Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson Admit They Didn’t Rehearse Before Performing ‘When Christmas Comes Around’ Duet

Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson often share their love for the Christmas season, especially during Clarkson’s NBC holiday special, When Christmas Comes Around. 

With such busy schedules, though, the duet performed by these artists live was actually the first time they ever sang it together. 

Kelly Clarkson’s ‘When Christmas Comes Around’ features Ariana Grande on ‘Santa, Can’t You Hear Me’

In addition to their starring roles on the reality competition series, The Voice, Grande and Clarkson collaborated on a new holiday song. That was “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me,” included in Clarkson’s 2021 release When Christmas Comes Around.

The official recording of this song earned over 7 million plays on the music streaming platform Spotify. However, this wouldn’t be the only time that Clarkson or Grande released holiday music, as one of Clarkson’s best-known holiday tracks is 2013’s “Underneath the Tree.”

2021 would bring the first live performance of “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me” from these Grammy Award-winning singers, who appeared in one holiday-themed NBC special. (In fact, that was the first time that Clarkson and Grande belted the track live.)

Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson recorded ​​’Santa, Can’t You Hear Me’ from ‘When Christmas Comes Around’

When Clarkson hosted her When Christmas Comes Around NBC special, she included a live performance of “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me” with Grande. During one interview, the artist shared that that performance was actually the first time they sang the song together.

“It literally was the first time that we had been in the same room singing it,” Kelly said during an interview with ET Online. “And it’s a pretty detailed song.”

“Oh, it’s a vocal,” Ariana agreed. “We switch harmonies almost every verse, or every pre-chorus, we flip-flop what we’re singing. It was really fun. Thank god we did it, but we were definitely out of body, hovering.”

Ariana Grande collaborated on other holiday songs, including Jimmy Fallon’s ‘It Was A… (Masked Christmas)’

This wouldn’t be the first time Grande collaborated on another artist’s holiday project. Grande lent her voice for Mariah Carey’s “Oh Santa,” appearing on Jimmy Fallon’s “It Was A…(Masked Christmas)” the following year. 

Additionally, Grande was featured on Idina Menzel’s album, Christmas: A Season of Love, singing “A Hand for Mrs. Claus.” During one interview with Billboard, the artist described it as a “feminist” Christmas song.

“That was written by Bobby and Kristen Lopez, who are the composers of all the Frozen music,” Menzel said. “So I called them, and I was like, ‘Would you guys write me an original song for a holiday album?’ … And then Ariana [Grande] was so generous in her crazy touring schedule to find time to record this song with me, and I’m indebted to her.”

Music by Grande, including Christmas & Chill and Christmas Kisses, is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and most major streaming platforms.