Radio 2 Pointless Celebrities, 7th January

On 7th January 2017 at 6.10pm there's a Radio 2-themed edition of Pointless Celebrities, featuring Jo Whiley and Jeremy Vine, Zoe Ball and Michael Ball, Ken Bruce and Anneka Rice, and Vanessa Feltz and Craig Charles. Mika will perform at the end of the show.

Good group of broadcasters - this should be fun!

It's all change for #Pointless1000!

Little did Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman know, way back in 2009 when Pointless began, what a gameshow institution they were starting up. But so it was - and soon Pointless will reach its 1000th show. To mark the occasion, Xander and Richard are swapping places, with Richard behind the host's podium and Xander as his pointless friend.

Richard says:

I'm so delighted that the ridiculous rise and rise of Pointless continues and have loved spending 1,000 episodes alongside my TV husband Xander. Swapping roles was a real treat but let's just say I'm not in a hurry to do it again - Xander's job is much harder than it looks.

 Xander adds:

I can't tell you how exciting this is for Richard and me. I imagine it's probably fairly obvious how much we love making Pointless - but to pass the 1,000th episode mark is a great tribute to a show that so many people work so hard on.

The show has a special jackpot starting at £2500 for charity with £!000 added for any pointless answers, and the contestants include the first ever winners, the couple who won the highest ever jackpot, a team who got three pointless answers in the final, and representatives of celebrity contestants.

I was at this recording, and very good t was too. I'm looking forward to seeing it on screen, some time early in the New Year.

Alexander Armstrong on Lip Sync Battle UK

Lip Sync Battle UK is a musical reality TV competition on Channel 5, in which celebrities take each other on with lip sync performances to pop songs. Alexander Armstrong is taking part against Jimmy Carr, at 10pm on Friday 13th January 2017.

I was at this recording, hosted as are all the shows by Mel B and Professor Green. I can promise you that you won't have seen Xander (or Jimmy) quite like this before. Definitely worth a watch!

Italy's Invisible Cities

Following the success of Rome's Invisible City, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott have travelled through three of Italy's most fascinating cities - Naples, Venice, and Florence - to explore 2000 years of history. Utilising an arsenal of cutting-edge technology, including ultra-high definition 3D scans, underwater LiDAR, photo-real CGI and drone cameras, Alexander and Michael discover Italy’s hidden past in new vivid detail.

In the first episode of Italy's Invisible Cities, on the 4th of January at 9pm on BBC1, Alexander and Michael seek to expose the buried treasures contained in one of the world’s oldest cities, Naples. A series of underground tunnels constructed by ruling Bourbon kings in the 19th century link historic quarries and Roman aqueducts, interacting with the modern city above in surprising ways – including the intrusion of an abandoned metro line.

The duo visits Herculaneum and learns about an underground theatre buried after the eruption of Vesuvius, rediscovered when Roman statues began surfacing in one of the town’s wells. Alexander and Michael not only head underground, but underwater - in Baiae’s sunken harbour, Portus Julius. Michael completes a dive to view a perfectly preserved mosaic floor among the ruins of submerged Roman holiday homes.

In episode two, Xander and Michael uncover how a city built in a swamp - Venice - became one of the most powerful in medieval Europe and dive into its canals to experience how the city remains standing. Plus, they reveal how the city's beauty once masked a ruthless secret state and a world of excess and vice.

In the final episode, on 25th January, the duo explore the hidden side of romantic Florence and uncover the birthplace of the Italian renaissance, historic home to the all-powerful Medici family. They investigate the Medicis' fraught relationship with one of their employees, none other than Michelangelo. Xander and Michael complete their Tuscan exploration with a visit to the world-famous Uffizi - including the Botticelli room. Michael takes Alexander along the Medicis' private corridor running more than a kilometre through the city from the Uffizi to the Medici’s stately residence on the south of the river. Using cutting-edge technology, this secret space is recreated as an astonishing virtual reality experience revealing Florence as it’s never been seen before.

Pointless Celebrities 31st December

Reflecting 2016's utter randomness, the last Pointless Celebrities of the year is a repeat of a unthemed show, on New Year's Eve at 7.45pm).

