JB was inspired by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men — also collaborators on the album — to make a holiday LP.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by James Montgomery
Justin Bieber
Photo: MTV News
Justin Bieber managed to deck the halls and stack the decks when it came to collaborations for his November 1 holiday album, Under the Mistletoe, with everyone from Mariah Carey and Usher to Boyz II Men and the Band Perry — and even Busta Rhymes! — popping up on the record.
And some of those collaborators are even behind the idea for Bieber making a Christmas album in the first place, as he revealed to us during Tuesday's "MTV First" premiere of his "Mistletoe" video.
"I love Boyz II Men's Christmas album, I love Mariah Carey's Christmas album, and luckily enough, I got them both on my album," he said. "So that was amazing. I wanted to make a Christmas album that everyone would remember. Those are albums that people remember, so to have them be able to collaborate with me was incredible."
Another collabo Bieber is excited about is his version of "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" with mentor Usher, which he revealed Wednesday (October 19) on Facebook would be the next single to arrive. Bieber thanked his fans for their support of the "Mistletoe" video, writing, "u guys got it to #1 worldwide. ... and next tuesday we are putting out THE CHRISTMAS SONG (Chesnuts) with Usher!!"
The song is a mixed bag of original tunes as well as brand-new songs Bieber hopes will one day become classics. "I just picked my favorite Christmas songs. I picked 'Silent Night,' I picked 'Santa [Claus Is] Coming to Town,' because everyone loves those songs. Those are classics," he said. "They get people excited for Christmas," he continued. "And then, for songs that we wrote, we wanted to make enough new songs for people to hear new music and not just hear some classics. There's a lot of new stuff on there."
Considering that the holidays are the perfect time to give back, portions of the sales from the album will go to charities like Pencils of Promise and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But Bieber isn't waiting until then to give back: "We donated $10,000 to the food bank where I grew up, and I used to actually get food from there," he said. "It was an incredible feeling, just because they were needing a lot of stuff, and it made me feel good."
What's your favorite Christmas album? Let us know in the comments!
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