Friends for Christmas
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Friends for Christmas
| type = studio
| artist = John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John
| cover = Friends for Christmas by Farnham and Newton Jonn.jpg
| alt =
| released = 11 November 2016
| recorded = 2016
| studio = Playback Recording Studio, Santa Barbara, California
| genre =
| length = 38:50
| label = Universal
| producer = Chong Lim
| chronology = John Farnham
| prev_title = Two Strong Hearts Live
| prev_year = 2015
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Olivia Newton-John
| type = studio
| prev_title = Liv On
| prev_year = 2016
| title = Friends for Christmas
| year = 2016
| next_title = Hopelessly Devoted: The Hits
| next_year = 2018
}}
}}
Friends for Christmas is a collaborative Christmas album by John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John. It was recorded at Playback Recording Studio in Santa Barbara, California, produced by Farnham's long-time music director Chong Lim, and released through Sony Music Australia on 11 November 2016 on CD and digital download. The album features well-known traditional holiday standards, by mostly American composers. It was re-released in 2017 with three additional tracks. Friends for Christmas was the final studio album released during Olivia Newton-John's lifetime.
Synopsis
Friends for Christmas is Farnham's first Christmas album in 46 years; when billed as "Johnny" he released the album Christmas Is Johnny Farnham in 1970. It is Newton-John's fourth, the most recent being This Christmas (2012) recorded with her Grease co-star, John Travolta. Farnham and Newton-John promoted the album in Australia in November.{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/john-farnham-and-olivia-newtonjohn-are-on-song-with-new-christmas-album/news-story/551b6a28de1c9687b21d5532a5795374|title=John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John are on song with new Christmas album|publisher=news.com.au|date=16 October 2016|access-date=17 October 2016}}
=Artists' press statements=
Farnham said: "I have always loved working with Olivia. To record a Christmas album seemed like the right, almost inevitable thing to do. I hope everyone enjoys listening to it as much as we loved recording it together." Newton-John said: "It was such a joy singing these beautiful holiday songs with my favourite singer and good mate John Farnham. The holidays are about family and friends and having this chance to sing these classics with John was pure fun from beginning to end!"{{cite web|url=https://www.auspop.com.au/2016/10/john-farnham-olivia-newton-john-friends-christmas/|title=John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John are Friends for Christmas|publisher=auspOp|date=17 October 2016|access-date=17 October 2016}}
Farnham and [Newton-John performed together in concert numerous times, and released two ARIA number-one albums: Highlights from The Main Event in 1998,{{cite web|url=http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Farnham+%2F+Olivia+Newton-John+%2F+Anthony+Warlow&titel=Highlights+From+The+Main+Event&cat=a|title=John Farnham / Olivia Newton-John / Anthony Warlow - Highlights from the Main Event (Album) |publisher=Australian charts|access-date=23 November 2016}} from The Main Event Tour, also featuring Anthony Warlow and Two Strong Hearts Live in 2015.{{cite web|url=http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Farnham+and+Olivia+Newton-John&titel=Highlights+From+Two+Strong+Hearts+Live&cat=a|title= John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John – Highlights from Two Strong Hearts Live (Album)|publisher=Australian charts|access-date=23 November 2016}}
Critical reception
Cameron Adams and Mikey Cahill from news.com.au gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and said: "In a sea of corporate Christmas albums, this has a welcome quality missing from most: authenticity. First, they're actual friends and Farnsey insisted on them recording together, eye-to-eye." They added: "Everything here is turned into a duet (and) producer Chong Lim hasn't done much except capture the voices and add choirs and orchestration to make it as lush as you'd expect."{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/latest-xmas-album-reviews-john-farnham-olivia-newton-john-she-him-neil-diamond-r-kelly-kylie-minogue/news-story/6444b1847cb53f06ea572f60dc09b3b9|title=Latest Xmas Album Reviews: John Farnham & Olivia Newton John, She & Him, Neil Diamond, R. Kelly, Kylie Minogue|website=news.com.au|date=7 December 2016|access-date=16 December 2016}}
Samantha Jonscher from The Music gave the album two-and-a-half out of five, writing: "If you are the music programmer for David Jones this Christmas season then this is the Yuletide album for you. The Broadway smiles one imagines plastered across their faces may not be contagious, but the "cheer" will certainly be heard over even the most frantic Christmas eve shopper's pounding, desperate heartbeat."{{cite magazine|title=Album Reviews – John Farnham & Olivia Newton-John – Friends For Christmas|url=http://themusic.com.au/music/albumreviews/2016/11/22/john-farnham-and-olivia-newton-john-friends-for-christmas-samantha-jonscher/|magazine=The Music|date=28 November 2016 |access-date=16 December 2016}}
Chart performance
Friends for Christmas debuted at number 3 on the Australian Albums Chart and reached number 1 in its fifth week of charting on 19 December 2016. It became the tenth chart topper for Farnham and the fifth for Newton-John.{{cite web|url=http://www.noise11.com/news/australian-charts-fonjie-has-the-no-1-aria-album-20161219|title=Australian Charts: FONJie Has The No 1 ARIA Album|website=Noise11|date=19 December 2016|access-date=19 December 2016}} The album came in sixth on the 2016 year-end albums chart, and 22nd on the 2017 year-end chart published by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Also in 2017, Friends for Christmas was certified double platinum in Australia. The album returned to the Australian top 10 in December 2017 and again in 2018.
