"Under the Mistletoe" is a duet by American singers

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 ...

and

Brett Eldredge Brett Ryan Eldredge (born March 23, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer, signed to Warner Music Group Nashville. Eldredge has had five No. 1 singles on the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay chart, three of ...

. It was written by Clarkson and Aben Eubanks, who co-produced it with

Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums and One Direction, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for Grammy Awards a ...

. "Under the Mistletoe" was first issued 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 October 28, 2020. The song is also included on Clarkson's second Christmas album '' When Christmas Comes Around...'' (2021).

Composition and reception

"Under the Mistletoe" is a Christmas pop song written by Clarkson and Aben Eubanks, who produced the track with longtime collaborator

. Clarkson invited Eldredge to record the song with her, saying that she was "impressed by his classic sound on his Christmas record so it was a perfect match." Eldredge immediately accepted the invitation, he remarked, "I was blown away by the soul and joy that it brought into my life the moment I heard it." Reviewing the track for ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'', Rebecca Alter opined that the song may not be the best Clarkson Christmas song about finding a man underneath a plant, but nonetheless wrote that the song is "very good as well, going for that throwback, ''

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector'' (originally released as ''A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records'') is an LP album, album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles Records, Philles 4005 ...

'' sound that most Christmas songs have if they want to signal that they're "Christmas!"". George Griffiths of the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

opined that the track "packs enough pep to take you all the way through to the big day."

Music video

The accompanying music video premiered on December 10, 2020, and was directed by Jay Martin. The video is a cartoon animated by Ingenuity Studios.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

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 ...

metadata Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...

. * Vocals – Kelly Clarkson * Vocals – Brett Eldredge * Drums – Aaron Redfield * Engineer, guitar, keyboards, producer – Aben Eubanks * Engineer – Andy Taub * Masterer –

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

* Ukulele – Erick Serna * Trombone –

Jeffery Miller Jeffery Oliver Miller is an American trombonist, vocalist, composer, arranger and bandleader primarily known for his work in jazz and pop music. He was worked with Delfeayo Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, Preservation Hall ...

* Bass, keyboards, engineer, producer, additional and drum programming – Jesse Shatkin * Engineer – John Hanes * Baritone saxophone – Katty Rodriguez * Brass arrangement, trumpet –

Keyon Harrold Keyon Karim Harrold (born November 18, 1980) is an American jazz trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. Early life and family Keyon Harrold was born and raised in Ferguson, Missouri, United States, one of 16 children in a family of music ...

* Tenor saxophone –

Marcus Strickland Marcus Strickland (born February 24, 1979) is an American jazz soprano, alto, and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Gainesville, Florida, and grew up in Miami. ''Down Beat'' magazine's Critics' Poll named him 'Rising Star on Tenor Saxophone' in 2 ...

* Additional engineer, strings programming – Sam Dent * Assistant engineer – Sam Wahl * Mixer – Serban Ghenea

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Brett Eldredge 2020 songs 2020 singles American Christmas songs Atlantic Records singles Kelly Clarkson songs Brett Eldredge songs Songs written by Kelly Clarkson Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin