Maps of Music

Under the Mistletoe (2011)

Where the lyrics of Under the Mistletoe take you, and where it was really made.

Bieber's first Christmas album debuted at number one, and it was the first Christmas album by a male artist to do so.

Key places

Henson Recording Studios (2011)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — The release credits list this studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Record Plant, Los Angeles (2011)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The release credits list this Los Angeles studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sigma Sound Studios (2011)

Recording site Sigma Sound Studios — The release credits list this studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Capitol Studios (2011)

Recording site Capitol Studios — The release credits list this studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Jungle City Studios (2011)

Recording site Jungle City Studios — The release credits list this studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Westlake Studios (2011)

Recording site Westlake Recording Studios — The release credits list this studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Platinum Sound Studios (2011)

Recording site Platinum Sound Recording Studios — The release credits list this studio as a place where the album was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• First Christmas album and second studio album by Justin Bieber
• Released 1 November 2011 by RBMG/Island Def Jam Music Group
• Fifteen tracks: seven original songs co-written by Bieber, plus Christmas carols and standards
• Guest artists: Usher, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, the Band Perry

Background

• Bieber announced the album on 25 August 2011, saying it would come out later that year
• Manager Scooter Braun and vocal producer Kuk Harrell confirmed a week later that Bieber had worked with Sean Kingston, Taylor Swift and the producers The Messengers
• Boyz II Men, Usher and The Band Perry were reported as collaborators later that month
• On 4 October 2011 Mariah Carey revealed a duet on "All I Want for Christmas Is You"

Recording

• Several studios are credited on the release, including Henson Recording Studios, Record Plant in Los Angeles, Sigma Sound Studios, Capitol Studios, Jungle City Studios, Westlake Studios and Platinum Sound Studios
• Mastered by Tom Coyne, with mastering at Sterling Sound
• The first single "Mistletoe" was written and produced with The Messengers and released on 17 October 2011

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer, born in London, Ontario and raised in Stratford.
• He was discovered by Scooter Braun after Braun found his 2007 YouTube covers, and signed to RBMG, a joint venture of Braun and Usher, later with Island Records.
• His debut EP My World (2009) and debut album My World 2.0 (2010) topped the US Billboard 200 at the time, making him the youngest solo male to do so in 47 years.
• Believe (2012) marked a shift from teen pop to dance-pop and R&B; by age 18 he had five US number-one albums.
• Purpose (2015) produced three US Billboard Hot 100 number-ones: Love Yourself, Sorry and What Do You Mean?.
• Later albums Changes (2020), Justice (2021), Swag (2025) and Swag II (2025) continued his chart success.
• He is estimated to have sold over 150 million records and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Awards

• He has won 2 Grammy Awards, 8 Juno Awards, 2 Brit Awards and 26 Billboard Music Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews were generally mixed; Metacritic averages 54 from four critical reviews
• AllMusic gave the album three stars
• AllMusic's Andy Kellman credited Bieber's effort and said he sounded more enthused by the original songs than the covers
• Entertainment Weekly's Adam Markovitz felt the original songs were much better than the covers
• The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Jason Scott gave a positive review, calling it a wonderful performance
• The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan wrote that the guests were the album's saving grace
• The New York Times' Jon Caramanica wrote that Bieber had never sounded this good, but was sometimes overshadowed by guests

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 210,000 copies in its first week
• First Christmas album by a male artist to debut at number one
• Bieber's third US number-one album and the first solo artist to have three number-one albums before his 18th birthday
• Fell to number six in its second week, selling an additional 97,000 copies
• 1,245,000 copies sold in the US by the end of 2011 (Nielsen SoundScan), the eleventh best-selling album of the year
• Debuted at number one in Canada; within the top 10 in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Australia, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand and the Netherlands
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA on 24 June 2020 for over two million units

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Mariah Carey's duet on "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was revealed on 4 October 2011, about four weeks before the album's release
• Bieber's version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" from the film Arthur Christmas samples "I Want You Back" and "ABC" by the Jackson 5
• The first single "Mistletoe" came out on 17 October 2011, about two weeks before the album
• In its second week the album fell to number six, selling an additional 97,000 copies
• Discogs lists recording credits at several separate studios, so the album was made across more than one room

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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