Song of the Week December 9th 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Song of the Week- Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson, from the album Wrapped In Red

Now that it is the middle of December, Christmas celebrations are in full swing, and anticipation for the big day is mounting every minute. I love Christmas and I especially love Christmas music. What is great to see this year is that there is a lot of artists bringing Christmas back to the fore and revisiting old classics, whilst others are creating their own Christmas tunes that may one day be called classics themselves. The best new Christmas song I have heard has to be Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree. It is a bubbly up tempo number that captures the joyous spirit of the holiday season whilst also peppering the song with the idea that the best thing about Christmas is finding someone extra special to share it with. With the glittery piano melody the song has you hooked from the beginning, with the chorus being a big shiny pop piece that can easily get stuck in your head. The vocal performance on the track is great, with the singer giving us a lilting tone in the verses that soothes you before unleashing her pipes for the chorus and making you want to jump around and revel in the joy of the music. The great thing about the vocal is that it is big and diva in all the right places but isn’t too big, with the verses showing restraint that brings a sweet essence to the song. Producer Greg Kurstin does a great job with the tracks sound, giving us a jazzy, big band pop number that is filled with some awesome bell chimes and sleigh bells, as well as a wonderful saxophone solo. For me this is the best new Christmas song in years and it feels like the singers Mariah Carey moment in that if this doesn’t become a festive hit that is revisited every time the holidays come around, I will be really disappointed in humanity.