Kelly Clarkson reveals track she wrote the fastest: 'I ordered sushi and when it arrived, I had written it'
Did you know that the fastest time that Kelly Clarkson wrote a song was during a sushi order, finishing it before the food arrived?
In an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the American singer-songwriter was taking questions from the audience when someone asked her, "I'm dying to know, what is the fastest song you ever wrote?"
After a brief pause, the 43-year-old gasped and said it's her 2013 Christmas song called Underneath the Tree.
She recalled working with Greg Kurstin, the producer behind her hits, including Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) in 2012, in the studio.
"He kind of sent me home with a little piano thing, and we had kind of started, not the idea of it, but just kind of the 'Wall of Sound' for Christmas," she said, referring to the recording technique from the '60s that layers multiple instruments and vocals.
"I think it's a really cool sound at Christmas time. It feels nostalgic. So we kind of discussed that," she said. "I ordered sushi and when it arrived, I had written it."
Clarkson noted that she was able to write it that fast because she "really" loves Christmas.
"I write them really quickly for Christmas because they feel good, because you can be a little cheesy, you know?" she said. "You don’t have to worry about being cool which, honestly, I don't. That’s not a concern generally ever because I’m not.”
Clarkson, however, acknowledged that in songwriting, "they don't all come out like that."
"Usually it takes forever," she added. "But that one was quick, Underneath the Tree."
The song is the lead single of Clarkson's sixth studio album and first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red. At the time, the song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. It also charted in several countries, including Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In 2024, Underneath the Tree topped the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' list of new classic holiday songs for the second year in a row.
Clarkson rose to fame after winning the first season of the singing competition American Idol in 2002. Selling over 82 million records worldwide, her hits include Since U Been Gone, Behind These Hazel Eyes, and Because of You. She won three Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, four American Music Awards, eight Daytime Emmy Awards, and a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