Rich Hall and Shappi Khorsandi, Sian Lloyd and Fred MacAulay, Mark King and Stuart Maconie, Chemmy Alcott and Amy Williams all take part. Interesting mix...

Walking In The Air for refugees

The Hands Up Foundation raises funds and awareness for those affected by the crisis in Syria. One of the ways it raises money is through singing, and they have recently launched the Singing For Syrians campaign.

The first event of the campaign is a carol concert at St Margaret's Church in Westminster on 13th December, led by a choir of MPs including Victoria Prentis, Will Quince, Nicola Blackwood and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, and with readings from Simon Callow, Michael Morpurgo and Robert Peston. In addition, Alexander Armstrong and Tom Hollander will sing and whistle Walking In The Air.

A similar event last year raised £45,000, and it's hoped that this year's concert will double that. Tickets are available from the Singing For Syrians site.

The Sound of Music (a bit less) Live

Last year's splendid Sound of Music Live is repeated on Christmas Eve at 3.50pm on ITV3, followed at 6.30pm by The Making of Sound of Music Live.

Alexander Armstrong plays music promoter Max Detweiler. The production also stars Kara Tointon, Julian Ovenden, Katherine Kelly, and Maria Friedman.

A must to get you in the seasonal mood!

Armstrong & Miller With Great Pleasure at Christmas

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller are reunited to present With Great Pleasure at Christmas, at 10pm on Radio 4 on Christmas Day (repeated on Boxing Day at 4pm).

Expect laughter and maybe the odd tear as they present readings from their favourite works of fiction and poetry, many with a Christmas feel, and a song or two (including, I'm reliably informed, The Hatmakers' Song). They're assisted by one of their favourite female collaborators, Sarah Alexander.

Christmas Pointless Celebrities

It's Christmas! This year's Pointless Celebrities special goes out on Christmas Eve at 6.30pm.

The show features Lesley Joseph and Duncan James, Faye Tozer and Bobby Davro, Joe Pasquale and Wendi Peters, and Natasha Hamilton and Keith Chegwin.

I was at this recording, and can exclusively reveal that it was filmed in the middle of a heatwave. So give a thought to poor Xander, Richard, and the contestants, all in their heavy costumes. I know ice packs down the trousers were involved for at least one person.

Alexander Armstrong's Land of the Midnight Sun

Hats and scarves on as we join Alexander Armstrong on his epic trek half-way round the Arctic Circle in midwinter. In this series, repeated from 2015, Xander witnesses natural wonders, experiences the lure of the magnetic North, and meets the people making this harsh landscape their home.

In the first episode, going out today (Sunday) at 10pm on ITV3, Xander begins in Scandinavia and heads toward Iceland, as he swims with locals in the ocean, faces the worst storm in 25 years, and goes down the world's first major tunnel to be built into the heart of a glacier.

Dear BBC schedulers....

Dear BBC schedulers,

I'm a Pointless megafan. On the bell curve labelled 'level of interest in Pointless' I'm way out there on the furthest right hand edge. But even I am beginning to wonder if you're deliberately trying to put people off watching.

Over the past month or so, BBC1 has shown a couple of weeks of new shows, followed by a block of repeats. On Monday 12th December, we have new shows again.

For three days.

That's right, on the Thursday of that week it's repeats again, running (by the looks of it) all the way up to Christmas.

Richard Osman has said in interviews that more than 1200 shows have now been recorded. You haven't shown the 1000th episode yet. What are you hanging on to them all for? (Not Christmas, evidently.)

I understand that you need to get your money's worth out of your commission, so repeats are inevitable. But why not at least string them all together (Summer would be the obvious time) so we can get a long, uninterrupted run of new shows at other times?

Please, schedulers. For the love of Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Kiribati, of Dysprosium, Darmstadtium, and Neodymium, give us our Pointless!

Regards,

Team Xander

Sports Personality of the Year Pointless Celebrities

Saturday 17th December at 5.50pm sees a Sports Personality of the Year-themed Pointless Celebrities. Jayne Torvill and Geoff Thomas, Paula Radcliffe and Dame Mary Peters, Robin Cousins and Fatima Whitbread, and Maggie Alphonsi and Greg Rusedski are all taking part.

