Carrie Underwood And John Legend Appear In Festive Music Video And Perform Hallelujah

Nov 21, 2020 by apost team

In a new music video from Carrie Underwood and John Legend, which first premiered live on Facebook Watch on November 19, the two music superstars get festive for a Christmas-themed performance of Hallelujah. The original song — not to be confused with Leonard Cohen’s ‘80s hit — is off of Underwood’s most recent album, the festively titled My Gift. The album is out now.

While the music video premiered on Facebook Watch, the social media giant’s on-demand video service, viewers can enjoy the performance on YouTube, following its Saturday, November 21 release.

Directed by Randee St. Nicholas, the video is full of wintery visuals — that means plenty of snow, a cozy fireplace, and no shortage of Christmas trees. And given that the song is off of Underwood’s Christmas album, there is no dearth of holiday spirit. Much of the performance takes place in an extravagant room with a piano in the middle. As the snow falls and doves fly overhead, Legend — wearing warm gloves — plays the piano and sings as Underwood harmonizes. While we can’t be sure, 37-year-old Underwood’s sparkly dress and makeup certainly conjure up images of Christmas angels.

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If you can’t get enough of the song, don’t worry. Underwood’s album, which came out in September of 2020, is full of festive tracks that are bound to inspire holiday cheer. The country singer’s 7th studio album, produced by Greg Wells, has 11 tracks, including classics like Silent Night, Joyful, Oh Joyful We Adore Thee, O Holy Night, and The Little Drummer Boy. Interestingly, that last track, the well-known Christmas standard, actually features Underwood's 5-year-old son Isaiah, too. 

“(Isaiah) loves to sing," Underwood told The Associated Press. "He loves music. He definitely has that passion and I asked him, ‘Would you ever want to go in and sing with Mommy?’ He said, ‘Yes,’” Underwood continued. “I told everybody, ‘This might not even work. This might be a terrible idea.’ ... (And) he went in and he did such a great job. He was throwing his hands up in the air and was so excited and had all these cute 5-year-old emotions just pouring out of him.”

“It was just such a proud moment for me as a mom," Underwood added.

Somewhat surprisingly, the album sold fairly well despite the fact that it released months before Christmas — but then again, we all know someone who’s in the Christmas mood as early as September. According to Billboard, the album sold 43,000 copies in its first week, which meant that it debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Country Albums Chart. Perhaps there’s such an appetite for Underwood’s album because of the message it sends.

In the interview with The Associated Press, Underwood agreed that she wanted the album to "bring light to people."

"I feel like we ended up with something that we’re really proud of and hopefully can be a little soundtrack to hopefully a joyous, happy time this year," Underwood said. "We all need it. We need something to look forward to. I’ve always said, too, Christmas kind of marks the end of the year. You get Christmas done, you got the presents, you got the food, it’s over. Let’s welcome in the next year. I feel like people are looking forward to that finish line."

For those of you who are more Legend fans than Underwood devotees, the 41-year-old singer/songwriter also has a Christmas album of his own. A Legendary Christmas, Legend’s sixth studio album, came out in October 2018, and it eventually went on to win a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Legend’s album — like Underwoods — also has quite a few notable features, including Stevie Wonder, Esperanza Spalding, and Kelly Clarkson.

In Andy Kellman’s AllMusic review of the album, he writes, “Produced by Raphael Saadiq, with whom Legend collaborated on Once Again highlight "Show Me," the LP is joyously nostalgic, decked with strings, horns, and a trio of background vocalists including secret weapon Sy Smith.”

Regardless if that sounds like something you’d be into, it’s worth checking out the below video just to see two talented musicians join forces — and if not for that, check it out for the music video alone! There are some truly beautiful moments. Watch the full music video below:

What do you think of Underwood's song? Are you already in the mood for the holidays? Let us know and pass this story on to others to get them into the holiday spirit!