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Under the Christmas Lights

May 08, 2024

"Under the Christmas Lights" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani for her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). It was written by Stefani, Justin Tranter, and busbee, who co-produced the song with Eric Valentine. The song was released alongside the rest of the album on October 6, 2017 through Interscope Records. Details about the track first emerged in August 2017, when the song title appeared as a registered work on BMI and GEMA. "Under the Christmas Lights" is a pop and Christmas song with a doo-wop melody and romantic lyrics.

"Under the Christmas Lights"
Song by Gwen Stefani
from the album You Make It Feel Like Christmas
ReleasedOctober 6, 2017 (2017-10-06)
Recorded2017
Genre
Length2:50
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

In terms of critical reception, the song was described as silly but ultimately relatable, lyrically. The song entered Billboard's Holiday Digital Song Sales chart in the United States at number 16. It also appeared on the Rádio Top 100 airplay chart in Slovakia. Stefani performed the song twice live; one performance occurred on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she was also the episode's guest. She also sang the song on her 2017 television special, Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas.

Background and release edit

Following the release of her third studio album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016), Stefani announced in July 2017 that she had plans to release new music by the end of the year.[1] She did not provide further details, but several publications speculated that Stefani's new material would be Christmas-related due to song titles such as "Under the Christmas Lights", "Christmas Eve", and "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" becoming registered on two music databases, BMI and GEMA.[2][3] On September 18 that year, she took to her social media accounts and claimed that she "had something big planned for the holidays", and that more information would follow. The next day, Stefani revealed her next studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, and revealed that the title track would be released as the lead single.[4]

Stefani spent much of summer 2017 residing with her fiancé American singer Blake Shelton at his Oklahoma estate. She had already began developing You Make It Feel Like Christmas, and went on a run one morning in search of inspiration. She started envisioning what her own original Christmas song would sound like, and began writing the lyrics to what would later become the album's first song, "Christmas Eve".[5] "Under the Christmas Lights" was written by Stefani, Tranter, and busbee, with busbee and Eric Valentine serving as producers.[6] The song was released for digital download and streaming on October 6, 2017, by Interscope Records, along with the rest of You Make It Feel Like Christmas.[7][8] "Under the Christmas Lights" serves as one of the album's six original tracks and appears as the eighth track on the standard edition.[9]

Composition and lyrics edit

 
Eric Valentine (shown) produced "Under the Christmas Lights" and several other tracks for You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017).

"Under the Christmas Lights" is a pop and Christmas song with a doo-wop melody.[10][11] Many instruments were used in the production of the song, including bass, bass trombone, drums, electric guitar, flugelhorn, flute, piano, piccolo, timpani, trombone, and trumpet.[12] The staff at Rolling Stone wrote that it sounds like a 1960s holiday song, in response to Stefani who said the parent album was inspired by the Christmas music of Cher, Phil Spector, and the Osmonds.[11]

"Under the Christmas Lights" is set in the time signature of common time, and has an average tempo of 120 beats per minute. The key of the song is in D-flat major and it follows the setup of verse-chorus-verse-chorus. Stefani's vocal range advances in the chord progressions of C–G–A#–F in the verses and Am–F–C–G in the chorus.[13] The track was mixed by Dave Clauss and engineered by Valentine. Jonathan Sterling served as assistant engineer, busbee and Dave Way served as lead vocals engineers, and were assisted by Peter Chun. Laura Mace, Monet Owens, and Dolly Sparks provided background vocals for the track with arrangements from Grace Potter.[12]

Lyrically, the song mentions seasonal activities, such as wrapping gifts and beginning traditions with loved ones. She opens the song with "Late night, gotta do the wrapping / I'm running out of tape".[14] With the six original songs on You Make It Feel Like Christmas, many critics believed their lyrical content was inspired by Stefani's relationship with country singer Blake Shelton.[15] In "Under the Christmas Lights", she sings "When it's cold outside, put your arms around me / And we'll countdown to December 25 / I thank God I got you 'cause you're all that I need / Under the Christmas lights, baby you and I".[13]

Reception edit

Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine said that "Under the Christmas Lights" in addition to a few other tracks, made up the "mixed bag" of songs on You Make It Feel Like Christmas; he referred to the song as silly, but equally relatable in terms of lyrical content.[14] Alan Sculley, a writer for the Montgomery Advertiser, included the track with "My Gift Is You" as two of the successful original cuts off of the album.[10]

