Clay Aiken
Merry Christmas With Love
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Many artists do Christmas albums, but few voices are as suited to the classic holiday sound as Aiken's. He delivers powerful vocals on showstoppers ("O Come All Ye Faithful") and deep soul on intimate spiritual pieces ("Mary, Did You Know"). But the pop-inspired "Don't Save It All For Christmas" is this LP's "big gift.
America's favorite American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken takes his second full-length bow with a collection of Christmas pop and religious standards. There's more of Aiken's intense tenor that won fans over on the show, as he takes on "Mary, Did You Know," and "The Christmas Song," at times cutting a path somewhere between Andy Williams and Josh Groban. At others though,
Read More like on "Silent Night," things sound more akin to a live recording of the TV show, as Aiken's phrasing ends up stuttered, like he's missed a line -- joining the backing choir after a verse has already started. As he hits the upbeat "Winter Wonderland," the lanky twenty-something reins things in for the finale, singing each note as perfect as if it were a Disney special.
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