"These Are Special Times" album - Official Topic

[Dreamy]

 

 

I am not "adding" these numbers to the CELINE numbers directly. My intention is to show that these songs were successful in their time,

and that each unit sold is certified.

Regarding certifications, we all know that Sony needs to update sales and certificates. But we don't know the exact value,

we just have some information. Correct or not, from various sources. But the forum was created for that, for discussion, exchanging ideas, information, etc.

Thank you for sharing it, I appreciate it very much.

I think ATW so far is Diamond. If I not mistaken 24 years ago the album was certificated 8x in U.S

And TCOFL was selling pretty well during 90's.

Anyway Let's hope all these album figures will be updated soon.

Best wishes 💐

[CelinesDIVO5]

If this is not obsession with Mariah ( which I am not convinced but let's give it the benefit of the doubt), this is non sense.

 

You are literally comparing 2 opposite ends of the success scale. Of course, it is bringing more frustration. You are not even aiming for a minor hit, this is not a fair shot.

 

Mariah is a Xmas phenomenon and Céline is...nowhere. There are probably 90% of artists between Céline and Mariah situation.

 

We are not in Kelly Clarkson's situation and we would be saying "we have a really good succes, her team should push it even more to challenge AIWFCIY".

 

Gosh, randomly, Bryan Adams and Kate Perry have a Xmas song pulling more streams than any of Céline's Xmas song. Who the f*** knew they even had a Xmas song?

 

It looks like we're about to close this board as nothing is happening and there is clearly 0 intention to keep Céline's work alive.

 

Bryan Adams’ “Christmas Time?” That’s been a famous Christmas hit for years.

[DCCeline]

 

 

I am not "adding" these numbers to the CELINE numbers directly. My intention is to show that these songs were successful in their time,

and that each unit sold is certified.

Regarding certifications, we all know that Sony needs to update sales and certificates. But we don't know the exact value,

we just have some information. Correct or not, from various sources. But the forum was created for that, for discussion, exchanging ideas, information, etc.

 

I agree! I just think fans often (and this isnt a Celine exclusive problem) over estimate certifications and then get mad at the label and artists when it doesnt happen. Especially if they dont have all the facts

[isurrender]

They dont add club sales though. If the album was eligible for 7x platinum they would have done it 3 years ago when they updated her landmark albums and they probably would have done it last year for the 30th anniversary.

 

Just like if ATW was eligible for diamond they absolutely would have done it by now

 

I am not debating the fact that TCOML must be 7x platinum or not.

 

But Club sales are considered for RIAA certification, as RIAA certifications are based on shipped units from music companies.

 

It can't be otherwise.

 

Let's take an example with...Mariah Carey. This is the same situation as TCOML actually.

 

Daydream was certified 11x platinum in 2022. She gained a 11x platinum award while her soundscan sales didn't even reach 8 million.

 

It simply can not be that she sold 3 millions units in streaming.

[LukeD]

If this is not obsession with Mariah ( which I am not convinced but let's give it the benefit of the doubt), this is non sense.

 

You are literally comparing 2 opposite ends of the success scale. Of course, it is bringing more frustration. You are not even aiming for a minor hit, this is not a fair shot.

 

Mariah is a Xmas phenomenon and Céline is...nowhere.

I do not care to convince you about the nature or the intention of my comments in relation to Mariah so we can just leave this aside. To each their own.

 

However, I literally compared their two greatest hits. For decades MHWGO was the most commercially successful song, but now AIWFCIY has taken over. Obviously it benefits from being a seasonal song, but there are other contributing factors like consistent promotion, playlisting and fan engagement.

 

Further to this, even if we leave MHWGO aside and look at the TAST album, we see that there are several songs that have the potential to do really well. With barely any promotion the following songs are eligible for RIAA certification:

• The Prayer 1xP
  
• O Holy Night 1xP
  
• Happy Christmas (War Is Over) 1xG
  
• I'm Your Angel close to 2xP
  

This raises two questions. Why 3 songs from what was the best selling Christmas album by a female singer remain uncertified? And how better could these songs have performed had they received proper promotion? At least through consistent playlisting. I am confident they would be eligible for at least 2xP or 3xP status by now, thereby making a valuable contribution to Celine's total record sales, as single sales through streaming directly impact album sales nowadays. This then results in more visibility, which in turn results in more relevance, which in turn solidifies the album's legacy.