Sports shows are always good, because the celebrities are just so competitive. Looking forward to this one.

Alexander Armstrong on Alan Carr's 12 Stars of Christmas

Alexander Armstrong will appear on Alan Carr's 12 Stars of Christmas, on Monday 19th December at 10pm on Channel 4.

12 Stars... is being broadcast over Christmas week. Three celebrities will compete every night to win hundreds of prizes for the studio audience, taking turns to choose doors from a giant advent calendar, Behind each door is another celebrity armed with a question about the highlights of the past 12 months..Also competing on the same night as Xander are Alesha Dixon and Rob Beckett, and the questions will be posed by Miranda Hart, will.i.am, Matt Lucas, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Roger Moore, Little Mix, Bear Grylls and William Shatner.

Alexander Armstrong: Fine Tuned

Alexander Armstrong: Fine Tuned will be on Sky Arts on Sunday 4th December at 8pm, and repeated on Tuesday 6th December at 7pm.

Xander will be performing tracks from Upon A Different Shore, and will chat to Katie Derham about his musical influences. Sounds good!

And it's back to new shows!

Personally, I think they're just checking to see if we're still awake. After, what, three weeks of repeats? we'll be back to new shows from Monday 10th December.

Right, anyone prepared to take bets on whether the run of new 'uns will last through till Christmas?

Comedy Pointless Celebrities, 10th December

There's a star-studded Pointless Celebrities Comedy special repeat in store, on Saturday 10th December at 6pm.

It features Simon Day and Paul Chowdhry, Emily Atack and Ian Lavender, Kerry Godliman and Graeme Garden, and Steve Pemberton and Bob Mortimer. I remember this as a very good show. Should be fun.

Soaps Pointless Celebrities, 3rd December

Saturday 3rd December at 6.10pm on BBC1 sees a repeated Soaps Pointless Celebrities special.

Joe Swash and John Altman from EastEnders, Nick Pickard and Ali Bastian of Hollyoaks, Waterloo Road's Victoria Bush and Zaraah Abrahams, and Sharon Maughan and Tina Hobley, who played mother and daughter in Holby City, are the pairs taking part.

Fern Britton meets... Alexander Armstrong

Alexander Armstrong will guest on the November 27th edition of Fern Britton Meets..., at 10am on BBC1. In this short series, which airs once per year around Christmas, Fern talks to high profile figures about how their life has been shaped by their beliefs.

There are also film inserts illustrating the subject's life; I hear, for instance, that a segment has been recorded at Xander's old school, Durham. Apparently he'll also be discussing his llamas. Sounds like it could all be very interesting. I look forward to it.

Alexander Armstrong 'Sends to All' on Michael McIntyre's Big Show

Alexander Armstrong guests on Michael McIntyre's Big Show on Saturday 26th November on BBC1 at 8.10pm, as 'victim'  of the Celebrity Send To All segment. In this, McIntyre takes control of a celebrity's phone, and sends a potentially embarrassing text message to all their contacts.

I imagine the consequences took poor Xander quite some time to sort out. Let's find out, on the 26th.

Family Pointless Celebrities, 26th November

It's a family affair in a repeated Pointless Celebrities on 26th November at 6.10pm. Each pair is related in some way.

So we have Gary Lineker and his son Harry, Calum Best with his mum Angie, Michael Underwood with wife Angellica Bell, and  Louis Theroux and his wife Nancy Strang.

During recording, Louis Theroux shared a selfie showing the view from the podiums. Always interesting to see a different angle.

Back to repeats

Bad news, Pointless fans... just one more week of new shows, then it's back to repeats from Monday 21st! Sorry BBC schedulers, that's a wrong answer and scores 100 points.

I don't know as yet when we'll be back to new shows - not long I hope. I'll keep you updated.

Alexander Armstrong to host Have I Got News For You

Alexander Armstrong will host Have I Got News For You for a record 28th time, on Friday 25th November at 9pm on BBC1.

Along with regular team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton, Xander will be joined by guests Jess Phillips MP and Nish Kumar. Based on this year so far, they'll not be short of things to talk about....

