Maps of Music

Star Bright (1996)

Where the lyrics of Star Bright take you, and where it was really made.

The album had no official singles, yet a medley from it still reached #15 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Key places

Recording studio in New York City (1996)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Listed as the recording location for this album. The point uses city-center coordinates, so it marks New York City rather than the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Star Bright: fourth studio album by Vanessa Williams and her first Christmas album
• Released November 5, 1996 on Mercury Records
• Counted among the best-selling holiday albums of 1996 and 1997
• Twelve tracks, mixing traditional carols with newer Christmas songs
• Includes Baby, It's Cold Outside as a duet with Bobby Caldwell
• Title track Star Bright written by Rob Mathes

Background

• No official singles were released from the album
• Do You Hear What I Hear/The Little Drummer Boy reached #15 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart
• A video was shot in 1993 for What Child Is This?, which was originally featured on A&M Records' Christmas compilation A Very Special Christmas 2
• The album was re-released in 2003 as The Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters: The Best of Vanessa Williams

Recording

• Recording location listed as Clinton Recording Studios in New York City

Cover

• The cover shows Williams in a slinky evening dress that is neither red nor green, striking a Julie London-style pose

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Vanessa Lynn Williams, born March 18, 1963, in Tarrytown, New York, a suburb of New York City.
• Raised in Millwood and Westchester County, New York, in a household of music teachers.
• Studied at Syracuse University's Department of Drama as a musical theater major from 1981.
• Became the first African-American Miss America when crowned Miss America 1984 on September 17, 1983.
• Resigned the title in July 1984 after nude photographs published by Penthouse magazine caused a media controversy.
• Released debut album The Right Stuff in 1988 under her own name.

Career

• Debut single "Dreamin'" peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989.
• Second album The Comfort Zone (1991) became her biggest commercial success.
• "Save the Best for Last" reached number 1 in the United States and was performed at the 1993 Grammy Awards.
• Sweetest Days (1994) was certified platinum in the U.S.
• Made Broadway debut in 1994 replacing Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
• Nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for The Witch in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods.
• Played Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), earning Primetime Emmy nominations.
• Released Survivor in August 2024, her ninth studio album.
• In 2024 to 2026 starred as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion Theatre, London.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Entertainment Weekly editor Chris praised Williams for good taste, pointing to the cover photo and her quiet orchestrations and modest interpretations
• Chris noted that the restrained approach may be too careful, but said that compared with others' overreaching, a little subtlety goes a long way
• AllMusic's Shawn M. Haney found that Williams blends jazz, gospel and soul into a portrait of Christmas songs
• Haney described the record as filled with a glistening appeal, with a rich tapestry of seasonal music
• Haney noted that some tunes feature Williams' voice backed by an assertive, charismatic gospel choir

Records

• Peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200
• Peaked at #24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart
• Peaked at #5 on the Top Holiday Albums chart
• Among the best-selling holiday albums of 1996 and 1997
• Nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album
• Certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album earned a 1998 Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, a year after its release.
• The 40-second track Sleep Well, Little Children is the shortest entry on the twelve-track listing.
• The video for What Child Is This? was shot in 1993, three years before the album came out.
• The Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters: The Best of Vanessa Williams reissued this album's material in 2003.
• Baby, It's Cold Outside is sung as a duet with Bobby Caldwell.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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