When Christmas Comes Around...

When Christmas Comes Around... is the ninth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 15, 2021, through Atlantic Records. Produced by Jesse Shatkin, Jason Halbert, Joseph Trapanese and Aben Eubanks, it is her second Christmas album after Wrapped in Red (2013) and a follow-up to her eighth studio album Meaning of Life (2017). Featuring cover versions of Christmas songs, as well as original co-penned tracks and duets with Chris Stapleton, Ariana Grande and Brett Eldredge, its release was preceded by the singles "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)" and "Santa, Can't You Hear Me". It also includes previously released singles "Christmas Eve", "All I Want for Christmas Is You", and "Under the Mistletoe" as bonus tracks. The album was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

Promotion for the album included a Christmas special of the same title, which premiered on NBC on December 1, 2021. The Christmas special premiered with a 0.6 rating and 4.3 million total viewers.

Background and recording
Following the release of her first Christmas album Wrapped in Red in 2013 on RCA Records, Clarkson transferred to Atlantic Records and has issued the Christmas tracks "Christmas Eve" (2017), "Under the Mistletoe" (with Brett Eldredge), and a cover of Vince Vance & the Valiants' "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (2020). In an interview on the television program Entertainment Tonight, she revealed that she was not originally intending to record another Christmas studio album due to her fondness for her first, but later decided to following the emotional stress induced by the highly publicized divorce the previous year. In recording the album, Clarkson recorded cover versions of various Christmas classics and wrote new material featuring duets with American recording artists Chris Stapleton and Ariana Grande.

Themes and inspirations
Atlantic Records has promoted When Christmas Comes Around... as an exploration of "a wide range of holiday emotions and experiences anchored by Clarkson's incomparable vocal prowess". Clarkson has elaborated that the album will explore various themes of love, loss, hope, and optimism — emotions that people tend to experience during the holiday season.

Drawing inspiration from her experiences during the past two years, she remarked of the album's title, her first to not have a titular track since My December (2007), as "when Christmas comes around, we are all in different places." Further adding that its selection of tracks will both evoke a somber and posit a jolly atmosphere. Characterizing it as "a different Christmas album", she portrayed When Christmas Comes Around... as feeling more like a normal studio album, but "there's Christmas sprinkled on it."

Release
When Christmas Comes Around... was released by Atlantic Records on October 15, 2021. A special edition shipped exclusively to Target retail stores would also feature a Christmas card signed by Clarkson. Its lead single "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)", was released on September 23, 2021. "Glow" with Stapleton and "Santa, Can't You Hear Me" with Grande were released as promotional singles alongside the album's release.

Critical reception
In a roundup of new holiday albums, The New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica praised Clarkson's "nimble" vocals and wrote that the original tracks, some of them strikingly "uncelebratory", make the album stand out. In the year-end episode of his Times podcast Popcast, Caramanica again praised the album, calling it "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, who gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, criticized some production choices but praised Clarkson's "impressive" vocals and "melodic variations" on the classics as the "chief selling point." Marcy Donelson of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, called it "a vibrant, fully orchestral, high-volume set on average", and singled out "Merry Christmas (To the One I Used to Know)" and "Santa, Can't You Hear Me" as highlights among the newest tracks."

Vulture's Justin Curto called Clarkson "the queen of the holidays", calling the album a gift for Christmas. Curto especially appreciated the collaboration with Ariana Grande, as it sounds "as majestic as you would expect from the two singers".

Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes

Recorded and engineered at
 * Brooklyn, New York (Brooklyn Bridge Music)
 * Burbank, California (The Eastwood Stage at Warner Bros. Studio, The Listening Station, Glenwood Place Studios)
 * Los Angeles, California (The Ribcage)
 * Nashville, Tennessee (Ocean Way, Southern Ground)
 * New York City (Manhattan Beach Recording)
 * Pasadena, California (The Vibe Room)
 * Studio City, California (Everland Studios)
 * Universal City, California

Performance credits
 * Kelly Clarkson – all vocals
 * Jessi Collins – background vocals
 * Luke Edgemon – background vocals
 * Brett Eldredge – featured vocals
 * Ariana Grande – featured vocals
 * Nayanna Holley – background vocals
 * Tiffany Palmer – background vocals
 * Bridget Sarai – background vocals
 * Chris Stapleton – featured vocals
 * Brandon Winbush – background vocals

