Universal Child
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"Universal Child" is a single by
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
recording artist
Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...
, released worldwide on 12 October 2010 on
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
. It is the lead single from her fifth studio album, '' A Christmas Cornucopia''.


Background

"Universal Child" was the one original composition from '' A Christmas Cornucopia'', her first Christmas album. Lennox was planning on recording some carols, and hadn't written new material since 2007's ''
Songs of Mass Destruction ''Songs of Mass Destruction'' is the fourth solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 1 October 2007 by RCA Records and 19 Recordings. It was her first album of new material since 2003's '' Bare'' and to date her most rece ...
''. During recording the words "Universal Child" came into her mind and during a break, chords and a melody presented themselves. Lennox donated all royalties from the song to The Annie Lennox Foundation. Lennox is herself a
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 ...
child.


Release

"Universal Child" was released digitally on 12 October 2010.


Live performances

In August 2010, Lennox signed a new contract with
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
in the UK and
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
in the US (both part of the
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
). Her first release was a Christmas album entitled '' A Christmas Cornucopia'', issued 15 November 2010. The album is a collection of Lennox's interpretations of traditional festive songs such as " Silent Night" and " The First Noel", along with one new composition, "Universal Child", which was released as a download-only single on 13 October 2010. Lennox had previously showcased the song on the '' American Idol Gives Back'' TV show in April 2010. She also performed the song live for several TV audiences during the week of the album's release in November. These included ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...
'' and ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''. She sang "Universal Child" and " Gloria in Excelsis Deo" from the album for the TNT special '' Christmas in Washington''.


Track listings

CD single # "Universal Child" (Radio edit) Digital single # "Universal Child" – 4:14


Chart performance


References

{{Annie Lennox 2010 singles Annie Lennox songs British Christmas songs Songs about children Song recordings produced by Stephen Lipson 2010 songs Island Records singles Songs written by Annie Lennox