Underneath the Tree

"Underneath the Tree"
A blonde woman whose head is wrapped in a red scarf and covered with snow, on the lower right, the wordmarks "Kelly Clarkson" and "Underneath the Tree" are printed in stylized "Feel Script" and "Bree" typefaces.
Single by Kelly Clarkson
from the album Wrapped in Red
ReleasedNovember 5, 2013 (2013-11-05)
Recorded2013
GenrePop[1]
Length3:49
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Greg Kurstin
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology
"Tie It Up"
(2013) 		"Underneath the Tree"
(2013) 		"PrizeFighter"
(2014)
Music video
"Underneath the Tree" on YouTube
Audio sample

"Underneath the Tree" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her sixth studio album and first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red (2013). She co-wrote the track with its producer Greg Kurstin. It is a Christmas-themed song that sings of gratitude for companionship during the holidays, in which the loved one is referred to as the only present needed "underneath the tree". Accompanied by various instrumental sounds, the song is given a Wall of Sound treatment, along with sleigh bells and bell chimes to create a holiday atmosphere. "Underneath the Tree" was first released to Adult Contemporary radio stations on November 5, 2013, by RCA Records as the album's lead single.

"Underneath the Tree" has been praised by music critics, who considered it the main highlight of Wrapped in Red and recognized its potential to be a holiday classic. They favorably compared it to Mariah Carey's 1994 Christmas song "All I Want for Christmas Is You". The track reached number eight on the Billboard Global 200 in addition to the top ten in Austria, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, and the Netherlands as well as the top 20 in Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It has been certified platinum in Denmark and the United Kingdom, and gold in Australia and Norway. In 2021, "Underneath the Tree" was named the ASCAP's most popular Christmas song released in the 21st century.[2]

Directed by English director Hamish Hamilton, the music video for the song has a live performance from the television special Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale at The Venetian Las Vegas. Apart from the television special, Clarkson has also performed it in various televised performances, such as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and the American singing competition The Voice.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Music Notes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Willman, Chris (December 9, 2021). "What Are the Biggest Christmas Songs Released This Century? ASCAP Has a List and Checked It Twice". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2022.