[LukeD]

Speaking of streaming an example that comes to mind is ANDHC. The album has been streamed on YouTubeMusic alone 1.5 billion times, yet no updated certifications? Anywhere?

[isurrender]

I do not care to convince you about the nature or the intention of my comments in relation to Mariah so we can just leave this aside. To each their own.

 

Are you OK?

 

Maybe you should stop hanging around with TC , as this kind of comment is as useless and meaningless as their posts.

 

You just literally answered to my comment and then you're like "oh it's not to convince you". So why bother answering ?

[Állex Sodi]

Speaking of streaming an example that comes to mind is ANDHC. The album has been streamed on YouTubeMusic alone 1.5 billion times, yet no updated certifications? Anywhere?

 

I understand your point, but I don’t think that is a very good number. If we take US/RIAA rules, just for instance, and for the purpose of this argument assume all those numbers are from the US:

 

By RIAA metrics, 1,500 streams = 1 album sales unit.

1.5 billion / 1,500 = 666,666.

 

That’s barely a Gold certification.

 

But in reality, those are numbers from all over the world. Most of them wouldn’t count. On top of that, there are different weights between free and paid streams, as well as differences between on-demand and programmed streams. For example, if a person listens to a song using the Radio option on YouTube Music, it will count as a stream on the platform, but RIAA will not consider it for certification.

 

There is also some kind of limit on how much a single song can contribute to an album’s sales. I’m Alive has almost 800 million streams, but the other songs on the album are far from that. There’s a ceiling to that boost (although how it’s calculated isn’t very clear).

 

The truth is that Celine’s streaming numbers are not strong enough to push certifications by much. As a well known international artist, her catalog benefits from small amounts of streams across many countries, which adds up to impressive global numbers (like that 1.5 billion). But those numbers are not enough to grant certifications when broken down by country.

 

That’s why, as a couple of people have said here before, fans’ predictions about her pending certifications are ludicrous. Much of this isn’t specific to Celine, as most artists from past generations are in the same situation. Still, as you also said earlier, Celine could be doing much better if she or her team cared a little more.

[CelinesDIVO5]

 

 

I am not debating the fact that TCOML must be 7x platinum or not.

 

But Club sales are considered for RIAA certification, as RIAA certifications are based on shipped units from music companies.

 

It can't be otherwise.

 

Let's take an example with...Mariah Carey. This is the same situation as TCOML actually.

 

Daydream was certified 11x platinum in 2022. She gained a 11x platinum award while her soundscan sales didn't even reach 8 million.

 

It simply can not be that she sold 3 millions units in streaming.

 

People still buy digital albums too. Not everyone streams their music at all times.

[LukeD]

Are you OK?

 

Maybe you should stop hanging around with TC , as this kind of comment is as useless and meaningless as their posts.

 

You just literally answered to my comment and then you're like "oh it's not to convince you". So why bother answering ?

Ah comprehension issues, right?

 

You brought up obsession as an issue in this forum (post #3296), I responded to your comment stating we are not being obsessed (#3303), you then responded back again to say you were not entirely convinced (#3305), so I basically gave up, saying that I do not care to change your mind on that anymore and that we can leave that bit aside (#3335).

 

Responding to the part of your post that was concerned with 'success scale' does not mean that I am trying to change your mind on the above-mentioned issue (aka, whether you think me and others are obsessed - again, to each their own on that). Literally the rest of my post was about sales only and how promotion and playlisting could have helped TAST. This is the point I was very clearly reinforcing.

 

You seem very upset coming to the forum, sometimes you even use strong language to describe Celine (e.g. 'voiceless' ). You might want to calm down a bit and see what's going on. Usually Christmas time gives a good space for reflection, so good luck!

[LukeD]

I understand your point, but I don't think that is a very good number. If we take US/RIAA rules, just for instance, and for the purpose of this argument assume all those numbers are from the US:

 

By RIAA metrics, 1,500 streams = 1 album sales unit.

1.5 billion / 1,500 = 666,666.

