The American Idol winner and now Emmy Award-winning talk show host will perform on the Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around, with songs from her new Christmas album of the same name.
Pegged as a “holiday spectacular,” Clarkson has recruited some of her musical friends to help her and audiences start their December with a bang.
Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around starts on NBC on Wednesday December 1 at 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT, right after the 89th Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center which starts two hours earlier.
Who stars in Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas special?
Clarkson will be joined by musicians, actors and comedians throughout the evening. Country music singer Brett Eldredge, her The Voice co-star Ariana Grande, talk show legend Jay Leno, Academy Award-nominated actress Melissa McCarthy, Tony Award-winning actor Leslie Odom Jr. and all-round hilarious person Amy Poehler will all arrive to entertain audiences.
The celebrities’ appearance on the holiday spectacular was previewed on Clarkson’s YouTube channel, with each of them sharing their favorite Christmas memories.
There’ll be a lot of celebrity cameos throughout the Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around special on NBC but the headliner is surely the big man himself, Santa Claus. He’ll be joining Clarkson and some everyday heroes to hand out some life-changing surprises.
Clarkson’s house band from her talk show, My Band Y’All will appear too. The stage in Universal Studios Hollywood will be decked out with Christmas decorations, with a special tree lit underneath the Northern Lights.
Kelly Clarkson’s When Christmas Comes Around… album
The NBC Christmas special is tied to Clarkson’s new holiday album, which is out now.
The festive record, When Christmas Comes Around… features a mix of original songs and covers of Christmas classics. Just like in the television special, there’s some celebrity cameos featuring on the album too.
Ariana Grande, who is also on the TV special, collaborates with Clarkson on the original song “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me” while another guest Brett Eldredge sings “Under the Mistletoe” with Clarkson. The third and final collaboration on the album comes from Clarkson and country music singer Chris Stapleton with their new song “Glow.”
On the album Clarkson also sings classics like George Michael’s “Last Christmas,” Johnny marks’ “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and Bobby Helm’s “Jingle Bell Rock.”
When Christmas Comes Around… is Clarkson’s second holiday album after Wrapped in Red which was released in 2013.
Clarkson’s new album is available to buy, stream and download now while the NBC special, Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around will air on Wednesday December 1 at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CT.
