Kelly Clarkson is cranking out the holiday jams as Christmas gets closer. Yesterday (December 20), she covered Donny Hathaway’s 1970 holiday classic “This Christmas” during her Kellyoke segment. She has kept with the Yuletide trend throughout the week with covers of “Blue Christmas,” “O Holy Night,” and “DJ Play a Christmas Song.”
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Clarkson added a horn section to her band for this Kellyoke segment. Between the horns and the blue stage lighting, she captured the soulful vibe of Hathaway’s original cut. However, she chose not to match Hathaway’s vocal style. He was more laid-back and smooth in his delivery. Clarkson, on the other hand, delivered an energetic rendition of the song. As usual, she let her powerful pipes shine throughout the song. Overall, it was the kind of Christmas performance that would make the biggest Grinch’s heart grow a couple of sizes.
Make It a Kelly Clarkson Christmas
Those who want to hear more of Clarkson’s stellar voice this Christmas are in luck. A look at the Kelly Clarkson Show YouTube channel will reveal several holiday-themed Kellyoke videos. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. She also has two Christmas albums.
Clarkson released Wrapped in Red in 2013. The album originally contained 14 songs. Clarkson co-wrote five of the album’s tracks including the title track and the modern classic “Underneath the Tree.” It also contained covers of holiday standards like “Run, Rudolph,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” The deluxe edition and subsequent reissues featured two bonus tracks—“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.”
Eight years later, Clarkson released When Christmas Comes Around in 2021. The Album contained 15 tracks. Clarkson co-penned seven of them. The album also featured duets with Chris Stapleton (“Glow”), Ariana Grande (“Santa, Can’t You Hear Me”), and Brett Eldredge (“Under the Mistletoe”).
More About “This Christmas”
Hathaway co-wrote the song with Nadine McKinnor and released it in 1970. McKinnor got the idea for the song while Christmas shopping for her kids in Chicago, according to Songfacts. A blizzard was dumping snow on Chicago in 1967 while McKinnor shopped and sang Christmas carols to herself.
“I always loved ‘The Christmas Son’ and was trying to capture the swirl of music, department store windows, lights on the South Side—Chicago at Christmas,” she said of the song. “It’s like I’m talking about a love affair with the atmosphere of the holiday. My kids were little then, I was out shopping for toys, enjoying the mood. It’s a romance with the season,” she added.
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