"Grown-Up Christmas List" (sometimes titled "My Grown-Up Christmas List") is a Christmas song composed by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

(music) and Linda Thompson-Jenner (lyrics). It was originally recorded by Foster, with

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

on vocals, for his 1990 non-holiday album ''River of Love'' and a similar second version on his 1993 holiday album ''The Christmas Album''. Though it was also released as a single, the song was not a hit upon its first appearance. In 1992,

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

recorded a version for her second Christmas album, '' Home for Christmas''. Grant's version featured an additional verse that Grant penned herself. Her record label at the time,

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

, promoted the song as the second single from the album, and it received substantial radio airplay. In 2003, original ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' winner

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 ...

performed "Grown-Up Christmas List" on the show's Christmas special, and the song was released on the album ''American Idol: Great Holiday Classics'', which resulted in renewed airplay of the song during the holiday season that year. The song is featured in the opening of the 2022 Hallmark Channel Christmas film of the same name, and is heard again at the end.

Amy Grant version

Personnel

* Amy Grant – lead vocals * Robbie Buchanan – keyboards * Tom Hemby – guitar * Ronn Huff – conductor * Alan Moore – orchestration * The London Studio Orchestra – strings * Nat Peck – contractor

Single CD track listing

# "Grown Up Christmas List" (edit) - 3:44 # "Grown Up Christmas List" (LP version) - 5:00

Music video

released a music video for Amy Grant's recording of the song, featuring an appearance by Grant's son, Matthew Chapman. The song's edited version was used in the video.

Chart

The original version of Grant's single did not enter any of the ''Billboard'' charts until 2011. Since then, it has spent 30 weeks on the Christian Digital Songs chart, peaking at No. 11 in December 2017.

's version entered the

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 in 2003 where it spent five weeks.

Kelly Clarkson version

Amy Grant version

Other recordings

In 1995

Bryan Duncan Bryan Edward Duncan (born March 16, 1953) is an American contemporary Christian music artist. He is known for being lead singer of the group Sweet Comfort Band, solo career, and involvement with the Nehosoul Band. He is currently involved with ...

recorded the Amy Grant version of the song for his album ''Christmas Is Jesus''. In 2000 Monica recorded a version that was released on the '' Platinum Christmas'' various artists compilation album. It contains a second verse penned by Thompson-Jenner.

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

's cover was recorded in Spanish as "Mi Humilde Oración" for his album ''

Navidades ''Navidades'' () is the 17th studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 14 November 2006 by Warner Music Latina. It is Miguel's first Christmas album, in which the singer interprets traditional English-language carols in Spanish. T ...

'' and it peaked at No. 37 on the ''Billboard'' Latin Pop Songs chart. In 2008, American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist

Rissi Palmer Rissi Palmer (born August 19, 1981) is an American country music artist. Palmer debuted in 2007 with the single "Country Girl", which made her the first African-American woman to chart a country song since Dona Mason in 1987. ...

released a version of "Grown Up Christmas List" through 1720 Entertainment. The song was released in a digital format via

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

. In 2020, Australian singer-songwriter

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive week ...

recorded her own rendition of "Grown Up Christmas List". It was released as part of her first full-length christmas album

Only Santa Knows ''Only Santa Knows'' is the sixth studio album and the first full-length Christmas album by Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem. It was released on 13 November 2020 through Sony Music Australia. It is Goodrem's second Christmas release, a ...

References

{{authority control 1990s ballads Amy Grant songs American Christmas songs 1990 singles 1990 songs 1992 singles 2003 singles A&M Records singles Kelly Clarkson songs Luis Miguel songs Pop ballads Rissi Palmer songs Songs written by Amy Grant Songs written by David Foster Songs written by Linda Thompson (actress)