 

That's barely a Gold certification.

 

But in reality, those are numbers from all over the world. Most of them wouldn't count. On top of that, there are different weights between free and paid streams, as well as differences between on-demand and programmed streams. For example, if a person listens to a song using the Radio option on YouTube Music, it will count as a stream on the platform, but RIAA will not consider it for certification.

 

There is also some kind of limit on how much a single song can contribute to an album's sales. I'm Alive has almost 800 million streams, but the other songs on the album are far from that. There's a ceiling to that boost (although how it's calculated isn't very clear).

 

The truth is that Celine's streaming numbers are not strong enough to push certifications by much. As a well known international artist, her catalog benefits from small amounts of streams across many countries, which adds up to impressive global numbers (like that 1.5 billion). But those numbers are not enough to grant certifications when broken down by country.

 

That's why, as a couple of people have said here before, fans' predictions about her pending certifications are ludicrous. Much of this isn't specific to Celine, as most artists from past generations are in the same situation. Still, as you also said earlier, Celine could be doing much better if she or her team cared a little more.

I am not sure what pending certifications you are referring to, however, if this is about several songs in her catalogue that are not certified at all by RIAA, then fan predications are legit, because UKMIX Forum members have worked hard tracking figures. And the certification levels that they claim are not exaggerated, they usually range from acknowledging anything between 500k to 1m sales in the US - it has never been about claiming multiplatinum certifications.

 

And I was obviously not expecting the 1.5 billion streams of YouTubeMusic music to be linked to the US audience. This is why I asked 'Anywhere?'. I still find it weird that whilst the album achieves considerable streams, not a single market has updated their certifications. This is particularly concerning considering the instances where Celine reached certification levels, but did not receive the official certification. Take ATW, for example, that is her third best selling album and a true blockbuster that helped her expand her fanbase. A very important piece in her discography. ATW was not certified 8xP by RIAA when it surpassed 8m, it was not certified 9xP when it surpassed 9xP, and this is indicative of inconsistency. However, had this inconsistency not been a well-documented issue, it would be easier for me to 100% agree with your explanation which is of course very sensible and definitely applicable in some contexts.

Edited December 16, 2025 at 11:56 PM by LukeD

[KyleVan41]

Sales plus streaming in the United States confirms the following have enough for the below certificate from RIAA. It’s hard to believe she’s this far behind all because her label won’t apply

 

 

The power of love 2x platinum

It’s all coming back 3 x platinum

Because you loved me (3 or 4.x platinum )

My heart will go on 5x platinum (min)

Ashes gold

I’m alive platinum

A new day has come gold (maybe plat)

That’s the way it is platinum

The prayer platinum

O holy night platinum

Happy Xmas gold

Taking chances gold

I drove all night gold

Tell him gold

To love you more gold

All by myself platinum

Beautiful boy gold

Where does my heart beat now gold

Beauty and the beast platinum

If you asked me to gold

 

How does a moment last forever (gold ) ?? Maybe last year SPS was like 460,000 or a bit more so by now should be

 

Celine Dion 3 x platinum

All the way …8x platinum; 9x platinum if BMG club sales are used and POSSIBLY diamond with streaming

A new day has come 4 * platinum

Collectors series platinum

My love essential platinum

These are special times 7x platinum

 

 

At least 20!!!! of her singles not certified correctly or at all.

Shameful

Edited December 16, 2025 at 11:56 PM by KyleVan41

[TommKat22]

Ave Maria has moved up about 10 spots on the Christmas Hits playlist on Spotify to #47. OHN did the same last year before hitting the top 10 in December. Here’s hoping it continues to move up 🤞🏻 Edited December 17, 2025 at 12:53 AM by TommKat22

[Fanxiaoqiang]

Ave Maria has moved up about 10 spots on the Christmas Hits playlist on Spotify to #47. OHN did the same last year before hitting the top 10 in December. Here’s hoping it continues to move up 🤞🏻

why don't they keep streaming Oh holy night

weird

[Unison Addict]

Speaking of certification, does anyone know any other eligible songs for a certification in Canada as it’s one of the biggest markets of Celine’s discography? Last year, she received four certifications from Music Canada (Because You Loved Me, It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, I’m Alive, Immortality), i wonder if there’s any other singles or albums that are eligible for a certification.