Track listing
All tracks produced by Chong Lim.
{{Track listing
| headline = Friends for Christmas track listing
| title1 = Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
| writer1 = {{hlist|Sammy Cahn|Jule Styne}}
| length1 = 2:35
| title2 = It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
| writer2 = Meredith Willson
| length2 = 2:49
| title3 = Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
| writer3 = {{hlist|Hugh Martin|Ralph Blane}}
| length3 = 4:10
| title4 = Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
| writer4 = {{hlist|John Frederick CootsHaven Gillespie}}
| length4 = 2:40
| title5 = The Christmas Song
| writer5 = {{hlist|Mel Tormé|Robert Wells}}
| length5 = 3:27
| title6 = Winter Wonderland
| writer6 = {{hlist|Felix Bernard|Richard B. Smith}}
| length6 = 2:54
| title7 = Baby, It's Cold Outside
| writer7 = Frank Loesser
| length7 = 3:18
| title8 = Silent Night
| writer8 = {{hlist|Joseph Mohr|Franz Xaver Gruber}}
| length8 = 3:11
| title9 = White Christmas
| writer9 = Irving Berlin
| length9 = 3:34
| title10 = The Little Drummer Boy
| writer10 = Katherine Kennicott Davis
| length10 = 4:33
| title11 = Silver Bells
| writer11 = {{hlist|Jay Livingston|Ray Evans}}
| length11 = 2:58
| title12 = Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
| writer12 = Traditional
| length12 = 2:35
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 2017 Deluxe edition – bonus tracks
| title13 = The First Noel
| writer13 = Traditional
| length13 = 5:01
| title14 = Here Comes Santa Claus
| writer14 = {{hlist|Gene Autry|Oakley Haldeman}}
| length14 = 3:08
| title15 = One Little Christmas Tree
| writer15 = {{hlist|Bryan Wells|Ronald Miller}}
| length15 = 3:19
}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Friends for Christmas ! scope="col"| Chart (2016) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Australia|1|artist=John Farnham & Olivia Newton-John|album=Friends for Christmas|rowheader=true|access-date=16 September 2023|refname=auto}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2016 year-end chart performance for Friends for Christmas ! scope="col"| Chart (2016) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite web|url=http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-albums-2016.htm|title=ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association|access-date=6 January 2017}}
| 6 |
|---|
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 2017 year-end chart performance for Friends for Christmas ! scope="col"| Chart (2017) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite web|url=https://www.ariacharts.com.au/annual-charts/2017/albums-chart|title=ARIA End of Year Albums 2017|publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association|access-date=5 January 2018}}
| 22 |
|---|
=Decade-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Decade-end chart performance for Friends for Christmas ! scope="col"| Chart (2010-2019) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA){{cite web|url=https://www.ariacharts.com.au/annual-charts/2019/end-of-decade-albums-chart|title= 2019 ARIA End of Decade Albums Chart|date=January 2020|access-date=17 January 2020}}
| 95 |
|---|
| scope="row"| Australian Artist Albums (ARIA)
| 18 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Friends for Christmas}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2016|certyear=2017|access-date=26 August 2019|refname="ARIA"}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release history for Friends for Christmas ! scope="col"| Region ! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Label ! scope="col"| Edition ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Catalogue ! scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}} |
| scope="row" rowspan="3"| Australia
| 11 November 2016 | rowspan="3"| Sony Music Australia | Standard edition | rowspan="2"| {{hlist|CD|digital download}} | 88985387172 | align="center"|{{cite web|url=https://www.jbhifi.com.au/music/browse/christmas-pop/friends-for-christmas/320219/|title=Friends For Christmas|publisher=JB Hi-Fi|access-date=17 October 2016}} |
|---|
| 17 November 2017
| Deluxe edition | 88985498012 |
| 1 December 2023
| Standard edition | {{hlist|LP}} | 19658861521 |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{John Farnham}}
{{Olivia Newton-John}}
Category:2016 Christmas albums
Category:2016 collaborative albums
Category:Albums produced by Chong Lim
Category:Christmas albums by Australian artists