Top ten hit for Alexander Armstrong!

Alexander Armstrong's new album, Upon A Different Shore, has entered the Official Album Chart at number 8. Yes, that's the main chart, not the specialist classical one.

What an excellent result for the album's first week on sale. And meanwhile, Xander's previous album, A Year of Songs, is heading back up the classical chart, up to number 2 this week. Exciting times.

Children in Need Rocks for Terry

Last night (1st November) Alexander Armstrong took part in Children in Need Rocks for Terry, a fundraising concert for Children in Need staged at the Royal Albert Hall to honour broadcaster and Children in Need figurehead Terry Wogan. It will be shown on BBC1 at 8.30pm on Monday 14th November.

Also taking part were Take That, Ellie Goulding, Olly Murs, Gregory Porter, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Rick Astley, Beverley Knight, the Vamps, Ward Thomas and Shaun Escoffery. Appeal films and archive clips of Terry's career, including a chance to relive one of the classic Radio 2 Janet and John Stories, will also be included.

Music Pointless Celebrities, 12th November

Four pairs of musicians strike a chord in a repeated Pointless Celebrities, on 12th November at 6.05pm.

Taking part are Sinitta and Jaymi Hensley, Vernie and Easther Bennett, Claire Richards and Ian 'H' Watkins, and Tony Christie and Ben Adams.

Armstrong & Miller to reunite for one night only

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller haven't worked together for several years, but they're back together for one night only to present With Great Pleasure At Christmas, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day.

They'll talk about the books, poems, and much more that have inspired them. The show is being recorded in front of a live audience in central London on the evening of Monday 21st November. Apply here for tickets!

Journalists Pointless Celebrities, 5th November

Serving up an explosive Pointless Celebrities for Guy Fawkes Night at 6.05pm are a group of well-known journalists.

Taking part are Jane Moore and Kevin O'Sullivan, Miranda Sawyer and Tony Parsons, Toby Young and Melissa Kite, and Lizo Mzimba and Frank Gardner.

Alexander Armstrong to perform at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance

Alexander Armstrong will be among the performers in the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, which will be broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall on BBC1 at 9pm on Saturday 12th November, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen, members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and leaders of the opposition together with senior members of the military.

The line-up also includes Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, Laura Mvula, Birdy, the Royal Air Force Squadronaires, and the Band of HM Royal Marines. It will mark the centenaries of the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Jutland, the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War and the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire.

Comedians Pointless Celebrities, 29th October

Comedians Pointless Celebrities is on Saturday 29th October at 6pm. Taking part are Hal Cruttenden and Justin Moorhouse, Rhona Cameron and Sean Hughes, Jeremy Hardy and Francesca Martinez, Robert Webb and Isy Suttie.

 There are some very good people here: comedians who have been on before, some doing well ( Hal Cruttenden) and some...well, not so much (Rhona Cameron). It's also great to see newer comedians like Francesca Martinez on the sbow.

Yep. I'm looking forward to this one.

Children's BAFTA nomination for Hey Duggee

Following on the heels of its International Emmy Kids Award nomination, Hey Duggee (narrated by Alexander Armstrong) has been nominated for a Children's BAFTA in the Pre-School category.

Children aged seven to 14 can cast their vote in the various categories until 18th November. The awards will be presented on 20 November. Our best wishes are with Hey Duggee!

Hey Duggee nominated for International Emmy Kids Award

Hey Duggee, narrated by Alexander Armstrong, has been nominated in the Pre-School category of the International Emmy Kids Awards, along with shows from France, Brazil, and South Korea.

Overall there are 28 nominations in 7 categories, spanning 13 countries. The awards will be presented in Cannes, France on Tuesday April 4, 2017. We wish Hey Duggee well.

Hunderby

Sky has been repeating series 1 of the macabre comedy Hunderby, which features Alexander Armstrong as the perverted priest Brother Joseph.

Sky subscribers can catch up on the series on Sky Go. Highly recommended for those with a dark sense of humour.

Alexander Armstrong's new album is out soon!

Alexander Armstrong's new album, Upon a Different Shore, comes out on Friday 28th October. His first disc, A Year of Songs, went straight to the top of the classical charts, and even reached No.6 in the general album charts.

