"Wrapped in Red" | ||||
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Single by Kelly Clarkson | ||||
from the album Wrapped in Red | ||||
Released | November 25, 2014 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Recorded | 2013 | |||
Studio | Echo Recording Studio, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) | Greg Kurstin | |||
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology | ||||
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"Wrapped in Red" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson. It is the titular song and the opening track from her sixth studio album, Wrapped in Red (2013). Written by Clarkson, Ashley Arrison, Aben Eubanks, and Shane McAnally, the song is produced by Greg Kurstin, who recorded the track using the Wall of Sound production technique developed by Phil Spector. A soul-pop ballad, "Wrapped in Red" is a Christmas song about unrequited love in the holidays, in which the color red is used as metaphorical device to express someone's truthful feelings, apart from being a quintessential holiday color. "Wrapped in Red" was serviced by RCA Records to Adult Contemporary radio stations as the second single from the album on November 25, 2014.
Lauded for its homage to production sound and vocal performance, "Wrapped in Red" was met with a positive reception from music critics, who regarded it a candidate to be a future holiday classic along with "Underneath the Tree". Boosted by digital sales and radio support following the album's release, the song charted in two Billboard music charts as an album cut. The song's only known live performance to date was in the NBC television special Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale at The Venetian Las Vegas.
After releasing her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits – Chapter One, in November 2012, Clarkson was approached by her record label, RCA Records, about recording a Christmas album. During that holiday season, she began to write original material for it to avoid writing during the off-season of summer. Written by Clarkson, Ashley Arrison, Aben Eubanks and Shane McAnally, "Wrapped in Red" is a soul-pop Christmas ballad. It is one of the five original songs recorded for the album; the other four being "Underneath the Tree", "Every Christmas", "Winter Dreams (Brandon's Song)" and "4 Carats", all of which are produced by Greg Kurstin. She revealed that its lyrical content was inspired by a scene in the holiday feature film Love Actually (2003), in which one of its characters, Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln) confesses his unrequited love towards Juliet (played by Keira Knightley).The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan described it as Clarkson mustering the courage to "risk it all" with someone who may well reject her. The title is derived from being swaddled in the color red, which, apart from being a prominent color associated with Christmas, also expresses an multitude of emotions, such as love, pain, and beauty.