Maps of Music

My Gift (2020)

Where the lyrics of My Gift take you, and where it was really made.

Carrie Underwood's first Christmas album opens with a hymn sung a cappella, an idea producer Greg Wells proposed after she found the usual versions too march-like.

Key places

Recording site in Los Angeles (2020)

Recording site EastWest Studios — Credits list EastWest Studios in Los Angeles as one of the places where My Gift was recorded. The album's other credited recording studios are Rocket Carousel Studio and Addiction Sound Studios. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• My Gift: seventh studio album by Carrie Underwood and her first Christmas album
• Released 25 September 2020 through Capitol Records Nashville
• Produced by Greg Wells
• Guests: John Legend on "Hallelujah" and Underwood's elder son Isaiah on "The Little Drummer Boy"
• Eight traditional tracks and three originals, two of those co-written by Underwood

Background

• Underwood had wanted to make a full-length Christmas album for a long time
• She chose it as her next project after promoting her previous album, Cry Pretty (2018)
• Underwood first announced the album in June 2020
• The tracklist was announced on 27 August 2020
• Underwood first planned to record "The Little Drummer Boy" alone, then asked her son Isaiah to sing with her
• Legend co-wrote "Hallelujah" with Toby Gad
• Underwood said she reviewed many recordings while refining her vision and used them as references for producer Greg Wells
• Wells proposed an a cappella approach for "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee", which became the album's opening track
• David Garcia, who co-produced Cry Pretty, co-wrote "Sweet Baby Jesus" and "Let There Be Peace" with Underwood and Brett James

Recording

• Musicians include Greg Wells on acoustic guitar, bass, drums, electric guitar and percussion
• Credited recording studios include Rocket Carousel Studio, Addiction Sound Studios and EastWest Studios
• Mixing by Randy Merrill and mastering by Serban Ghenea
• Legend and Underwood recorded "Hallelujah" separately

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Carrie Marie Underwood, born March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is an American singer and songwriter.
• She won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005.
• Her debut single "Inside Your Heaven" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first country artist to do so.
• Her debut album Some Hearts (2005) became the best-selling debut album by a solo female country artist and won three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.
• Carnival Ride (2007) sold over 527,000 copies in its first week and won two Grammy Awards.
• Play On (2009) made her the only woman with eleven consecutive top-two singles on the Hot Country Songs chart.
• Blown Away (2012) was among the year's best-selling albums and earned another Grammy.
• Storyteller (2015) made her the only country artist with her first five studio albums reaching the top two on the Billboard 200.
• Cry Pretty (2018) debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and made her the first woman to top the chart with four country albums.
• She has won eight Grammy Awards and is the most-awarded artist in CMT Music Awards history.
• She was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018.
• Underwood is a judge on American Idol since 2025.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic rated My Gift 3 stars out of 5 and called it a "stately, somber affair", partly due to Greg Wells's production
• Tom Cramer of The Eastern Echo gave a positive review and praised the duet with John Legend
• Emily Simpson of Vinyl Chapters gave a positive review and called the Underwood and Legend duet a stand-out track
• Chuck Campbell of Knoxville News Sentinel gave 4 out of 5, calling the album "reverential, poignant and heavily religious"
• Campbell was less favorable toward the duets with John Legend and Underwood's son
• The Observer gave 3.5 out of 5 and highlighted the promotional single "Let There Be Peace"
• Katie Columbus of The Arts Desk gave 2 out of 5 and wrote that the album is cloying and repetitive when heard in full

Records

• In the United States, debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 41,000 copies in its first week
• Number one on Top Country Albums, Billboard Holiday Albums and Top Christian Albums, Underwood's first album to top the Christian chart
• Peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 after moving 53,000 units in the week ending 19 December 2020
• Best sales week ended 24 December 2020 with 57,000 copies
• Received two nominations and one win at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards
• Certified Gold by the RIAA on 5 November 2021
• Had sold 628,000 copies as of December 2022

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was reissued on 24 September 2021 with three new tracks, including "Favorite Time of Year", which had been an Amazon Music exclusive.
• Underwood first intended to sing "The Little Drummer Boy" alone, then asked her son Isaiah to join her.
• Underwood and John Legend recorded "Hallelujah" separately, exchanging files by email and over Zoom.
• "Favorite Time of Year" spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart before "Hallelujah" replaced it.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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