Kelly Clarkson recalls fastest time she ever wrote a song

Kelly Clarkson is sharing the story behind the fastest song she’s ever written—and it turns out it’s one of her biggest holiday hits. In a recent Ask Kelly Anything video uploaded to The Kelly Clarkson Show’s YouTube channel on June 12, the singer and talk show host answered a fan’s question about which song from her long music career came together the quickest.

“A Christmas song. It was Underneath the Tree. I was working with Greg Kurstin in the studio,” Clarkson replied, referring to the producer behind some of her major hits, including Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You).

The process was surprisingly fast—even quicker than a sushi order. 

“I ordered sushi and when it arrived I had written it,” she explained. 

“I think because I really love Christmas I write them really quickly for Christmas — because they feel good, because you can be a little cheesy, you know? You don’t have to worry about being cool, which honestly that’s not a concern generally ever because I’m not.”

Underneath the Tree, released as part of her Wrapped in Red holiday album, turned out to be a major success. 

The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart for four weeks. 

It also earned a spot on the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) list of Top 10 New Classic Holiday Songs and landed at No. 24 on ASCAP’s all-time Top 25 Holiday Songs list.

Speaking further on how the track came together, Clarkson said, “Greg sent me home with a little piano thing and we kind of started, not the idea of it, but just kind of the wall of sound for Christmas.” 

She added, “It’s a really cool sound at Christmas. It feels nostalgic.”

While Underneath the Tree came together in record time, Clarkson admitted that’s not usually the case. “They don’t all come out like that, though; usually it takes forever,” she said. “But that one was quick.”