The Spirit of Christmas (Michael W. Smith album)
The Spirit of Christmas, officially titled as Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas is a duet Christmas album by Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith, released on September 30, 2014, through Capitol Records. This is Smith's fourth Christmas album. His previous Christmas album, "It's a Wonderful Christmas", was released in 2007. "The Spirit of Christmas" won 2015 Dove Award for Christmas Album of the Year. Background. This album features duets with several country music artists, including Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Martina  McBride, and Vince Gill. Other artists on it include U2 frontman Bono, Amy Grant, and Michael McDonald. Bono is featured in spoken word on the track "The Darkest Midnight." Tour. Cracker Barrel sponsored Smith's 2014 "Spirit of Christmas Tour", which started on November 30, 2014, and finished on December 21, 2014. The tour features a full symphony and consists of 14 shows, 3 of which were co-headlined with Amy Grant. Smith toured this album again in 2015, also with Cracker Barrel sponsoring. This time Amy Grant was featured in 8 of 13 shows. The tour began on December  4, 2015 in Kentucky, and ended on December 20, 2015 in Virginia. Critical reception. Jeffrey Lee Puckett for "The Courier Journal" said the album "gets the season of holiday Christmas albums off to a big start." Commercial performance. The album sold 4,000 copies in its first week of release, debuted at No. 80 on the "Billboard" 200 and peaked at No. 16 . It also reached No. 13 on Top Album Sales Chart which counts traditional album sales and does not include streaming. On the Top Christian Albums Chart, the album debuted at No. 5 and peaked at No. 1. This  marks Smith's third new album for 2014 to enter the Billboard 200. He previously released "Sovereign", which debuted at No. 10 on the "Billboard" 200, selling 16,000 copies; and "Hymns", which debuted at No. 25 with 12,000 copies. As of January 2015, "The Spirit of Christmas" has sold 145,000 copies. Personnel. Choir on "Almost There Production. Studios