NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Multi-GRAMMY® nominated entertainer Jamie O’Neal spreads Spirit & Joy with the announcement of her debut Christmas album. The album celebrates the cheerful nature of the season, while also honoring the sentimental side of the holidays. Spirit & Joy will be available on Oct. 21 via JOG Inc. and BFD/AUDIUM Nashville with distribution through The Orchard.
Pre-order Spirit & Joy HERE.
As revealed by American Songwriter, Spirit & Joy is a 10-song collection of festive favorites and new material like “Christmas,” the album opener, available everywhere today. American Songwriter exclusively premiered “Christmas,” penned on the spot at the request of O’Neal by Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Jeffrey Steele.
“The delicate arrangement offers a refreshing take on a holiday tune, straying away from the trademark deck-the-halls gaudiness of most Christmas classics (American Songwriter).”
With cuts from Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Idina Menzel and more, O’Neal co-wrote three originals for Spirit & Joy, “Christmas You,” “Gulf of Mexico” and “You Were Christmas to Me.” Spotlighting O’Neal’s “jazz-infused country touch (Wide Open Country),” “Christmas You” was released last year along with “White Christmas,” which “turns the arrangement on its head (Taste of Country).”
Spirit & Joy was produced by O’Neal and her husband Rodney Good. The pair also recorded their first-ever collaboration, a duet of “Please Come Home for Christmas,” for the project. O’Neal’s father Jimmy Murphy, sister Melissa Murphy and daughter Aliyah Good also joined O’Neal on “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The album wraps up with a collaboration featuring fellow ACM Award winner Collin Raye on “Silver Bells.”
O’Neal’s latest album, Sometimes, celebrated the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Shiver. The critically-acclaimed project proved that O’Neal “hasn’t lost an iota of her powerhouse vocal talent (Rolling Stone Country).” Featuring collaborations with John Paul White, Lauren Alaina, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and O’Neal’s daughter Aliyah Good, Sometimes received additional praise from People, Forbes, Parade, American Songwriter, The Boot, Wide Open Country, MusicRow and many more.
For updates on Spirit & Joy, follow Jamie O’Neal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit www.jamieoneal.com.