Album Review: Susan Boyle – Home for Christmas
2 min read
Susan Boyle has a new Christmas album just in time for, well Christmas. The album plays to her strengths showcasing her large vocals in a traditional way, possibly more in tune with the older crowd. But with so many album sales under her belt, maybe some of the younger, cooler crowd also enjoy their hit of tradition and charm, and would be fairly pleased with the offerings here too.
Scottish singer Susan Boyle first appeared out of the blue on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. She came on stage in an unassuming frock and daggy hairstyle, and then blew the audience away with her powerhouse vocals. Boyle sang I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables, which then went on to be the title of her best-selling debut album.
Unexpectedly, the 52-year-old’s albums, I Dreamed a Dream, The Gift and Someone to Watch Over me and Standing Ovation have sold over 20 million copies so far and made it to the top of the charts in over 30 countries. Boyle’s bringing it all back for a fifth album, again charming us with a Christmas theme for a second time.
Home for Christmas is a special one because Boyle teams of with Elvis Presley for one of the tracks. What did you say? Isn’t Elvis Presley dead? And if so, how can he sing a duet with Susan Boyle?
To answer your questions, yes, we can confirm that Elvis Presley is in fact dead. Secondly, the duet will involve technological geniousity, and will add Boyle’s vocals to Presley’s 1971 Christmas track O Come, All Ye Faithful. Fun fact – this isn’t the first time this has been done – Celine Dion, sung If I Can Dream with Elvis on American Idol and Presley’s daughter Lisa-Marie also sung with her father when she re-recorded his 1969 hit In The Ghetto to raise money for the Presley Foundation.
Home for Christmas is expected to become a Christmas number one and as such, Boyle is sending all of the royalties the Presley-Boyle track makes to Boyle’s favourite charity, Save The Children. The album sales however, are still going in SuBo’s pocket.
And so it should. It’s a strong album, if you enjoy traditional takes on Christmas carols and Boyle had help from producers Cliff Masterson and Steve Anderson to build the classic track list.
Songs to look out for include Little Drummer Boy featuring The Overtones, The Christmas Song, and When A Child Is Born, a duet with Johnny Mathis. The album also features an original song from Boyle, Miracle Hymn which features in Boyle’s first movie, The Christmas Candle, about an angel who visits the English countryside to make a miracles happen.
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