"Christmas Eve" is a song by American singer

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

. Written by Clarkson with

Jason Halbert Jason Halbert (born June 3, 1974) is an American producer, music director, musician, engineer and songwriter. He has been Kelly Clarkson's music director since 2003, shortly after her ''American Idol'' win. He has also served as music director for ...

, who produced it, it is a Christmas-themed song about witnessing the festive joys of the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

season, primarily on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

. Released as a companion track to Clarkson's children's book '' River Rose and the Magical Christmas'', it was later issued as a single by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

on November 30, 2017. The song is included on Clarkson's second

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

'' When Christmas Comes Around...'' (2021).

Background and release

Lyrically, the song is a celebration of the Christmas season. It was intended to accompany the release of Clarkson's second children's book ''River Rose and the Magical Christmas'' which, unlike its predecessor, '' River Rose and the Magical Lullaby'', has a full original song unrelated to the accompanying material. Clarkson wrote the track from the perspective of

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

making preparations for the holiday, while also proposing it as a prospective inclusion on her Christmas album ''

Wrapped in Red ''Wrapped in Red'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'', and its companion extend ...

'' (2013). "Christmas Eve" was originally released by

o October 20, 2017, four days before the release of ''The Magical Christmas''. A live recording of the song was also issued as a single exclusively on the

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

streaming service on November 30, 2017. Clarkson revealed that she did not intend the record to be a single, but a positive response from the public prompted Atlantic to release it. She remarked, "It's literally so fun to sing and it just kind of puts you in this happy mood that gets you ready for Christmas," and added that "it's cool because it was like a happy accident. It wasn't supposed to even be, like, a big thing".

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Tatiana Tenreyro observed that the song's bells and a jubilant horn-filled melody capture the magic of the holidays. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' described it as a joyful and uplifting song that masterfully showcases her voice, accompanied by the sounds of tambourines, drums, and jingle bells. In the US, "Christmas Eve" made its debut chart appearance on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, where it reached number two, becoming her first top two hit since "

" in 2014. Elsewhere, it charted on the ''Billboard''

Canada AC The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, ''Billboard''

Canada Hot AC The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, and the national charts of Austria and Germany.

Track listing

Digital download Digital streaming

Personnel

Credits taken from ''

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

''. * Lead vocals – Kelly Clarkson * Backing vocals – Bridget Sarai, Jessi Collins * Songwriters – Kelly Clarkson, Jason Halbert * Arranger and conductor –

Joseph Trapanese Joseph Trapanese (born 1984) is an American composer, arranger, and producer. He works in the production of music for films, television, records, theater, concerts, and interactive media. Early life and education Raised in Jersey City, New Jers ...

* Producer, organ and piano –

* Mixing engineer – John Hanes * Mastering engineers – Chris Gehringer, Will Quinnell * Engineers – Shane Wilson, Nick Spezia, John Denosky, Jason Halbert * Bass – Craig Nelson, Mark Hill, Jack Jezzerio * Cello – Anthony Lamarchina, Kevin Bate, Sari Reist, Nicholas Gold * Contractor – Alan Umstead * Coordinator – Booker White * Drums – Lester Estelle * Flute – Leslie Fagan, Erik Gratton * French Horn – Jennifer Kummer, Anna Spina * Guitar –

Aben Eubanks Aben Eubanks is an American Grammy-nominated musician, songwriter, and producer. Eubanks began his career as a guitarist for Matt Nathanson in 2004 and for Graham Colton in 2005. In 2006, Eubanks joined Kelly Clarkson's band and together co-wrot ...

* Mixer – Serban Ghenea * Percussion – Ron Sorbo * Saxophone – Jimmy Bowland * Timpani – Ron Sorbo * Viola – Charles Dixon, Hari Bernstein, Bruce Christensen, Jim Grosjean, Idalynn Besser, Shu-Zheng * Violin – Ryan Cockman, Isabel Bartles, Jung-Min Shin, Amy Helman, Maria Conti, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale, Janet Darnall, Gerald Greer, Conni Ellisor, Bruce Wethey, Alan Umstead, Erin Hall, Alicia Enstrom, Peter Povey, Karen Winkelmann, Jenny Bifano, Catherine Umstead, Ali Gooding

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles American Christmas songs Atlantic Records singles Kelly Clarkson songs Songs written by Kelly Clarkson Songs written by Jason Halbert