Musicians


 * Isabel Bartles – violin
 * Kevin Bate – cello
 * Hari Bernstein – viola
 * Idalynn Besser – viola
 * Jenny Bifano – violin
 * Charlie Bisharat – violin
 * Laura Brenes – French horn
 * Jimmy Bowland – saxophone
 * Jaco Caraco – guitar
 * Paul Cartwright – violin
 * Bruce Christiansen – viola
 * Leroy Clampitt – bass
 * Stuart Clark – clarinet
 * Ryan Cockman – violin
 * Maria Conti – violin
 * Mike Cordone – trumpet
 * Phil Cornish – Hammond B3 organ
 * Wade Culbreath – timpani
 * Janet Darnall – violin
 * Charles Dixon – viola
 * Andrew Duckles – viol
 * Timothy Eckert – bass
 * Conni Ellisor – violin
 * Alicia Enstrom – violin
 * Lester Estelle – drums
 * Aben Eubanks – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion
 * Leslie Fagan – flute
 * Katelyn Faraudo – French horn
 * Nicholas Gold – cello
 * Ali Gooding – violin


 * Erik Gratton – flute
 * Gerald Greer – violin
 * Jim Grosjean – viola
 * Jason Halbert – Hammond B3 organ, keyboards, piano, programming
 * Erin Hall – violin
 * Dylan Hart – French horn
 * Neel Hammond – violin
 * Keyon Harrold – trumpet
 * Amy Helman – violin
 * Mark Hill – bass
 * Luanne Homzy – violin
 * Jack Jezserio – bass
 * Tommy King – organ, piano
 * Pete Korpela – percussion
 * Jennifer Kummer – French horn
 * Marisa Kunney – violin
 * Anthony LaMarchina – cello
 * Jules Levy – bass
 * Keith Loftis – tenor saxophone
 * Tim Loo – cello
 * Lucia Micarelli – violin
 * Camille Miller – violin
 * Jeffrey Miller – trombone
 * Jesse McGinty – saxophone
 * Ray Montiero – trumpet
 * Craig Nelson– bass
 * Jenni Olsen – flute
 * Alyssa Park – violin
 * Anthony Parnther – bassoon
 * Greg Phillinganes – piano


 * Peter Povey – violin
 * Linnea Powell – viola
 * Aaron Redfield – drums, percussion
 * Sari Reist – cello
 * Danny Rivera – baritone saxophone
 * Katty Rodriguez – baritone saxophone
 * Rob Schaer – trumpet
 * Erick Serna – guitar, ukulele
 * Jesse Shatkin – drum programming, percussion, synthesizers
 * Jung-Min Shin – violin
 * Garrett Smith – trombone
 * Vanessa Freebairn Smith – cello
 * Ron Sorbo – timpani, percussion
 * Anna Spina – French horn
 * Marcus Strickland – tenor saxophone
 * Luke Sullivant – guitar
 * Amy Tatum – flute
 * Charlie Tyler – cello
 * Alan Umstead – violin
 * Catherine Umstead – violin
 * Mary Kathryn VanOsdale – violin
 * Ina Veli – violin
 * Diana Wade – violin
 * Corey Wallace – trombone
 * Bruce Wethey – violin
 * Kyle Whalum – bass, upright bass
 * Lara Wickes – oboe
 * Karen Winklemann – violin
 * Shu-Zheng – viola

Production


 * BTW Productions – music preparation
 * Drew Atz – brass recording
 * Greg Gigendad Burke – art direction and design
 * Nick Cazares – music librarian
 * John Chapman – orchestra recording
 * Nathan Cimino – engineer
 * Anthony Circo – scoring coordinator
 * Kelly Clarkson – executive producer
 * Jessi Collins – vocal arrangements
 * Mike Cordone – brass arrangement
 * Danja – co-producer (track 6)
 * Spencer Dennis – assistant
 * John DeNosky – additional engineer, additional programming
 * Sam Dent – engineer
 * Jeff Fitzpatrick – pro tools operator
 * Gloria Elias-Foeillet – makeup


 * Chris Gehringer – mastering
 * Serban Ghenea – mixing
 * Jason Halbert – arrangement, producer
 * Jennifer Hammond – additional orchestrations
 * John Hanes – engineer
 * Tom Hardisty – Eastwood Stage crew
 * Keyon Harrold – brass arrangement
 * Luanne Hornzy – concertmaster
 * Jason Lazarus – additional arrangement
 * Mark Lubetski – backline technician
 * Craig Kallman – executive producer
 * Whitney Martin – orchestra contractor
 * Candace Lambert McAndrews – styling
 * Jamie Olvera – Eastwood Stage crew
 * Rachel Orscher – additional programming
 * Tom Peltier – 2nd engineer


 * Greg Phillinganes – arrangement
 * Robert Ramos – hair
 * Clark Rhea – additional arrangement
 * Jesse Shatkin – engineer, producer
 * Carter Smith – photography
 * Nick Spezia – orchestra recording engineer
 * Andy Taub – engineer
 * Joseph Trapanese – orchestra arrangement, conductor, production
 * Robert Venable – engineer
 * Alan Umstead – orchestra contractor
 * Sam Wahl – engineer
 * Richard Wheeler, Jr. – Eastwood Stage crew
 * Booker White – music preparation
 * Shane Wilson – engineer
 * Derek Zeoli – technical coordinato
 * Ginna Zimmitti – orchestra contractor