50 PM by KyleVan41

[anewdayhascome]

Although it hurts so much to say this but since there is no team left, it is only Celine you can blame for this situation

[comingback]

Mariah will sing in the Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony in Italy in February 2026.

I really hope that Sony/Celine will do something for the Falling Into You album next year.

[KyleVan41]

Ya it’s over for us. Better get used to this