Wrapped in Red
Wrapped in Red is the first Christmas album and 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 extended play, The Smoakstack Sessions Vol. 2. Produced by Greg Kurstin, it was her only record to be solely released by RCA. Wrapped in Red consists of sixteen tracks, featuring five original songs co-penned by Clarkson and eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, two of which are duets featuring singers Ronnie Dunn, Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood.
Weary of constantly being asked for her primary genre, Clarkson had long desired to record a Christmas album as a means to defy genre limitations. She commissioned Kurstin, who had studied jazz music under the tutelage of Jaki Byard, to produce the entire album. Drawing inspirations from the soundtracks of A Charlie Brown Christmas and White Christmas, as well as the Christmas albums by Mariah Carey, McEntire, and Phil Spector, they experimented with various styles and sounds throughout the album. The Christmas music of Wrapped in Red comprises a variety of genres such as pop, jazz, country, and soul, marking a departure from the pop rock sound established from Clarkson's previous studio albums, while its lyrics share a singular theme of the color red, which represents a plethora of emotions during the holidays.
Wrapped in Red debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 3 and topped the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart with 70,000 copies sold in its first week of release. For nine consecutive weeks, Wrapped in Red stayed on the top ten of both charts and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and Music Canada. By the end of 2013, it became the year's best-selling Christmas release in the United States and the second best-selling Christmas release in Canada. Its lead single, "Underneath the Tree", became an international top forty Christmas hit song and was radio's most-played new holiday song of 2013. In promoting Wrapped in Red Clarkson appeared in red dresses on various televised appearances and filmed an accompanying television special, Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale, at The Venetian Las Vegas, which premiered on NBC on December 11, 2013. In 2014, Clarkson released the title track as the second single and hosted the Christmas benefit concert, Miracle on Broadway, at the Bridgestone Arena from 2014 to 2016.
Background
Clarkson had expressed interest in recording a Christmas album for years, having recorded various Christmas songs such as "Oh Holy Night" and "My Grown Up Christmas List" on the American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" on iTunes Session, and being featured on Blake Shelton's Christmas album Cheers, It's Christmas. Weary of constantly being asked for her primary genre, she felt that recording a Christmas album would finally pave a way for her to explore other different genres. She remarked, "I always get asked what genre I'm in: 'Is this country or pop or rock? What are you?' And what's cool about making the Christmas album was, 'Oh, there are no limitations! We can do whatever we want!'". She further added, "The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn't matter what mood you're in or what kind of a year you've had—it's a fresh start. I'm going to clear the air and take stock of the good that's happened."Discussions about making her sixth studio album being a Christmas record began in December 2012, a month after releasing her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits – Chapter One. Having found the opportunity to do so, Clarkson commissioned producer and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin, whom she had previously collaborated with on her albums Stronger and Greatest Hits – Chapter One, to solely produce the whole album. Despite having been raised in the Jewish faith and unfamiliar with Christmas songs, Kurstin agreed to produce the project. As a result, the record marked the second time her studio album only had a single producer. It also marked the fourth time Kurstin had solely produced an entire studio album apart from being a member of the musical groups The Bird and the Bee and Geggy Tah.
Recording
Recording sessions of the basic instrumental tracks for Wrapped in Red took place in Kurstin's Echo Studio in Los Angeles, while orchestral sessions were recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood and vocals in The Barn studio in Nashville. While recording tracks for the album, Clarkson and Kurstin played with many sounds, wanting showcase as many different styles as they could. Kurstin recalled: "It was a lot of fun for us because we got to go back to our roots. When Kelly started singing, it was clear she had the chops and had been trained to do anything." He further added: "We really experimented. It was so much fun and liberating. And it pays off." Kurstin, who studied with jazz musician Jaki Byard at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, recruited various jazz and soul musicians such as James Gadson, Kevin Dukes, Roy McCurdy, and Bill Withers to perform on the record in order to resonate a Memphis soul sound. He also collaborated with Joseph Trapanese to arrange and conduct a chamber orchestra.Providing instrumentation for the record, Kurstin used all of his instruments, such as a Mellotron and a Chamberlin, and taped them from a distance to simulate the Wall of Sound, a recording technique originally developed by Phil Spector that was popular in the early 1960s. He enlisted Clarkson to provide all the background vocals herself. Clarkson, who grew up singing in a choir, was pleased with the aspect, saying: "Blending is something I knew how to do from childhood. Sometimes I'd have to do an alto instead of a soprano because they needed a bigger sound. But I've never had to do anything like this before—doing all my backup vocals, essentially being my own choir." Together, they began to record in May 2013 and continued through the summer of that year, beginning by recording "White Christmas" with Clarkson in the vocal booth and with Kurstin on a piano. She commented: "The production is all him. I would be just like 'Hey, can we make this more jazz? Hey, can we make this more bluesy. And he just, like Harry Potter, made this happen. It's so weird."