The new collection is remarkably eclectic, with songs ranging from the Stranglers to Pink Floyd to Vaughan Williams. It's conceived of as a whole, 'a modern symphony';

Xander said:

On paper it looks like madness, but in reality I’m thrilled with the results.We had the idea to create beautiful soundscapes with textures of orchestra, acoustic instruments, voice and choirs to take the listener to somewhere quite magical… a different shore!

 The album is available to pre-order on Amazon and iTunes, and from all usual sources.

Alexander Armstrong to appear on Songs of Praise

Alexander Armstrong will be singing with the Royal Holloway College Chapel Choir and the Boys Choir from Trinity School, Croydon on Songs of Praise, on Sunday 23rd October at 4.30pm on BBC1. The episode marks the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip which killed 116 children and 28 adults.

Xander will be performing Peter Skellern's Hymn Song, which appears on his new album Upon A Different Shore.

New Pointless is back soon!

Series 16 of Pointless - yes, that's brand new shows - will be on our screens from Monday 24th October. I make that time to celebrate!

No, I don't know how long the run of new shows will last before the Beeb get a rush of blood to the head again and put repeats back on. Maybe even through to Christmas? Here's hoping.

Pointless nominations in the NTAs

The longlist for the National Television Awards is out, and there's voting to be done.

Pointless is nominated for Best Daytime Show, Pointless Celebrities for Best Entertainment Programme, and both Xander and Richard are nominated as Best Presenter.

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 23rd October. Please make your vote Pointless!

1970s Pointless Celebrities, 22nd October

There's a 1970s special of Pointless Celebrities on 22nd October at 5.45pm. Taking part are Pan's People dancers Dee Dee Wilde and Babs Powell, boxer John Conteh and footballer Alan Mullery, Blake's Seven stars Michael Keating and Jacqueline Pearce, and Martin Lee and Sandra Stevens from Brotherhood of Man. 

Last time there was a 1970s special, it resulted in some wonderful fake face topiary.. Can we hope for similar? Only time will tell.

Without A Song video released

Alexander Armstrong has released a video for his recording of Without A Song.



The track will feature on Xander's new album, Upon A Different Shore.. It includes an eclectic mix of music, from Vaughan Williams to the Stranglers, and even a much more recent tune – Kygo’s Firestone which was a top ten hit in 2015. The album also features Xander's professional debut as an oboist.

He said:

On paper it looks like madness, but in reality I’m thrilled with the results. We had the idea to create beautiful soundscapes with textures of orchestra, acoustic instruments, voice and choirs to take the listener to somewhere quite magical… a different shore!

The album will be released on 28th October,  but you can get Without A Song right now on iTunes, Spotify, and all other usual outlets.

PS apologies if the video autoplays for you - I hate that too. It'll be sorted just as soon as I can work out how to turn off autoplay in iframe.

Outdoors Pointless Celebrities, 15th October

Outdoors Pointless Celebrities is on Saturday 15th October at 5.40pm.

Taking part are Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games, Tom Heap and Jules Hudson, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Paul Heiney, and Naomi Wilkinson and Bill Oddie.

At least two of these have been on before that I can remember (Bill and Miranda), and were very good value. Should be a good show.

Alexander Armstrong on Jools Holland's Radio 2 show

Xander was the guest on Jools Holland's show on 3rd October.

Xander chatted about his musical background and influences, and about the inspiration behind his new album Upon A Different Shore. He performed The Parting Glass (Armstrong's Goodnight) live with Jools' Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, and there were premiere plays of two tracks from the album, Scarborough Fair / Canticle and Golden Brown.

The programme is available for the next 29 days. Xander is on from 34.14.

A Midsomerly Murders Night’s Dream is out on Friday

The first part of A Midsomerly Murders Night's Dream, Classic FM's main event for this year's Make Some Noise Day, will be released on Friday 4th October.

Make Some Noise is the charity of Global, the parent company of Classic FM. It supports small projects working with disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. Events go on all year round, but this year's main Make Some Noise Day is October 4th: Classic FM's chief contribution is a murder mystery radio play involving all their presenters.