[rodrigofreitas]

On Youtube These Are Special Times surpassed 540 million and 530 million on Spotify = 1,070 Billion (1,070,000,000) in this 2 Platforms.

 

These Are Special Times (Youtube)

 

O Holy Night (video) 17,043,643

Vevo audio 5,992,432

Yule log edition 205,853

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 3,630,977

YoutubeMusic 42 million

72,692,636

 

Don't Save It All for Christmas Day

Vevo audio 2,010,652

Yule log edition 69,046

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 580,919

YoutubeMusic 5,7 million

12,180,348

 

Blue Christmas

Vevo audio 1,071,767

Yule log edition 36,359

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 261,977

YoutubeMusic 1,5 million

6,689,834

 

Another Year Has Gone By

Vevo audio 1,740,200

Yule log edition 56,533

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 483,369

YoutubeMusic 3,2 million

9,299,833

 

The Magic of Christams Day (God Bless Us Everyone)

Vevo audio 4,291,644

Yule log edition 249,595

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 1,282,888

YoutubeMusic 7,4 million

17,043,858

 

Ave Maria

Vevo audio 13,364,344

Yule log edition 296,326

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 3,157,735

YoutubeMusic 20 million

40,638,136

 

Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)

Vevo audio 1,692,395

Yule log edition 32,347

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 395,173

YoutubeMusic 2,1 million

8,039,646

 

The Christmas Song

Vevo audio 903,911

Yule log edition 33,022

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 225,520

YoutubeMusic 1,5 million

6,482,184

 

The Prayer

Vevo audio 9,101,200

Yule log edition 144,110

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 2,814,337

YoutubeMusic 62 million

77,879,378

 

Brahms' Lullaby

Vevo audio 198,779

Yule log edition 26,193

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 179,136

YoutubeMusic 2,2 million

6,423,839

 

Christmas Eve

Vevo audio 1,770,904

Yule log edition 52,549

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 1,678,783

YoutubeMusic 4,6 million

11,921,967

 

These Are the Special Times

Vevo audio 2,138,099

Yule log edition 38,736

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 460,362

YoutubeMusic 3,1 million

9,556,928

 

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Yule log edition 873,462

Vevo audio 9,315,473

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 15,656,148

YoutubeMusic 207 million

236,664,814

 

Feliz Navidad

Video 536,444

Vevo audio 1,571,923

Yule log edition 39,594

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 365,355

YoutubeMusic 4,5 million

10,833,047

 

Les Cloches du Hameau

Vevo audio 333,169

Yule log edition 82,654

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 346,735

YoutubeMusic 1,7 million

6,282,289

 

I Met an Angel (on Christmas Day)

Video 534,914

Vevo audio 559,447

Yule log edition 80,768

Yule log edition (full) 3,819,731

Auto Generated 248,408

YoutubeMusic 2,2 million

7,443,268

 

540,072,005 million

[Dreamy]

On Youtube These Are Special Times surpassed 540 million and 530 million on Spotify = 1,070 Billion (1,070,000,000) in this 2 Platforms.

 

These Are Special Times (Youtube)

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing it.

 

[PuraVida]

Which of her upbeat holiday songs do you think is the best candidate for getting really popular on streaming platforms -- besides Happy Xmas?

 

It seems the most popular holiday songs are ones that are more uptempo

[Remon]

Which of her upbeat holiday songs do you think is the best candidate for getting really popular on streaming platforms -- besides Happy Xmas?

 

It seems the most popular holiday songs are ones that are more uptempo

 

I met an angel on Christmas day actually gets some airplay here in the Netherlands, and it definitely has potential.

 

But I still don’t get why Christmas Eve isn’t more popular. Great holiday rhythm and sound, and not too much vocal show off, which could keep the Celine-screams-too-much-crowd happy.

 

Besides the upbeat songs, Another year has gone by also deserves more love after Christmas. It’s never going to be ABBA’s Happy New Year, but it should at least be a close second New Year’s track.

Edited December 17, 2025 at 05:55 PM by Remon

[comingback]

I think Christmas Eve would have been a great single.