Composition
Theme and influences
Clarkson has cited the color red as the album's only theme. A color traditionally associated with Christmas, she affiliated the color to various emotions in the holidays. Wanting to stray away from her usual pop sound, she described Wrapped in Reds music as a representation to explore different genres such as jazz, country and Memphis soul. She recalled: "What's cool about Christmas albums is you can do jazz, rock and roll, you can do pop, you can do blues, like you can do all that stuff and it works—cause it's all classic and it's Christmasy sounding." She also noted that the album's multitude of styles positively contributed to her artistic goal, saying: "My best friend from childhood heard it and said, 'This is what you sound like, before everything else.' And I agree, It's my core sound. Back in the day, when artists came out with things like "Fall to Pieces" and "Bridge over Troubled Water", those songs transcended genres. It wasn't, 'Where is it going to fit?' You catered to whatever the song calls for. And that's exactly what I did—without having to have an umbrella for everything."In gathering inspirations for Wrapped in Red, Clarkson started by listening to Bing Crosby's and Rosemary Clooney's contributions to the soundtrack of the 1954 feature film White Christmas, as well as Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas to You by Reba McEntire. While Greg Kurstin, who used to play in a jazz band, took influences from A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio and A Christmas Gift for You by Phil Spector as his inspirations, which resulted in the album's Wall of Sound resonance. Clarkson also cited that her relationship with her then-fiancé Brandon Blackstock had inspired some of the album's lyrics.
Song analysis
Clarkson shares writing credits on all five original songs on Wrapped in Red, some of which were written in December 2012 to avoid writing Christmas tunes during the 2013 summer season. She co-wrote the opening and title track, "Wrapped in Red", with Ashley Arrison, Aben Eubanks, and Shane McAnally. A Christmas ballad, the song was inspired by a scene in the holiday feature film Love Actually, in which someone confesses unrequited love towards another. Critics highlighted the track as the one that most effectively captures the essence of the Wall of Sound technique, a production style known for its dense, layered orchestration and echo-rich sound. The second track, "Underneath the Tree", was written by Clarkson and Kurstin, making it the first time they had co-written a track together. Clarkson remarked: "Greg and I have worked a lot together, but usually I just come in and I just sing. We've never have actually written a song together at this point. And he and I were like, 'Let's just try to write something for the record." RCA Records chief executive Peter Edge remarked that its release as a single was partly inspired by the success of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. The following track is a rendition of the holiday standard "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", which Clarkson had selected for its saccharine content.Clarkson favored "Run Run Rudolph" as her favorite classic, saying: "Just because it got to be a little more rock and roll." She also remarked that "Please Come Home for Christmas " was the first song selected for inclusion after her mother's recommendation and the song's melancholic lyrics. Written by Clarkson and Eubanks, "Every Christmas", was the first song to be written for the album. She revealed that the song narrates of her holiday life prior to meeting Brandon Blackstock, Reba McEntire's stepson, saying: "Every Christmas, I was just like, 'This is going to be different, right? I'm going to actually find someone and not be pathetically alone for the rest of my life?'". The seventh track is a cover of Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas". Its follow-up, a rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside", features Ronnie Dunn. Clarkson had approached Dunn thinking that his personality suited the song's content well, saying: "Like, it's straight-up his personality to say all of that to try and get you to stay, and have a drink." "Winter Dreams " was written by Clarkson, Arrison, and Eubanks as a companion piece to "Every Christmas". Dedicated to Blackstock, the song accounts her holiday after meeting him. She remarked: "Christmas changes, it morphs, it comes to life a little more… It's just a happier time."
The tenth track, "White Christmas", was the first song to be recorded for Wrapped in Red. A cover of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" follows up as the eleventh track. Clarkson opted for the Broadway performance of the song to stray away from Julie Andrews' version, citing: "I think you shouldn't go near anywhere of what she's doing because she's so good." Clarkson and Kurstin co-wrote "4 Carats" with Cathy Dennis and Livvi Franc. Originally written as a pop song, they converted it into a Christmas song to fit the album's theme, describing it as a crossover between Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" and Madonna's "Material Girl". A rendition of Imogen Heap's "Just for Now" was described by Clarkson as her highly dysfunctional environment, saying: "Can we just stop for like five minutes and have like a normal Christmas setting?" The song begins by sampling the melody of the Christmas tune "Carol of the Bells". The closing track, a rendition of the traditional carol "Silent Night", features McEntire and Trisha Yearwood and ends in an a cappella setting between the trio. In addition, two tracks were also included in the deluxe edition of the album: the first, Clarkson's cover of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" from her iTunes Session extended play, and the second, her rendition of the first stanza of the ecclesiastical hymn "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel".
Kelly Clarkson co-wrote all five original songs on Wrapped in Red, starting in December 2012 to avoid writing Christmas music during the summer of 2013. The title track, "Wrapped in Red," inspired by a scene in Love Actually, was praised for its Wall of Sound style. "Underneath the Tree," her first co-write with Greg Kurstin, became a standout single, inspired by the success of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Clarkson also included classics like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," chosen for its sweetness, and "Run Run Rudolph," her favorite for its rock-and-roll vibe.
Other tracks included "Please Come Home for Christmas," recommended by her mother, and "Every Christmas," which reflected her longing for love before meeting her husband, Brandon Blackstock. She also wrote "Winter Dreams " as a companion piece about finding joy in Christmas after meeting him. Covers included Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas," a duet of "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" with Ronnie Dunn, and a playful rendition of "4 Carats," blending Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" with Madonna's "Material Girl."
Unique additions included a cover of Imogen Heap's "Just for Now," which starts with "Carol of the Bells," and a trio performance of "Silent Night" with Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood. The deluxe edition featured her renditions of "I’ll Be Home for Christmas" and "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.