During the release week of You Make It Feel Like Christmas, "Under the Christmas Lights" appeared on Billboard's Holiday Digital Song Sales component chart in the United States.[16] On the issue dated October 27, 2017, it peaked at number 16, becoming the fifth best-selling song from the album that week.[17] In Slovakia, the song was sent out for airplay rotation, prompting it to enter the Rádio Hot 100 chart. During the final week of 2017, it debuted at number 83 and as the tenth-highest new entry; "Under the Christmas Lights" was also one of three songs by Stefani to chart that particular week, with "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" ranked at number 33 and her cover of "White Christmas" at number 86.[18]

Live performances edit

"Under the Christmas Lights" was performed twice by Stefani during the 2017 holiday season. Her first appearance was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on November 21, 2017, when she was also a special guest.[19] She was interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, who asked her questions about recording You Make It Feel Like Christmas among others.[20] She concluded the show by performing the track, and was accompanied by the Roots, the house band for the television series.[11][21] On her Christmas television special, Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas, which was broadcast on NBC on December 12, 2017, she performed "Under the Christmas Lights" as the sixth song on the set list.[22] She wore a "Nutcracker-inspired uniform, complete with green sleeves and red bows, plus a little bit of punk flair with plaid add-ons around her waist, fishnets and thigh-high boots"; Emily Krauser from Entertainment Tonight enjoyed the performance, writing "she gave little drummer boys everywhere a run for their money".[23] The performance from the televised special was uploaded to Stefani's official Vevo account on December 30, 2017.[24]

Credits and personnel edit

Credits adapted from the liner notes of You Make It Feel Like Christmas.[12]

  • Gwen Stefani – writer, lead vocals
  • Justin Tranter – writer
  • busbee – writer, production
  • Eric Valentine – production
  • Laura Mace – background vocals
  • Monet Owens – background vocals
  • Dolly Sparks – background vocals
  • Sean Hurley – bass
  • Ryan Dragon – bass trombone
  • Aaron Sterling – drums
  • Greg Camp – electric guitar, hand claps
  • John Storie – electric guitar, hand claps
  • Stewart Cole – flugelhorn, trumpet
  • David Moyer – flute, piccolo
  • Matthew Musty – percussion, timpani, hand claps
  • Patrick Warren – piano
  • Danny Levin – trombone
  • Jamie Hovorka – trumpet

Charts edit

Chart performance for "Under the Christmas Lights"
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[18] 83
US Holiday Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[16] 16

References edit

  1. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (July 14, 2017). "Gwen Stefani Is Releasing New Music This Year". Fuse. from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  2. ^ Wass, Mike (August 2, 2017). "Festive! It Looks Like Gwen Stefani Is Recording a Christmas Album". Idolator. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  3. ^ O'Neill, Lauren (August 2, 2017). "Sia and Gwen Stefani Both Apparently Have Christmas Albums Coming". Vice. from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Tenreyro, Tatiana (September 21, 2017). "Gwen Stefani Teases 'You Make It Feel Like Christmas' Album: Watch Preview". Billboard. from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  5. ^ Vain, Madison (October 12, 2017). "Gwen Stefani's Christmas 'fantasy' is 'to be Mariah Carey'". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  6. ^ You Make It Feel Like Christmas (CD liner notes). Gwen Stefani. Interscope. 2017. 02557-84801.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "Under The Christmas Lights by Gwen Stefani on Amazon Music". Amazon Music (US). October 6, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Gwen Stefani – You Make It Feel Like Christmas". AllMusic. from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Sculley, Alan (December 18, 2017). "2017 Holiday Album Guide". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Rolling Stone staff (November 22, 2017). "Watch Gwen Stefani Perform Sixties-Inspired Christmas Song on 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c You Make It Feel Like Christmas (CD liner notes). Gwen Stefani (Deluxe ed.). Interscope. 2018. 02577-07279.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ a b Stefani, Gwen; Tranter, Justin; Busbee, Michael (2017). Under the Christmas Lights: Sheet Music, Lyrics by Michael Busbee, Gwen Stefani, Justin Tranter. Interscope Records.
  13. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (October 6, 2017). "Gwen Stefani – You Make It Feel Like Christmas". Slant Magazine. from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  14. ^ McRady, Rachel (October 6, 2017). "Gwen Stefani Releases Christmas Album Filled With Blake Shelton References: Listen to Her 'Wedding Ring' Lyric". Entertainment Tonight. from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani Chart History (Holiday Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  16. ^ "Holiday Digital Songs: October 28, 2017". Billboard. October 28, 2017. from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020. Note: select "SK – Radio – Top 100" from the first dropdown menu and "201751,52" from the second dropdown menu; then select "Zobrazit" to view the correct URL.
  18. ^ Davis, Chris (November 22, 2017). "Live: Gwen Stefani – 'Under the Christmas Lights'". Mix 93.1. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  19. ^ McRady, Rachel (November 22, 2017). "Gwen Stefani Reveals the Hilarious Christmas Gift She's Getting Blake Shelton". Entertainment Tonight. from the original on November 25, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  20. ^ Former Rare staff member (December 20, 2017). "Gwen Stefani performs a Christmas classic on 'The Tonight Show' and absolutely 'sleighs' it". Rare. from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  21. ^ Skye Fadroski, Kelli (November 9, 2017). "3 things to look forward to in Gwen Stefani's NBC holiday special". Daily Breeze. from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  22. ^ Krauser, Emily (December 12, 2017). "See All of Gwen Stefani's Amazingly Festive Christmas Special Looks!". Entertainment Tonight. from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  23. ^ Stefani, Gwen (December 30, 2017). "Under The Christmas Lights (Live From 'Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas')". YouTube/Vevo (US). from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2020.