A Midsomerly Murd’rous, the only village in the county of Midsomerly never to have been scandalised by murder, is abuzz with the big event being organised by Phil Hall (played by Alexander Armstrong) for the former Lord Theo Rhys (played by Alan Titchmarsh) for his marriage to his love Polly (played by Charlotte Green).

The story unfolds surrounding the suspicious death of Punk, the pantomime horse. Several people are in the frame including Mr Trunchbull, the estate agent (played by Bill Turnbull), Eggerton, the new lord of the Manor (Aled Jones) even Cotswold Manchebo, or the cheese shop owner (played by Alex James).

Detective Inspector Baxter Carter (John Suchet) and his sidekick Sergeant Brock Fugue (Nicholas Owen) traipse this formerly sleepy village from house to house in their quest to discover the truth, with the help of the new coroner….

A Midsomerly Murders Night's Dream will be issued in two instalments.  You can register to be alerted when it is released. Instalments cost £5 each for Make Some Noise.

Writers Pointless Celebrities, 8th October

Pointless Celebrities on 8th October at 5.55pm is a Writers special.

Taking part are John O'Farrell and Emma Kennedy, Kathy Lette and Kate Mosse, Benjamin Zephaniah and Roger McGough, and Terry Deary and Bryony Gordon.

Win a signed copy of A Pointless History of the World!

The Team Xander Twitter account has an exciting competition starting today (29th September) to win a signed copy of A Pointless History of the World. Simply RT this tweet by 6pm on 6th October to enter.

RT by 6pm on 610 to win #APointlessHistoryoftheWorld, signed by @XanderArmstrong & @richardosman. Tnx @HodderBooks https://t.co/wrEkya1Idx

— Team Xander (@TeamXander1) September 29, 2016

Many thanks to Hodder Books for providing the advance copy, and to Xander and Richard for signing it.

Alexander Armstrong among stars to pay tribute to Terry Wogan on Children in Need Rocks

Xander will join a star-studded line-up including Take That, Ellie Goulding, Rick Astley, Olly Murs, Gregory Porter, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe,and the Vamps at this year's BBC Children in Need Rocks, which will honour Sir Terry Wogan.

Sir Terry, who died in January 2016 aged 77, was life president of Children in Need, with which he had been involved for more than 30 years.

The concert will feature archive material such as one of the popular Radio 2 Janet and John stories which Sir Terry frequently read on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show. accompanied by drawings by Horrid Henry illustrator Tony Ross.

BBC Children In Need vice chairman and controller of Radio 2 Bob Shennan said:

Sir Terry was one of the nation's best-loved broadcasters and it's a privilege to be celebrating his life with BBC Children In Need Rocks. The night promises to be full of fun for music fans around the country.

 The concert is on 1st November. Tickets are available from the Royal Albert Hall and agencies.

Pointless "won't ever move channels", says Alexander Armstrong

Alexander Armstrong has said that he would be "deeply upset" if Pointless were ever to move from the BBC. His comments, to the Press Association, come in the wake of the move of Great British Bake Off to Channel 4.

Xander said he felt sure that Pointless would stay with the BBC, due to the channel's "very strong bond" with the programme's producer Endemol.

He said:

We are already talking about two more years (of making the show) at least, and we won't be moving to Channel 4. We won't be doing any of that.

I don't think it ever would (move). There's something very nice with the nature of Endemol's relationship with its broadcasters. I think it would be exceedingly unlikely.

There's a very strong bond between our production company and the various broadcasters it works for.

Xander's views echo those of Pointless co-host (and Endemol creative director) Richard Osman:

That last tweet was a joke. BBC have been beyond awesome with Pointless from start to finish. They can have us for as long as they want us.

— Richard Osman (@richardosman) September 12, 2016

So, BBC it is. And excellent news that there are two more years of shows in the offing. Now... if only the Beeb would show them....

Without A Song.... full track from Xander's new album available now

Xander's new album, Upon A Different Shore, is out on 28th October. Seems like ages away, right? But don't despair. While we wait, we can listen to one track from it, Without A Song.

It's on Spotify, or if you pre-order the album on iTunes you get it as an instant download.

Enjoy!