Biography

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS VOLUME 7 WILL FEATURE ALL-STAR LINE UP OF YOUNG TALENT TO BENEFIT SPECIAL OLYMPICS

COLBIE CAILLAT, CARTER TWINS, CHARICE, MILEY CYRUS, KRISTINIA DeBARGE, GLORIANA, VANESSA HUDGENS, SEAN KINGSTON, LEIGHTON MEESTER, MITCHEL MUSSO, KELLIE PICKLER ASHLEY TISDALE AND CARRIE UNDERWOOD CONTRIBUTE TO ACCLAIMED CHRISTMAS SERIES

(Los Angeles, CA - Thursday October 1st, 2009) The torch has been passed to a new generation of superstar talent for A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS VOLUME 7, as Colbie Caillat, Carter Twins, Charice, Miley Cyrus, Kristinia DeBarge, Gloriana, Vanessa Hudgens, Sean Kingston, Leighton Meester, Mitchel Musso, Kellie Pickler, Ashley Tisdale, and Carrie Underwood contribute to the latest edition of the acclaimed album series which benefits Special Olympics. A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS VOLUME 7, set for release on November 23, through the Universal Music Enterprises, features original recordings of new and traditional Christmas songs which each artist selected especially for this album.

LINK TO COVER ART: http://www.dbaronmedia.com/special-olympics-photos-media.html

In making the announcement, Timothy Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics, said, “This is a fantastic Christmas record created by and for a new generation that wants to make the world a better place. The songs on A Very Special Christmas Volume 7 have all the freshness and energy of the talented artists who recorded them. Through the spirit of their musical performances, these young recording stars bring the same passion and dedication to Special Olympics that our athletes display every day of their lives.”

A Very Special Christmas was launched in 1987 when record executive/producer Jimmy Iovine decided that a Christmas album would be a beautiful memorial to his father. His wife Vicki suggested that the album benefit Special Olympics, for which she was working as a volunteer. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss (the "A" and "M" of A&M Records) helped make the first A Very Special Christmas album possible with an advance and a commitment to handle the record without taking any royalties, and Bobby Shriver signed on as a producer. Keith Haring, one of the great artists of the 20th century, created the Madonna and child artwork that has appeared on every cover.

Selling one million copies in its first year, the premier album, A Very Special Christmas, and the subsequent albums in the series, have generated more than $l00 million for Special Olympics, the most ever raised by a benefit recording series. Disbursed in grants by the Special Olympics Christmas Records Trust, the monies raised each year by the albums/CDs/DVDs play a crucial role in the lives of the least-advantaged Special Olympics athletes around the world where there are inaccurate and prejudiced views about people with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away this year, but her words about the artists on the first volume of Very Special Christmas apply to the artists on A Very Special Christmas Volume 7, too. “I am full of admiration for the many artists who have helped us. It’s a great tribute that these men and women say to themselves, ‘I’ll use my talent to help others.’ It’s not easy because they’ve got so many demands on them and every charity wants them, but they’ve helped us, and I’m very grateful.”

Each successive album of the series has honored the quality of its predecessors with timeless recordings of holiday music by some of the most influential and talented artists of the time. U2, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Madonna, Sting, Bon Jovi, Reba McIntyre, Alan Jackson, Wyclef Jean, Sheryl Crow, Mary J. Blige, No Doubt, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Vanessa Williams and Bryan Adams are among the stars who contributed tracks to the previous albums and whose songs for A Very Special Christmas have become perennial favorites on the radio and at holiday celebrations over the years.

For more information on Special Olympics, go to www.veryspecialchristmas.org

For more information on The Carter Twins, go to www.thecartertwins.com

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RADIO CONTACTS for The Carter Twins' "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow":



Michael Powers, Bigger Picture Group, LLC, michael.powers@biggerpicturegroup.com, 615-297-6935



Craig Lambert, Rock Band Entertainment, clambert@rockbandent.com, 818-735-0600



LABEL CONTACT for A Very Special Christmas 7 album Promotional Campaigns:



Elliot Kendall, UMe, elliot.kendall@umusic.com, 310-865-9852