New seasonal short film incorporates animation, song lyrics & Whitney live footage
Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, has released the first-ever official music video for Whitney Houston’s “One Wish (For Christmas).”
The title track, and only single from One Wish: The Holiday Album — originally released November 18, 2003 on Arista Records — provides the soundtrack for an animated holiday short film by filmmaker Katia Temkin in the song’s first official music video.
The Estate of Whitney E. Houston has announced that Perryscope, the estate’s new merchandising company, has launched a special collection of “One Wish” merchandise for the holidays.
Temkin’s vision for “One Wish (For Christmas)” takes place in a whimsical fantasia filled with familiar symbols of the holiday season –- reindeer, ornaments, bells ringing, stars twinkling, snow falling – an evocation of home, hearth, friends and family coming together to celebrate the holiday spirit. Immersing the viewer in a sparkling glittering winter wonderland, “One Wish (For Christmas)” blends the song’s lyrics – glowing on-screen like Christmas light – with performance footage of Whitney from her One Wish: The Holiday Album era.
Co-written by American R&B singer Freddie Jackson, Gordon Chambers, and Barry Eastmond, “One Wish” first appeared on Jackson’s 1994 holiday release, Freddie Jackson – At Christmas. Houston covered the song in 2003 for One Wish: The Holiday Album, her sixth studio collection. “One Wish (For Christmas)” reached No. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and spent six weeks on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA.
Houston’s timeless message in “One Wish (For Christmas)” is more relevant in 2020 than ever. “If there were no presents/Waiting on Santa’s sleigh/What would I wish/For Christmas,” she asks before answering, “I would pray for hope and unity/On Christmas day/If I had one wish for Christmas/There would be joy and peace here on earth/If I had one wish for Christmas this year/We would all come together as one.”
Earlier this year, Houston became the first black recording artist (male or female, solo or group) to achieve three diamond award certifications from the RIAA for her albums Whitney, Whitney Houston and The Bodyguard (Soundtrack). Houston was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.
Houston has been cited as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and remains one of the best-selling music artists of all time with more than 200 million records sold worldwide.
