Under the Tree – song
Underneath the Tree – Song Summary
“Underneath the Tree” is a song by American pop 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 prominently incorporates a Wall of Sound treatment along with sleigh bells and bell chimes to resonate 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 lauded its potential to be a holiday classic. They also 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.
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.
Production and Composition
After recording tracks for her greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits – Chapter One, Clarkson began discussing with her record label RCA Records about plans for her sixth studio album being a Christmas release in late 2012, during which she also began to write original Christmas material. Greg Kurstin, whom she had previously collaborated with, was approached by Clarkson to produce the album; and together, they co-wrote the tracks “Underneath the Tree” and “4 Carats”.
“Underneath the Tree” was produced by Kurstin, who also played most of the instruments, including a mellotron and a Chamberlin, to evoke a Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound treatment—a sound that Billboard and HitFix noticed upon hearing the song. He also had Clarkson provide all the voices in it, including all its backing vocals. She recalled the experience as new, stating, “I’ve never had to do anything like this before—doing all my backup vocals, essentially being my own choir.”
“Underneath the Tree” is an uptempo big band-style Christmas, pop song written by Clarkson and Kurstin. It is one of the five original songs recorded for Wrapped in Red. According to the sheet notes at Musicnotes published by EMI Music Publishing, the song was written in the key of E♭ major, in which the vocal range spans from E♭4 to G5.
Apart from the Wall of Sound, various other sounds, such as sleigh bells and bell chimes, are also prominently heard on the song, which features a bari saxophone solo on the bridge.
Impact
Brian Mansfield of USA Today reported that “Underneath the Tree” was American radio’s most-played new holiday song of 2013. In a report published by ASCAP, “Underneath the Tree” was listed as the most-performed new and original holiday song in their repertoire in the years 2015, 2018, and 2019.
Marketing curator PlayNetwork also reported that the track was one of the only newer original songs heard by holiday shoppers in 2015. In a 2017 op-ed piece by Pitchfork contributor Grayson Haver Currin on guitarist John Fahey’s Christmas music, he sampled the song as a “new Christmas classic” along with “All I Want for Christmas Is You”.
In an interview on Vogue, Genius content director Elizabeth Milch referred to the song as “the most recent thing to make a play for the “All I Want” crown”, while The Washington Post writer Allison Stewart also described it as a close cousin to “All I Want for Christmas is You”. In a 2019 Mediabase report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Underneath the Tree” is the only new song from the past 20 years in their most played top 50 Christmas songs, as most of the tracks that are being played are from the 1940s to 60s.
In a retrospective listing of the best holiday songs from each year since 1967, Billboard editors chose “Underneath the Tree” as the best holiday song of 2013. Announcing the return of their 2019 Holiday 100 chart, Billboard reported that the track is the only one that was released in the 21st century to appear inside the top twenty. In a 2019 data analysis by Quartz reporter Dan Kopf, he remarked that the song might be a successor to “All I Want for Christmas is You” based on its chart performance. Several publications also promulgated “Underneath the Tree” in their best Christmas songs lists throughout the years:
1st – Bustle, 16 Christmas Pop Songs That Totally Sleigh
1st – Cosmopolitan, 17 Christmas Pop Songs That are Total Bops
1st – Metro, Best Christmas Pop Songs of the 2010s
2nd – The Varsity, 10 Songs that Need to be on Your Holiday Playlist
3rd – The Washington Post, A ranking of 100 Christmas songs
7th – O, The Oprah Magazine, 50 Best Christmas Songs of All Time
9th – Redbook, The 50 Best Christmas Songs of All Time
18th – Men’s Health, The 25 Best Christmas Pop Songs of All Time
23rd – Good Housekeeping, 40 Best Modern Christmas Songs
29th – Time Out, The 65 Best Christmas songs of All Time
33rd – Country Living, 60 Best Christmas Songs of All Time
55th – Cosmopolitan, The 75 Best Christmas Songs of All Time
Underneath the tree lyrics
You’re here where you should be
Snow is falling as the carolers sing
It just wasn’t the same
Alone on Christmas day
Presents, what a beautiful sight
Don’t mean a thing if you ain’t holding me tight
You’re all that I need
Underneath the tree
Tonight (Tonight), I’m gonna hold you close (Ooh)
Make sure that you know (Know)
I was lost before you (Ooh)
Christmas was cold and grey (Ooh)
Another holiday (So alone)
Alone to celebrate[Pre-Chorus]
But then (But then), one day (One day)
Everything changed
You’re all I need
Underneath the tree[Chorus]
You’re here where you should be
Snow is falling as the carolers sing
It just wasn’t the same
Alone on Christmas day
Presents, what a beautiful sight
Don’t mean a thing if you ain’t holding me tight
You’re all that I need
Underneath the tree
