Селена Дион: Ерекше кезеңдер (These Are Special Times)

These Are Special Times is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her first English language Christmas album. It was first released in Europe on 30 October 1998, by Columbia Records. In the United States, it was released on 3 November 1998 through Epic Records. The album features cover versions of popular Christmas songs and original material, including "I'm Your Angel" and "The Prayer". Dion worked with David Foster and Ric Wake, who produced most of the album. These Are Special Times was released after two of Dion's most successful albums, Falling into You (1996) and Let's Talk About Love (1997). Upon its release, These Are Special Times received generally positive reviews from music critics. Many praised Dion's commitment to the project, as well as the production of the songs. The album has been certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of six million copies in the United States. In Canada, the album has sold one million copies and been certified Diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). These Are Special Times has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and is one of the best selling Christmas albums of all time. The album spawned two singles. "I'm Your Angel" was released as the lead single on 16 November 1998 and peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. "The Prayer", a duet with Andrea Bocelli, was released as a promotional single on 1 March 1999 and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 56th Golden Globe Awards. In addition, "I'm Your Angel" and "The Prayer" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 41st and 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, respectively. In 2021, Billboard named These Are Special Times the 8th Greatest Holiday Album of All Time.

Celine Dion released two French language Christmas albums in her early career: Céline Dion chante Noël (1981) and Chants et contes de Noël (1983). Later, in 1993, she recorded "The Christmas Song" which appears on David Foster's The Christmas Album. The next year, Dion was featured on Alvin and the Chipmunks' "Petit Papa Noël" which is on their album A Very Merry Chipmunk. In 1996, she recorded "Brahms' Lullaby" for the compilation For Our Children Too to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. "The Christmas Song" and "Brahms' Lullaby" were included on These Are Special Times in 1998.

These Are Special Times debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200, selling 126,000 copies. The next week, it became a greatest gainer, jumping to number three and selling 163,000 units. In its third week, despite selling 210,000 copies, These Are Special Times fell to number five. These Are Special Times tied Amy Grant's 1992 Home for Christmas as the highest charting holiday album ever by a female artist. It stayed at number two for a second week, selling 413,000 copies. In its seventh week, These Are Special Times reached its highest weekly sales of 462,000 copies, despite falling to number three. The album topped the Top Holiday Albums subchart, however, for nine consecutive weeks. These Are Special Times became the best selling holiday album of 1998 in the US with a total of 2,684,000 copies sold. These Are Special Times is also the highest selling Christmas album by an artist born outside the US. It is the fourth best selling Christmas album of the entire Nielsen SoundScan era with US sales of 5.6 million copies as of November 2019. On 3 November 2022, the album was certified six times Platinum by the RIAA for shipment of six million copies in the US. The album shipped one million copies and was certified Diamond by the CRIA. In Japan, the album reached number four and exceeded sales of more than 500,000 copies. These Are Special Times was also successful in Australasia and Europe, hitting the top ten in most countries and peaking at number one in Switzerland and Norway. It included two musical guests: Andrea Bocelli on "The Prayer" and Rosie O'Donnell on "Do You Hear What I Hear?". The show was nominated for two Emmy Awards. and at the 71st Academy Awards on 21 March 1999.

"I'm Your Angel" was released as the first single from the album. It became Dion's fourth number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for six consecutive weeks. On 9 December 1998, it was certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of one million copies in the United States. In March 1999, "The Prayer" (duet with Andrea Bocelli) was sent to adult contemporary radio stations in the United States In February 2008, Dion recorded a live version of this song in a duet with Josh Groban. Thanks to the digital sales, the track entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy.

These Are Special Times received the 1999 Japan Gold Disc Award for International Pop Album of the Year. At the 56th Golden Globe Awards, "The Prayer" won the award for Best Original Song. and 42nd Grammy Awards, respectively. "The Prayer" was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 71st Academy Awards. In 2017, 24/7 Wall St. Named These Are Special Times as the 8th best Holiday Album of all time.

In recording her own version of the song for her 2020 holiday album My Gift, Carrie Underwood said that she was inspired by Dion's version of "O Holy Night", calling it "so beautiful and big and classic". Christina Aguilera recorded a rendition of "These Are The Special Times", and Patti Labelle performed a rendition of "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day". Billboard listed Dion's rendition of "Feliz Navidad" as one of the best covers of the song. Esquire listed Happy Xmas (War Is Over) among 'The 65 Best Christmas Songs of All Time'. Parade also listed the song "These Are The Special Times" at #44, among the 150 Best Christmas Songs of all Time. MTV praised These Are Special Times calling it "one of the Greatest Christmas albums to ever exist". Billboard ranked her rendition of the classic hit "O Holy Night" at number 68 on their "100 Best Christmas Songs of All Time" list, calling it a "bombastically earnest performance". Its the only rendition of the song present on the list.

+ These Are Special Times rankings Publication Accolade Rank Ref. (Reference) Prima Top 10 Best Christmas Albums of all time N/A House Beautiful The 20 Best Christmas Albums of all time 9 Inside Edition The 10 Best Christmas Albums of all time 8 24/7 Wall St. 50 Best Holiday Albums of all time 8