Whitney Makes A Holiday Wish...

[Billboard Report]

Whitney Makes A Holiday 'Wish'

Whitney Houston's first collection of seasonal music, "One Wish - The Holiday Album," will be released Nov. 18 via Arista. The 11-track set includes a duet with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, on "Little Drummer Boy," and collaborations with producers Troy Taylor, Gordon Chambers and Barry J. Eastmond. Mervyn Warren, who previously worked with Houston on the 1996 soundtrack "The Preacher's Wife," produced eight cuts.

"I've wanted to do an album of holiday songs for some time," Houston says in a statement. "I think these are some of the most beautiful songs ever written about such a wonderful time of year and I hope they appeal to everyone."

"One Wish" includes Houston's renditions of such tracks as "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," "The First Noel," an opening medley of "Deck the Halls" and "Silent Night" and the Chambers/Eastmond original, "One Wish (For Christmas)," which features a 23-piece string section.

Houston's latest studio album, "Just Whitney," debuted in December 2002 at No. 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 9 on The Billboard 200. The set has sold 704,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here is the "One Wish" track list:

"Deck the Halls"/"Silent Night"
"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"
"Little Drummer Boy" featuring Bobbi Kristina Brown
"Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)"
"One Wish (For Christmas)"
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"The First Noel"
"O Come O Come Emanuel"
"Joy to the World"
"Who Would Imagine a King"


-- Jonathan Cohen, San Francisco
 

NEWSFILE: 27 OCTOBER 2003