External links edit

  • "Under the Christmas Lights" (live video from Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas) on YouTube

May 08, 2024
under, christmas, lights, song, recorded, american, singer, songwriter, gwen, stefani, fourth, studio, album, make, feel, like, christmas, 2017, written, stefani, justin, tranter, busbee, produced, song, with, eric, valentine, song, released, alongside, rest, . Under the Christmas Lights is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani for her fourth studio album You Make It Feel Like Christmas 2017 It was written by Stefani Justin Tranter and busbee who co produced the song with Eric Valentine The song was released alongside the rest of the album on October 6 2017 through Interscope Records Details about the track first emerged in August 2017 when the song title appeared as a registered work on BMI and GEMA Under the Christmas Lights is a pop and Christmas song with a doo wop melody and romantic lyrics Under the Christmas Lights Song by Gwen Stefanifrom the album You Make It Feel Like ChristmasReleasedOctober 6 2017 2017 10 06 Recorded2017GenreChristmaspopLength2 50LabelInterscopeSongwriter s Gwen StefaniJustin TranterbusbeeProducer s busbeeEric Valentine In terms of critical reception the song was described as silly but ultimately relatable lyrically The song entered Billboard s Holiday Digital Song Sales chart in the United States at number 16 It also appeared on the Radio Top 100 airplay chart in Slovakia Stefani performed the song twice live one performance occurred on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where she was also the episode s guest She also sang the song on her 2017 television special Gwen Stefani s You Make It Feel Like Christmas Contents 1 Background and release 2 Composition and lyrics 3 Reception 4 Live performances 5 Credits and personnel 6 Charts 7 References 8 External linksBackground and release editFollowing the release of her third studio album This Is What the Truth Feels Like 2016 Stefani announced in July 2017 that she had plans to release new music by the end of the year 1 She did not provide further details but several publications speculated that Stefani s new material would be Christmas related due to song titles such as Under the Christmas Lights Christmas Eve and You Make It Feel Like Christmas becoming registered on two music databases BMI and GEMA 2 3 On September 18 that year she took to her social media accounts and claimed that she had something big planned for the holidays and that more information would follow The next day Stefani revealed her next studio album You Make It Feel Like Christmas and revealed that the title track would be released as the lead single 4 Stefani spent much of summer 2017 residing with her fiance American singer Blake Shelton at his Oklahoma estate She had already began developing You Make It Feel Like Christmas and went on a run one morning in search of inspiration She started envisioning what her own original Christmas song would sound like and began writing the lyrics to what would later become the album s first song Christmas Eve 5 Under the Christmas Lights was written by Stefani Tranter and busbee with busbee and Eric Valentine serving as producers 6 The song was released for digital download and streaming on October 6 2017 by Interscope Records along with the rest of You Make It Feel Like Christmas 7 8 Under the Christmas Lights serves as one of the album s six original tracks and appears as the eighth track on the standard edition 9 Composition and lyrics edit nbsp Eric Valentine shown produced Under the Christmas Lights and several other tracks for You Make It Feel Like Christmas 2017 Under the Christmas Lights is a pop and Christmas song with a doo wop melody 10 11 Many instruments were used in the production of the song including bass bass trombone drums electric guitar flugelhorn flute piano piccolo timpani trombone and trumpet 12 The staff at Rolling Stone wrote that it sounds like a 1960s holiday song in response to Stefani who said the parent album was inspired by the Christmas music of Cher Phil Spector and the Osmonds 11 Under the Christmas Lights is set in the time signature of common time and has an average tempo of 120 beats per minute The key of the song is in D flat major and it follows the setup of verse chorus verse chorus Stefani s vocal range advances in the chord progressions of C G A F in the verses and Am F C G in the chorus 13 The track was mixed by Dave