Christmas Interpretations
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album|
| name = Christmas Interpretations
| type = Studio
| artist = Boyz II Men
| cover = B2m-christmas-interp.jpg
| alt =
| released = October 5, 1993
October 4, 2024 (remaster)
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 40:57
| label = Motown
| producer =
- Boyz II Men
- Brian McKnight
| prev_title = Cooleyhighharmony
| prev_year = 1991
| next_title = II
| next_year = 1994
}}
Christmas Interpretations is the first Christmas album and second overall studio album by American R&B group Boyz II Men. It was released on October 5, 1993, by Motown. Several of the tracks are originals, written by Boyz II Men with labelmate and longtime friend Brian McKnight; others are traditional Christmas songs. It was remastered and re-released on October 4, 2024. Christmas Interpretations served as the follow-up to their debut album Cooleyhighharmony (1991).
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r189040|pure_url=yes}}
| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev2score = B{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1993/11/12/christmas-cd-roundup/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421081938/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308658,00.html |archive-date=2009-04-21 |title=Christmas CD Roundup Review|last=Browne|first=David|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=November 12, 1993|url-status=live |access-date=July 3, 2012}}
| rev3 = Music Week
| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|first=Alan|last=Jones|title=Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums|work=Music Week|date=November 20, 1993|page=15|accessdate=February 3, 2023|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-11-20.pdf}}
}}
AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis described the album as "a cozy, velvety, and hip quiet storm Christmas album with touches of jazz, nostalgia, and melancholy but, at times, one yearns to hear the Boyz' lush harmonies wrapped around traditional favorites." Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne wrote that Boyz II Men "lusciously harmonize on Christmas Interpretations. With the exception of "Silent Night," the album consists entirely of new songs, most with mournful seasonal themes. It's a pretty gutsy move, but hampered by the fact that none of the originals are as memorable as, say, "Silent Night"."
Chart performance
Christmas Interpretations peaked at number 19 in the US Billboard 200. The album had sold 1,767,000 copies by December 2012.{{cite web|url=http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/chart-watch-extra-christmas-albums-bing-buble-174950904.html |title=Chart Watch Extra: Christmas Albums, From Bing To Buble |last=Grein|first=Paul|publisher=Yahoo! Music |date=December 19, 2012 |accessdate=December 19, 2012}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| collapsed =
| headline =
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title_width = 30%
| writing_width = 30%
| extra_width = 40%
| title1 = Silent Night (Intro)
| writer1 =
| extra1 =
| length1 = 1:07
| title2 = Let It Snow
| note2 = featuring Brian McKnight
| writer2 = {{hlist|Wanya Morris|McKnight}}
| extra2 = {{hlist|McKnight|Boyz II Men{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length2 = 4:11
| title3 = Share Love
| writer3 = Nathan Morris
| extra3 = {{hlist|N. Morris|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|W. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|Shawn Stockman{{ref|a|[a]}}|Michael McCary{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length3 = 3:32
| title4 = You're Not Alone
| writer4 = Stockman
| extra4 = {{hlist|Stockman|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|W. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|N. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|McCary{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length4 = 5:06
| title5 = A Joyous Song
| writer5 = Stockman
| extra5 = {{hlist|Stockman|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|W. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|N. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|McCary{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length5 = 5:53
| title6 = Why Christmas
| writer6 = W. Morris
| extra6 = {{hlist|W. Morris|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|N. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|Stockman{{ref|a|[a]}}|McCary{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length6 = 4:53
| title7 = Cold December Nights
| writer7 = {{hlist|McCary|Stockman}}
| extra7 = {{hlist|McCary|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|W. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|N. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|Stockman{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length7 = 4:11
| title8 = Do They Know
| writer8 = N. Morris
| extra8 = {{hlist|N. Morris|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|W. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}|Stockman{{ref|a|[a]}}|McCary{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length8 = 3:29
| title9 = Who Would Have Thought
| writer9 = {{hlist|McKnight|W. Morris}}
| extra9 = {{hlist|W. Morris|McKnight{{ref|a|[a]}}|N. Morris{{ref|a|[a]}}}}
| length9 = 6:06
| title10 = Silent Night
| writer10 = {{hlist|Franz Xaver Gruber|Joseph Mohr}}
| extra10 = Boyz II Men
| length10 = 2:32
}}
Notes
- {{small|{{note|a|a}}}} signifies a co-producer
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1993)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Billboard200|19|artist=Boyz II Men|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 9, 2021|refname="Billboard200"}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardHoliday|2|artist=Boyz II Men|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 9, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|6|artist=Boyz II Men|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 9, 2021}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (1994)
! scope="col"| Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1994/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=February 9, 2021}}
| 48 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=Boyz II Men|title=Christmas Interpretations|accessdate=July 25, 2012|relyear=1993|certyear=1994|award=Gold}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|title=Christmas Interpretations|artist=Boyz II Men|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1993|certyear=1994|accessdate=July 15, 2012}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Boyz II Men}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1993 Christmas albums
Category:Albums produced by Brian McKnight
Category:Christmas albums by American artists
Category:Contemporary R&B Christmas albums
Category:Motown Records Christmas albums
{{1990s-R&B-album-stub}}