And why aren't there official videos for The Prayer and Happy Xmas?

Why don't they upload the videos from the TV specials?

[PuraVida]

I met an angel on Christmas day actually gets some airplay here in the Netherlands, and it definitely has potential.

 

But I still don't get why Christmas Eve isn't more popular. Great holiday rhythm and sound, and not too much vocal show off, which could keep the Celine-screams-too-much-crowd happy.

 

Besides the upbeat songs, Another year has gone by also deserves more love after Christmas. It's never going to be ABBA's Happy New Year, but it should at least be a close second New Year's track.

 

Personally I don't really care for "I Met An Angel", much prefer Magic of Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, etc.

 

I would love if she re-recorded a live version of Another Year Has Gone By - the song isn't too difficult for her either

[Abodi2002]

I think Christmas Eve could work. I did hear it once at a restaurant last year. I also heard oh holy night on the radio the other day.

[Shaun]

Yup, "Christmas Eve" and "The Magic of Christmas Day" were THE singles to promote a Christmas album. But, of course, they went with "The Prayer" and "I'm Your Angel."

 

And I get why. They, of course, both enjoyed success. But they should've been released / promoted alongside a Christmas song to promote, ya know, her Christmas album!

 

Her team making idiotic decisions sadly isn't a recent thing.

[DCCeline]

 

Heres a link to a couple days ago top streamed songs on TATST on Spotify. Clearly Christmas Eve is the most non promoted streamed song which is actually crazy because its toward the end of the album.

 

Personally I like the Magic of Christmas Day better but I get thats its not jolly

Edited December 17, 2025 at 07:12 PM by DCCeline

[Taking Chances]

Yup, "Christmas Eve" and "The Magic of Christmas Day" were THE singles to promote a Christmas album. But, of course, they went with "The Prayer" and "I'm Your Angel."

 

And I get why. They, of course, both enjoyed success. But they should've been released / promoted alongside a Christmas song to promote, ya know, her Christmas album!

 

Her team making idiotic decisions sadly isn't a recent thing.

 

The Prayer and I'm Your Angel isn't even Christmas songs.

 

I never understood why they didn't promote several songs from the album. If 1998 was The Prayer and I'm Your Angel, why couldn't they promote different songs the next year? And possibly different songs the year after? The album has plenty of great songs to promote, and Christmas comes around every year, so why not use the opportunity when she has an amazing Christmas album?

[Davey84]

Yup, "Christmas Eve" and "The Magic of Christmas Day" were THE singles to promote a Christmas album. But, of course, they went with "The Prayer" and "I'm Your Angel."

 

And I get why. They, of course, both enjoyed success. But they should've been released / promoted alongside a Christmas song to promote, ya know, her Christmas album!

 

Her team making idiotic decisions sadly isn't a recent thing.

Unfortunately Sony only included Christmas Eve on the Japanese and Australian singles. In Europe, UK, South Africa and the USA they choose to include SISDA, which was also understandable at the time.

 

It's a shame Céline didn't have the time to record some music videos for TAST. Although they would have probably made them for Oh Come All Ye Faithfull and The Christmas song

 

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G781B met Tapatalk

 

 

[comingback]

Didn't they film a promo video with the IYA set?

[CelinesDIVO5]

Didn't they film a promo video with the IYA set?

 

Yes they did. A couple of them. Some are on YouTube. The one that aired during the CBS special is hard to find though.

 

 

[comingback]

I only found that commercial.

Was the CBS one different?

 

 

[Nmj]

Even though R. Kelly is a POS, it still can’t take away the fact of how brilliant “I’m your angel” is …. To me it remains on her most beautiful songs and her best duet. I don’t support him but I can separate the art from the artist and all other things aside he was a brilliant ear for music. The man was talented, and the song deserved to go number one as it did.

 

I’ve wrestled with if I can even listen to the song anymore after that whole mess with Kelly but I’ve come to the conclusion that art is art. He was also the writer behind Whitney’s final single “I Look To You” also a beautiful song that shined Whitney’s talent even when her voice wasn’t the same any longer. Imagine Whitney singing that song at her peak.

Edited December 18, 2025 at 06:15 AM by Nmj