Clauss and engineered by Valentine Jonathan Sterling served as assistant engineer busbee and Dave Way served as lead vocals engineers and were assisted by Peter Chun Laura Mace Monet Owens and Dolly Sparks provided background vocals for the track with arrangements from Grace Potter 12 Lyrically the song mentions seasonal activities such as wrapping gifts and beginning traditions with loved ones She opens the song with Late night gotta do the wrapping I m running out of tape 14 With the six original songs on You Make It Feel Like Christmas many critics believed their lyrical content was inspired by Stefani s relationship with country singer Blake Shelton 15 In Under the Christmas Lights she sings When it s cold outside put your arms around me And we ll countdown to December 25 I thank God I got you cause you re all that I need Under the Christmas lights baby you and I 13 Reception editSal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine said that Under the Christmas Lights in addition to a few other tracks made up the mixed bag of songs on You Make It Feel Like Christmas he referred to the song as silly but equally relatable in terms of lyrical content 14 Alan Sculley a writer for the Montgomery Advertiser included the track with My Gift Is You as two of the successful original cuts off of the album 10 During the release week of You Make It Feel Like Christmas Under the Christmas Lights appeared on Billboard s Holiday Digital Song Sales component chart in the United States 16 On the issue dated October 27 2017 it peaked at number 16 becoming the fifth best selling song from the album that week 17 In Slovakia the song was sent out for airplay rotation prompting it to enter the Radio Hot 100 chart During the final week of 2017 it debuted at number 83 and as the tenth highest new entry Under the Christmas Lights was also one of three songs by Stefani to chart that particular week with You Make It Feel Like Christmas ranked at number 33 and her cover of White Christmas at number 86 18 Live performances edit Under the Christmas Lights was performed twice by Stefani during the 2017 holiday season Her first appearance was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on November 21 2017 when she was also a special guest 19 She was interviewed by Jimmy Fallon who asked her questions about recording You Make It Feel Like Christmas among others 20 She concluded the show by performing the track and was accompanied by the Roots the house band for the television series 11 21 On her Christmas television special Gwen Stefani s You Make It Feel Like Christmas which was broadcast on NBC on December 12 2017 she performed Under the Christmas Lights as the sixth song on the set list 22 She wore a Nutcracker inspired uniform complete with green sleeves and red bows plus a little bit of punk flair with plaid add ons around her waist fishnets and thigh high boots Emily Krauser from Entertainment Tonight enjoyed the performance writing she gave little drummer boys everywhere a run for their money 23 The performance from the televised special was uploaded to Stefani s official Vevo account on December 30 2017 24 Credits and personnel editCredits adapted from the liner notes of You Make It Feel Like Christmas 12 Gwen Stefani writer lead vocals Justin Tranter writer busbee writer production Eric Valentine production Laura Mace background vocals Monet Owens background vocals Dolly Sparks background vocals Sean Hurley bass Ryan Dragon bass trombone Aaron Sterling drums Greg Camp electric guitar hand claps John Storie electric guitar hand claps Stewart Cole flugelhorn trumpet David Moyer flute piccolo Matthew Musty percussion timpani hand claps Patrick Warren piano Danny Levin trombone Jamie Hovorka trumpetCharts editChart performance for Under the Christmas Lights Chart 2017 Peak position Slovakia Radio Top 100 18 83 US Holiday Digital Song Sales Billboard 16 16References edit Benjamin Jeff July 14 2017 Gwen Stefani Is Releasing New Music This Year Fuse Archived from the original on July 14 2017 Retrieved July 24 2017 Wass Mike August 2 2017 Festive It Looks Like Gwen Stefani Is Recording a Christmas Album Idolator Retrieved August 9 2017 O Neill Lauren August 2 2017 Sia and Gwen Stefani Both Apparently Have Christmas Albums Coming Vice Archived from the original on August 9 2017 Retrieved August 9 2017 Tenreyro Tatiana September 21 2017 Gwen Stefani Teases You Make It Feel Like Christmas Album Watch Preview Billboard Archived from the original