Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, And More Share Their Holiday Traditions

Mario Lopez served as the host for iHeartRadio's Holiday Special, which saw performances from the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, Pentatonix, and Train.

Kelly Clarkson opened up the show with a performance of her song "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)," from her recent holiday album, When Christmas Comes Around.... Michael Bublé then followed up with a cover of "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas," getting into a classic holiday spirit.

Clarkson went into what inspired her to write another Christmas album, sharing she had written it "by happenstance." "My label, we were talking about making a couple songs because I wasn't done with my like, normal album yet, and I wasn't really ready to put it out," Clarkson said. "So we ended up making this, a whole Christmas album, which is kinda funny because I wasn't feeling very cheerful. But, the album ended up being very theraputic for me. There's a lot of differnt kinds of emotions going on with the whole album, and it's not just all one thing. I feel like Wrapped in Red, I loved that Christmas record, it's one of my favorite records I've ever done, it is more like one feeling. And this record has just, a lot more depth to it. And just a little bit of sadness in it. Sometimes, when Christmas comes around, you're not happy. And that can be okay."

The Pentatonix followed up with a performance of "I Just Called To Say I Love You" and "I Saw Three Ships." Train then played one of their favorite Christmas songs, "The River." Joined by a simple piano, the soft harmonies created a magical spirit as they sat in the midst of a forest of Christmas Trees. "The River" was followed up by "this Christmas."

Photo: iHeartRadio

Mario Lopez then sat down with Michael Bublé for the holiday special to discuss the tenth anniversary of his Christmas album, Christmas. To celebrate the milestone, Bublé shared he's following the record up with a bonus album that will see him increasing the original Christmas tracklist to include some of his favorite songs.

"It's been ten years, like, how did that happen," Bublé said about the release of his instant-classic Christmas album. "I think it's been a joy. You know, I've been through a lot in my life and the more I've been through and the tougher it got, I think I appreciated that I got to be invited into people's homes at a time where there's so much goodness, and kindness, and empathy. I'm like, yeah, I'll take all of that. So for this special anniversary, the tenth anniversary – I can't believe it's here – I wanted to do something special, so I recorded one of my favorite all-time songs that didn't make the first record, I didn't record it for the first record. But I'd always wanted to. 'Let It Snow.' I always loved it."

After speaking with Lopez, Bublé dove into a rendition of "Holly Jolly Christmas." The joy within Bublé's band was infectious, all of them laughing and joking around in between verses.

Kelly Clarkson then went on to perform "Merry Christmas Baby," With a retro background that pulls 1960s stages to mind, Clarkson's performance through listeners back in time while her belting notes helped spread Christmas cheer.

"Evergreen was us stepping out of our comfort zone," Pentatonix explained of their new album. The a cappella group revealed that many of the songs on the record had been improvised, and the record was made in an organic way. "For this album, we wanted to go more folksy-'70s vibe," they explained of Evergreen. "So we tried to find songs that we felt like could honor that vibe really well." The group then went into a performance of the record's title track, "Evergreen."

Photo: Leah Moriyama for iHeartRadio

Lopez also sat down with Train to talk about their upcoming project with the Hallmark channel, Christmas in Tahoe. Pat Monahan spoke on the group's behalf, and went into more depth about how the Hallmark film came to be.

"So, a few years ago we started talking to the Hallmark channel about turning Christmas in Tahoe into a Christmas movie," Monahan said of the band's upcoming project. "It's taken a few years, but now we have a finish product and we're all excited about it."

The movie is set to premiere on the Hallmark channel on Sunday, November 26 at 6 p.m., with Monahan starring in the film, too. Monahan revealed that the film leans toward a younger audience, then he dove into a performance of "Mittens" along with the rest of Train.

Each artist then shared some of their favorite holiday traditions, with Clarkson sharing she's a fan of stuffing with gravy. Monahan then shared that his family regularly hosts dance parties in the kitchen while they prepare the meals, while Bublé revealed that Home Alone remains on repeat in his household throughout the entire holiday season. Meanwhile, Pentatonix shared that their Christmas gift to each other that they leave the rest of the group alone so they can have "uninterrupted family time."

Everyone also shared their favorite Christmas songs to sing, with Clarkson highlighting her mother's favorite, "Oh Holy Night." Monahan's favorite Christmas song is "This Christmas" by Donny Hathaway, while Bublé is a fan of his version of "Blue Christmas." Pentatonix then went into a performance of "The Prayer." After everyone shared their favorite holiday performances, Bublé went into a cover of "Let It Snow." Clarkson then went into a rendition of "Last Christmas."

On Wednesday, December 1, Kelly Clarkson will be hosting another holiday special on NBC at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Tune into the Clarkson's special on NBC.

Photo: iHeartRadio


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