| "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byNSYNC | ||||
| from the albumThe Winter Album andHome for Christmas | ||||
| B-side | "All I Want Is You (This Christmas)" | |||
| Released | November 24, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Christmas,pop,R&B | |||
| Length | 4:12 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriters | JC Chasez, Veit Renn,Justin Timberlake,Vincent Degiorgio | |||
| Producer | Veit Renn | |||
| NSYNC singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" onYouTube | ||||
"Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" is a song by American boy bandNSYNC. It was released on November 29, 1998 as the first and only single from their second studio album,Home for Christmas and was also featured on the end credits of the 1998 Disney Christmas movieI'll Be Home For Christmas. The song charted at #37 on theTop 40 Mainstream chart. The single was also the second from NSYNC'sEuropean seasonal album,The Winter Album. A cappella groupPentatonix covered the song in their 2016 Christmas album,A Pentatonix Christmas. The song has also been covered by American singerDavid Archuleta for the deluxe version of his albumWinter in the Air in 2019, and by singer-songwriterBetty Who forSpotify Singles in 2020. In 2021, popular Christian singerTauren Wells covered "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" as a non album single.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed the song in the context ofHome for Christmas, and gave the following review:
It's always a sign that a group is hot if they release a holiday album mere months after their debut. That's the case with *NSYNC. Their debut was released in America in late March, and in early December, Home for Christmas hit the shelves. Much of the album is devoted to newer material, such as the anthemic "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays", and only a handful of songs qualifying as standards: "The Christmas Song," "The First Noel," and "O Holy Night." All of it is given the familiar *NSYNC sheen, alternating between slickly produced adult contemporary ballads and lite dance-pop.[1]
The video was directed byLionel C. Martin and filmed in a day.[2] All five members ofNSYNC had creative input for the direction of the video, as they wanted it to "be pop, fun, and energetic."[2] This also included their request to includeGary Coleman as an elf in the video, which Martin described as "a little tricky" to secure on board.[2] The classic sitcomDiff'rent Strokes is referenced when NSYNC ask "Whatchu talkin' about, Gary?", based on Coleman's catchphrase; "Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?". Coleman's agent didn't approve of him saying the line, as it was owned byNBC.[2] The video debuted onTRL on December 14, 1998 and became the band’s third video to reach number one on the countdown at the time.[3]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USPop Airplay (Billboard)[4] | 37 |
| Chart (2013–2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] | 74 |
| Germany (GfK)[6] | 57 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[7] | 97 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[8] | 85 |
| USStreaming Songs (Billboard)[9] | 47 |
| USHoliday 100 (Billboard)[10] | 37 |
| USHoliday Airplay (Billboard)[11] | 36 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[12] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | November 24, 1998 | Jive | [13] |
In 2019, David Archuleta covered “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” for the deluxe version of his Christmas albumWinter in the Air. The accompanying music video features NSYNC membersChris Kirkpatrick andLance Bass in cameos.[14][15]