The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart, selling 210,000 copies in its first week, becoming the first Christmas album by a male artist to debut at number one.[2] This was Bieber's third number-one album on the Billboard 200, following Never Say Never: The Remixes earlier in the year.[2] With this album he became the first artist to earn three number one albums on the chart before their 18th birthday. [3] The album is currently certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for sales of over two million units.[4]
Under the Mistletoe was met with generally mixed reviews. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 54, based on four critical reviews.[11]AllMusic also assessed the critical consensus giving the album three stars.[12]
Andy Kellman of AllMusic credited Bieber "for the effort he put in" and for not "sleepwalking" through the Christmas album like "most artists," although he did feel that Bieber "definitely sounds more enthused by the original songs" while calling Bieber's "Drummer Boy" goofy but complimenting his version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town."[11] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Adam Markovitz also felt that the original songs were much better than the covers, calling them "sleigh-ride-smooth R&B jangles" while writing that "the classics bring no cheer."[15] Jason Scott of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave the album a positive review, writing that Bieber "proves he is a mainstay in the industry by crafting a highly energetic and expressive album that is filled to the brim with eggnog flavored treats, ranging from straight up pop and R&B to country" and named it "a wonderful performance."[16]
Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian opined that "the guests are the album's saving grace" and felt that "they generally outclass his by quite a stretch," although she did feel that "holds his own" against Mariah Carey.[17]Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that Bieber "[hadn't] ever sounded this good" but also felt that he was at times overshadowed on the guest appearances.[18]
Commercial performance
Under the Mistletoe debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 210,000 copies in its first week.[2] This became Bieber's third US number one debut and his fifth US top ten album.[2] It also became the first Christmas album by a male artist to debut at number one and the first solo artist to have three number one albums before his 18th birthday.[2] In its second week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling an additional 97,000 copies, which was a 54% decrease.[19] In its third week, the album climbed to number five on the chart, selling 84,000 more copies.[20] In its fourth week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling 142,000 copies, which was a 69% increase.[20] By the end of 2011, the album totaled 1,245,000 copies in US sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was the eleventh best-selling album of the year.[21] As of December 2015, the album had sold 1,510,000 copies.[22] On June 24, 2020, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States.[4]
The album also debuted at number one in Canada, and within the top 10 in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Australia, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