on September 22 2017 Retrieved September 22 2017 Vain Madison October 12 2017 Gwen Stefani s Christmas fantasy is to be Mariah Carey Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on December 22 2017 Retrieved December 21 2017 You Make It Feel Like Christmas CD liner notes Gwen Stefani Interscope 2017 02557 84801 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Under The Christmas Lights by Gwen Stefani on Amazon Music Amazon Music US October 6 2017 Retrieved February 21 2020 References regarding the release of You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani on Apple Music You Make It Feel Like Christmas Gwen Stefani Apple Music AU October 6 2017 Archived from the original on October 14 2020 Retrieved October 28 2020 You Make It Feel Like Christmas Gwen Stefani Apple Music CA October 6 2017 Archived from the original on October 28 2020 Retrieved October 28 2020 You Make It Feel Like Christmas Gwen Stefani Apple Music GB October 6 2017 Archived from the original on November 19 2020 Retrieved October 28 2020 You Make It Feel Like Christmas Gwen Stefani Apple Music NZ October 6 2017 Archived from the original on October 14 2020 Retrieved October 28 2020 You Make It Feel Like Christmas Gwen Stefani Apple Music US October 6 2017 Archived from the original on October 27 2020 Retrieved October 28 2020 Thomas Erlewine Stephen Gwen Stefani You Make It Feel Like Christmas AllMusic Archived from the original on February 27 2018 Retrieved October 7 2016 a b Sculley Alan December 18 2017 2017 Holiday Album Guide Montgomery Advertiser Retrieved February 29 2020 a b c Rolling Stone staff November 22 2017 Watch Gwen Stefani Perform Sixties Inspired Christmas Song on Fallon Rolling Stone Archived from the original on November 26 2017 Retrieved February 21 2020 a b c You Make It Feel Like Christmas CD liner notes Gwen Stefani Deluxe ed Interscope 2018 02577 07279 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Stefani Gwen Tranter Justin Busbee Michael 2017 Under the Christmas Lights Sheet Music Lyrics by Michael Busbee Gwen Stefani Justin Tranter Interscope Records a b Cinquemani Sal October 6 2017 Gwen Stefani You Make It Feel Like Christmas Slant Magazine Archived from the original on October 25 2017 Retrieved February 20 2020 McRady Rachel October 6 2017 Gwen Stefani Releases Christmas Album Filled With Blake Shelton References Listen to Her Wedding Ring Lyric Entertainment Tonight Archived from the original on November 15 2017 Retrieved February 21 2020 a b Gwen Stefani Chart History Holiday Digital Song Sales Billboard Archived from the original on November 6 2018 Retrieved February 20 2020 Holiday Digital Songs October 28 2017 Billboard October 28 2017 Archived from the original on December 5 2017 Retrieved February 21 2020 a b CNS IFPI in Slovak Hitparada Radio Top 100 Oficialna IFPI Czech Republic Archived from the original on May 6 2019 Retrieved February 20 2020 Note select SK Radio Top 100 from the first dropdown menu and 201751 52 from the second dropdown menu then select Zobrazit to view the correct URL Davis Chris November 22 2017 Live Gwen Stefani Under the Christmas Lights Mix 93 1 Retrieved February 21 2020 McRady Rachel November 22 2017 Gwen Stefani Reveals the Hilarious Christmas Gift She s Getting Blake Shelton Entertainment Tonight Archived from the original on November 25 2017 Retrieved February 21 2020 Former Rare staff member December 20 2017 Gwen Stefani performs a Christmas classic on The Tonight Show and absolutely sleighs it Rare Archived from the original on February 22 2019 Retrieved February 21 2020 Skye Fadroski Kelli November 9 2017 3 things to look forward to in Gwen Stefani s NBC holiday special Daily Breeze Archived from the original on December 13 2017 Retrieved February 21 2020 Krauser Emily December 12 2017 See All of Gwen Stefani s Amazingly Festive Christmas Special Looks Entertainment Tonight Archived from the original on April 26 2018 Retrieved February 21 2020 Stefani Gwen December 30 2017 Under The Christmas Lights Live From Gwen Stefani s You Make It Feel Like Christmas YouTube Vevo US Archived from the original on March 24 2019 Retrieved February 21 2020 External links edit Under the Christmas Lights live video from Gwen Stefani s You Make It Feel Like Christmas on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Under the Christmas Lights amp oldid 1121977653, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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