Maps of Music

When Christmas Comes Around... (2021)

Where the lyrics of When Christmas Comes Around... take you, and where it was really made.

Clarkson's second Christmas album was conceived after a highly publicized divorce, and it had sold 93,000 album-equivalent units by December 2021.

Key places

Recording in Brooklyn (2021)

Recording site Rough Customer — The album credits list Brooklyn Bridge Music in Brooklyn, New York as one of its recording and engineering sites. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Burbank (2021)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The album credits list The Eastwood Stage at Warner Bros. Studio as a recording site in Burbank, California. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Los Angeles (2021)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The album credits list The Ribcage in Los Angeles, California as a recording site. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Nashville (2021)

Recording site Nashville — The album credits list Ocean Way in Nashville, Tennessee as a recording site. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in New York City (2021)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album credits list Manhattan Beach Recording in New York City as a recording site. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Pasadena (2021)

Recording site Becker Mastering — The album credits list The Vibe Room in Pasadena, California as a recording site. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Studio City (2021)

Recording site TRS Studios — The album credits list Everland Studios in Studio City, California as a recording site. The point is placed at the city centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• When Christmas Comes Around...: second Christmas album and ninth studio album by Kelly Clarkson
• Released through Atlantic Records on October 15, 2021
• Produced by Jesse Shatkin, Jason Halbert, Joseph Trapanese and Aben Eubanks
• Follows Wrapped in Red (2013) and the eighth studio album Meaning of Life (2017)
• Breakup holiday album with cover versions of Christmas songs
• Includes original co-penned tracks and duets with Chris Stapleton, Ariana Grande and Brett Eldredge

Background

• Conceived after the emotional turmoil of her public divorce
• Clarkson moved from RCA Records to Atlantic Records after her first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red
• Before this album, she had issued the Christmas tracks Christmas Eve (2017), Under the Mistletoe with Brett Eldredge, and a cover of All I Want for Christmas Is You (2020)
• She said in an Entertainment Tonight interview that she had not planned another Christmas studio album because of her fondness for the first one
• The emotional stress of the highly publicized divorce the previous year led her to change course
• The album's title track is absent, the first of her albums without a titular track since My December (2007)
• Clarkson described it as a different Christmas album that feels more like a normal studio album with Christmas sprinkled on it

Recording

• Clarkson recorded cover versions of Christmas classics and wrote new material for the album
• Duets with American recording artists Chris Stapleton and Ariana Grande were recorded for the album
• Recording and engineering took place at studios in Brooklyn, Burbank, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, Pasadena and Studio City

Cover

• A special edition shipped exclusively to Target retail stores included a Christmas card signed by Clarkson

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born Kelly Brianne Clarkson on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Burleson, Texas.
• Won the first season of American Idol in 2002 and signed with RCA Records.
• Debut single "A Moment Like This" became the best-selling single of 2002 in the United States.
• Debut album Thankful (2003) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• Breakaway (2004) became her most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.
• Singles "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You" achieved major chart success; "Because of You" became her biggest single worldwide.
• Stronger (2011) won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2013 ceremony.
• Wrapped in Red (2013) became the best-selling holiday album of the year.
• Signed with Atlantic Records in 2015 and released Meaning of Life (2017), When Christmas Comes Around... (2021), and Chemistry (2023).
• Coached The Voice for multiple seasons and hosted The Kelly Clarkson Show from 2019.
• Has sold over 82 million records worldwide and received three Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics broadly praised the album for Clarkson's powerful, versatile vocals and the mix of fresh originals with standout classics
• Some critics noted uneven production and felt the new songs did not match her previous holiday work
• Jon Caramanica of The New York Times praised Clarkson's nimble vocals in a roundup of new holiday albums
• Caramanica wrote that some of the original tracks were strikingly uncelebratory, which made the album stand out
• In a year-end podcast episode, Caramanica called the album very, very good, solid and impressive, though not quite Mariah-level
• Mike DeWald of Riff Magazine praised how Clarkson's original songs are something fresh and listenable
• Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, criticized some production choices and praised Clarkson's impressive vocals as the chief selling point
• Marcy Donelson of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars and called it a vibrant, fully orchestral, high-volume set on average
• Donelson singled out Merry Christmas (To the One I Used to Know) and Santa, Can't You Hear Me as highlights among the newest tracks
• Helmi Yusof of The Business Times noted that Clarkson keeps it classy with her second Christmas album
• Yusof felt the best songs were the familiar ones, including George Michael's Last Christmas as a slinky jazz number
• Justin Curto of Vulture called Clarkson the queen of the holidays and the album a gift for Christmas
• Curto especially appreciated the collaboration with Ariana Grande, which sounds as majestic as one would expect from the two singers

Reappraisal

• Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine found that the original songs do not quite live up to the bar she set on Wrapped in Red

Records

• By December 2021, the album had sold 93,000 album-equivalent units
• The album was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was promoted with a Christmas special of the same title, which premiered on NBC on December 1, 2021.
• A special edition sold exclusively at Target stores came with a Christmas card signed by Clarkson.
• Clarkson had first said she would not record another Christmas album because she loved her first one, then changed her mind after the divorce stress.
• It is her first album since My December (2007) to have no titular track.
• Atlantic Records promoted the album as an exploration of a wide range of holiday emotions anchored by Clarkson's vocal prowess.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact