Speaker 1: Autumn has arrived, and with it all the good stuff
Speaker 1: like thick, snuggly sweaters, boots and blue jeans. Pumpkins spice everything,
Speaker 1: as well as everyone not so silently wishing to fast
Speaker 1: forward to Christmas and New Year so we can say
Speaker 1: goodbye to twenty twenty. Today's podcast is going to enable
Speaker 1: that emotion more than just a little bit, because I'm
Speaker 1: going to be talking to a music artist that is
Speaker 1: launching her first ever Christmas album, and it's full. I
Speaker 1: gotta sneak peek, I got a sneak preview, I got
Speaker 1: to listen to it. I listened to it over and over.
Speaker 1: It is full of beautifully inspired songs, combining traditional favorites
Speaker 1: that celebrate the miracle of the Christ Child's birth and
Speaker 1: several new original songs. I'm telling you it might be
Speaker 1: my favorite Christmas album ever. It's that good. Fresh from
Speaker 1: her fifteenth American Country Music Award, her third for Entertainer
Speaker 1: of the Year, having already made history as the first
Speaker 1: female to win twice, now the only female ever to
Speaker 1: win three times, MS Carrie Underwood joins us to talk
Speaker 1: about her new Christmas album, My Gift. Right after I
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Speaker 1: How doers get more done? Terry Underwood, welcome, Thank you
Speaker 1: for being here with us today. This is your first
Speaker 1: Christmas album, right it is. I've had the chance over
Speaker 1: the years to kind of do some some Christmas songs
Speaker 1: and events and stuff like that here and there, but
Speaker 1: this is my first like full Christmas album. You told
Speaker 1: me earlier that this was actually birth back in tw
Speaker 1: nineteen for release this year. Could you have ever imagined
Speaker 1: when you first started putting this together what a bizarre
Speaker 1: year we would have and what a much needed gift.
Speaker 1: I mean, did you pick out the title beforehand or no? Um?
Speaker 1: When we started, you know, after the Cry Pretty Tour
Speaker 1: UM wrapped last year, it was kind of like, I
Speaker 1: was like, I want to do a Christmas album next
Speaker 1: and I want to do it. I want to do
Speaker 1: it a sap, you know, and I want to do
Speaker 1: it next year because it just seems like the perfect
Speaker 1: the perfect time in my busy world to do a
Speaker 1: Christmas album, which is something I've always wanted to do. UM.
Speaker 1: So we we got the wheels turning and you know,
Speaker 1: started working on it and laying the foundation, and then
Speaker 1: everything happened and you know, February March ish and everything
Speaker 1: got shut down and um due to COVID and UM.
Speaker 1: You know, it's just all about what we we got
Speaker 1: to keep moving forward. You know, we've already worked on
Speaker 1: it and and got a lot of the foundation LAIDs,
Speaker 1: so let's just figure it out and throughout the whole process.
Speaker 1: A Little drummer Boy was a song that I knew
Speaker 1: I I wanted to sing it's one of my my
Speaker 1: favorites because I loved the story behind it. Um, little
Speaker 1: boy wants to give a gift to Jesus and he
Speaker 1: doesn't have anything because he's he's poor, and uh, he
Speaker 1: takes a gift that was given to him by God,
Speaker 1: the gift of music, the gift of drumming, and uh,
Speaker 1: he wants to take that to Jesus. And I just
Speaker 1: love that whole story and and through that, the album
Speaker 1: titled My Gift kind of came to mind because that
Speaker 1: is that's my gift as far as that's what I
Speaker 1: get to do. You know that love of music, um,
Speaker 1: and music in general is just is a gift to
Speaker 1: us all, and you know that's something that I want
Speaker 1: to hopefully give back, give back in a in a
Speaker 1: positive way. Uh. Then that led me to asking my
Speaker 1: son to sing on it with me, because he's just
Speaker 1: such a sweet little guy and the kind of kid
Speaker 1: that would definitely make something and want to take it
Speaker 1: to someone and be so proud of it, because that's
Speaker 1: how a child's mind works. And I love that. And
Speaker 1: your little boy's name is his name is Isaiah. Uh.
Speaker 1: I couldn't wait for you to say that because my
Speaker 1: firstborn son's name is Isaiah, and it means it means
Speaker 1: gift from God, God's warrior. Did you know that? Yes?
Speaker 1: I did, and that's why we named him that. How appropriate.
Speaker 1: And now he's singing with you and giving the gift
Speaker 1: of music to all of us. How perfect? I mean,
Speaker 1: it's like full circle. Yes. And and he even at
Speaker 1: five years old, I feel like he has such a
Speaker 1: an understanding. Sometimes the things that he says are the
Speaker 1: questions that he asks, it's just like wow. You you
Speaker 1: sit around and you think about this, and it seems
Speaker 1: like he already has such a spiritual understanding. And um,
Speaker 1: he's he's such a sinker kid, and I love that
Speaker 1: about him. And you know, I wasn't sure how he
Speaker 1: would be in the studio. And you know, he he
Speaker 1: loves music. He loves to sing. Um. He has such
Speaker 1: a mind for lyrics, which I find so interesting because
Speaker 1: I feel like, even as a little kid, I just
Speaker 1: knew the words to songs and he's the same way.
Speaker 1: So it's fun to see his love of music, you know,
Speaker 1: start to develop. And um, I had no idea how
Speaker 1: he would be in the studio, but he was right
Speaker 1: at home. He walked in, he put the little headphones
Speaker 1: on and got in front of the microphone and um,
Speaker 1: you know saying his a little hard out. So it
Speaker 1: was so much fun for me to get to experience
Speaker 1: that with him, something that I love so much, um
Speaker 1: and have that moment with him. And I mean, he
Speaker 1: did such an incredible, incredible job. So the album is
Speaker 1: called My Gift. It dropped on the September, which we're
Speaker 1: all happy about because we we need some holiday cheer.
Speaker 1: We need that um you know, Jennie and I call
Speaker 1: it hot cocoa and fuzzy mittens. Even if you're in Florida.
Speaker 1: You need hot cocoa and fuzzy mintens this year, especially
Speaker 1: because there's so much divide ausiveness in our world, so
Speaker 1: much anger and animosity, so much fear. I think especially
Speaker 1: fear has gripped people and stolen their joy, so much
Speaker 1: frustration with homeschooling, and yeah that that we need a
Speaker 1: little Christmas and we need a little joy and we
Speaker 1: need hope. Yes, I've always been um, you know, in
Speaker 1: previous years, whenever you go to the store or um,
Speaker 1: I mean anywhere really the Walgreens down the street, you know,
Speaker 1: you you walk in in like October and see um
Speaker 1: see Christmas recreations. And I would always be one of
Speaker 1: those people that was a little bit annoyed that, you
Speaker 1: know it was it was so it was too early
Speaker 1: for Christmas, because Christmas means you got to get the
Speaker 1: presents for everybody, you gotta figure out travel plants and
Speaker 1: who you're gonna see when you're gonna see him, and
Speaker 1: everybody would have Christmas parties that you know, you're trying
Speaker 1: to bring stuff for and it just becomes a lot
Speaker 1: for so many people and definitely for me around the holidays.
Speaker 1: And this year is so different because it is like,
Speaker 1: bring on Christmas, you know, and we know this Christmas
Speaker 1: probably isn't going to look like Christmas is past, and
Speaker 1: you know, forget about those holiday parties and it's it's
Speaker 1: going to be one of those things. I feel like
Speaker 1: that it's like, you know, you miss you missed the
Speaker 1: way you missed, the way it all was, the way
Speaker 1: it all used to be and hopefully the way it
Speaker 1: will be again. But in the meantime, I think that
Speaker 1: the goodness and the the ability to not have to
Speaker 1: do all that stuff and to go all those places
Speaker 1: and to slow down might be a gift in and
Speaker 1: of itself. I agree. I agree, And get to have
Speaker 1: those warm, fuzzy feelings and you know, the hope and
Speaker 1: the joy and um, spend time with your immediate family
Speaker 1: and there are blessings in in everything. You know, you
Speaker 1: just have to look for him sometimes. So what has
Speaker 1: been Carrie Underwood for you? The hardest part of what's
Speaker 1: been the the hardest pill to swallow, the hardest adjustment
Speaker 1: to make. I mean, it's got to be hard to
Speaker 1: not be out performing because I know that, at least
Speaker 1: from what it looks like being in the audience, you
Speaker 1: love to entertain people. I mean, you are so filled
Speaker 1: with energy when you're on stage, and the energy you're
Speaker 1: putting out is such a powerful You're tiny, but it's
Speaker 1: like massively huge energy you're sharing with all of us.
Speaker 1: Has it been hard to not get to do that? Well?
Speaker 1: My my personality is a bit uh. I'm a planner.
Speaker 1: I like it when things go to plan. I like
Speaker 1: to know what's next. I want to know what I'm
Speaker 1: doing tomorrow, next week, next month, in six month. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm I'm very Taipei that way, and I
Speaker 1: like to know what my kids are doing and how
Speaker 1: how their lives are shaken out. And um, this year
Speaker 1: for me has just been, um, just a year like
Speaker 1: everybody of of curveballs, and you know, it's it's kind
Speaker 1: of forced forced me to figure out new ways to
Speaker 1: do things, which honestly, again in finding blessings and the
Speaker 1: strangest of times, you know, I feel like that has been. Um,
Speaker 1: it's been good for me to figure out new ways
Speaker 1: to do things and to keep making music and being
Speaker 1: creative and doing what I love and and just roll
Speaker 1: with it because there's nothing you can do, you know,
Speaker 1: so you want to keep moving forward, so you just
Speaker 1: figure it out. So that's that's definitely been, you know,
Speaker 1: the the hardest part. But also it's been a good teacher.
Speaker 1: See I'm I'm the opposite. I hate having to plan
Speaker 1: things out in advance. When I'm asked to do like
Speaker 1: a speaker circuit or a book tour or something, and
Speaker 1: they're like, Okay, we need to know what if we
Speaker 1: can schedule this for February, Like, what are you talking about?
Speaker 1: I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. How can I
Speaker 1: commit to something a year or two years out? I can't.
Speaker 1: I can't do it. So for me. It's been really
Speaker 1: nice to not have to have that. But for somebody
Speaker 1: like you who's a planner, and it sounds like you're
Speaker 1: very organized, Like do you know where your tupperware lids are?
Speaker 1: That matches the containers? I do everything stucked up nicely,
Speaker 1: and uh in in rows and the big bowls. There's
Speaker 1: like bowls and the bowls all the way to the
Speaker 1: little bowl on the top. I knew it. And you
Speaker 1: know where socks are the match too, huh? I do?
Speaker 1: I do. I am constantly fighting a toddler though, who
Speaker 1: loves to go get in the tupperware drawer, so he
Speaker 1: I have to kind of let him destroy drawers every
Speaker 1: once in a while so that I could make dinner,
Speaker 1: and then I have to go pick them all up
Speaker 1: and put them all back the way they they were
Speaker 1: years ago. I found the key to that. I have
Speaker 1: a drawer that is designated, it's a whole cupboard in
Speaker 1: the kitchen, but not under my feet that is designated
Speaker 1: just for the toddlers, and everything else is off limits.
Speaker 1: And I'll pick up you know, stuff at the dollar
Speaker 1: store just to throw in there, just to surprise him,
Speaker 1: so it's you know, it's new every now and again
Speaker 1: and that way. That's the designated toddler cupboard. You might
Speaker 1: try it. It might work. That's a good idea, it
Speaker 1: really is. I have that kid though. That's uh, he
Speaker 1: gets quiet. Wait a minute, where did you go? What
Speaker 1: are you doing? Yeah? It was a minute. They're quiet. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Carrie Underwood, My Gift available now out, incredibly beautiful collection.
Speaker 1: How many of the songs on it are new because
Speaker 1: some of them? A lot of them are standards. I
Speaker 1: think we ended up with four and my favorite Hallelujah
Speaker 1: with John Legend. Yes, you were telling me earlier that
Speaker 1: you two ended up recording it together apart. Do you
Speaker 1: think you'll ever get to sing it together together? I
Speaker 1: sure hope so. Um. And you know a lot of
Speaker 1: a lot of My Gift was was done that way.
Speaker 1: My producer was in l A and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: he was on zoom with me, as I I say,
Speaker 1: he was in the studio with me, like in the
Speaker 1: room and the vocal booth, and um, I would I
Speaker 1: would sing and you know, try not to pay attention
Speaker 1: to him and then be like, how how did that sound?
Speaker 1: Because he had kind of a he could hear what
Speaker 1: I was doing in good speakers where he was. But
Speaker 1: it was just that thing of of figuring out new
Speaker 1: ways to work and John was so I recorded my
Speaker 1: part first, and then he went in and recorded his
Speaker 1: part in l A and then I went back in
Speaker 1: and and ended up doing some harmonies and stuff like
Speaker 1: that on top of what he did. So it was
Speaker 1: it was a process and definitely a different way to record,
Speaker 1: but it was really good. And I like to say,
Speaker 1: throughout this whole process of making this album, you know,
Speaker 1: I feel like it's really been watched over. You know,
Speaker 1: the fact that we started working on it at the
Speaker 1: end of last year, the fact that I asked Greg
Speaker 1: Wells to be my producer on this project. I feel
Speaker 1: like if I if we waited a little longer, if
Speaker 1: I picked a different producer. Um, you know, even things
Speaker 1: like when when John sent made that song, you know,
Speaker 1: it's just the perfect puzzle piece, the last puzzle piece
Speaker 1: that I was like, oh my gosh, Now I couldn't
Speaker 1: imagine this album without that song. So, you know, there's
Speaker 1: just been so many, so many things that have happened
Speaker 1: throughout the whole process that I feel like it's just
Speaker 1: been watched over and we've managed to uh to make
Speaker 1: this you know, this album that I'm I'm so proud
Speaker 1: of and it was such a bright spot in my year,
Speaker 1: and I hope we can help provide the part of
Speaker 1: the soundtrack to what what it has to be a
Speaker 1: good Christmas. It just has to be. Well, We're going
Speaker 1: to make it a good Christmas. We're gonna learn to roll,
Speaker 1: We're going to learn to adapt, We're going to remind
Speaker 1: people why we celebrate Christmas. When I got the album,
Speaker 1: I got a sneak preview. I didn't it didn't have
Speaker 1: any of the information of the tracks. It was just
Speaker 1: the tracks. I think if I had opened it on
Speaker 1: my computer, I could have found all the information. But
Speaker 1: I opened it on my phone, and I was in
Speaker 1: my car, and yeah, and I was listening, and with
Speaker 1: each song I listened to, my heart felt more at
Speaker 1: peace and more joy. And then another song would come
Speaker 1: on and I would think, oh my gosh, I couldn't
Speaker 1: feel any happier than I felt just listening to that one.
Speaker 1: And then Hallelujah came on and I was raising my
Speaker 1: hands and praising God while you and John Legend we're singing,
Speaker 1: and the joy care I don't know how to describe it.
Speaker 1: It was like bubbling out of me the joy I felt,
Speaker 1: and I just I want people to feel that joy
Speaker 1: this year. We need it so desperately, we do. Um.
Speaker 1: I felt the same way when I was recording it.
Speaker 1: You know. Um there'd be there'll be times when I'd
Speaker 1: have to like pause because I would either feel so
Speaker 1: happy or does love love the lyrics that I was
Speaker 1: singing so much that I would get a little choked
Speaker 1: up and kind of have to have a have a
Speaker 1: second to gather myself. But it was just, you know,
Speaker 1: it was a pleasure to make and still get to
Speaker 1: create and you know this, uh, this thing that I've
Speaker 1: been wanting to do for so long, make a Christmas album, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, get to do it in the strangest of years.
Speaker 1: It was just a great heartwarming thing for me to
Speaker 1: be able to do. So I hope that does come
Speaker 1: through in when people listen to them. You know the
Speaker 1: Book of Esther in the Bible, her uncle Mordecai says
Speaker 1: to her, you were born for such a time as this,
Speaker 1: and that verse keeps coming back to my heart over
Speaker 1: and over again. This year. I know that everything that
Speaker 1: that that that has happened in my career has led
Speaker 1: me to be here on the air for such a
Speaker 1: time as this, And that's how I felt listening to
Speaker 1: this whole album from beginning to end. I was I
Speaker 1: was weeping it silent night, the like it it was birth,
Speaker 1: and you carry underwood for such a time as this,
Speaker 1: for this Christmas season when we so desperately need that
Speaker 1: gift of God's peace. Thank you for that. I love that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I know there's a lot of reasons that
Speaker 1: you're here, and a lot of reasons your music has
Speaker 1: blessed us, But that's how I felt listening to this
Speaker 1: Christmas album and hearing the lyrics. So Merry Christmas, and
Speaker 1: thank you for sharing it with us. Thank you, and
Speaker 1: Merry Christmas to you too, alright, God bless you, Han,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you very much. Thank you for all
Speaker 1: of that carry. We are so thrilled that you have
Speaker 1: created this new Christmas music for us. We need it,
Speaker 1: We need it now. We are grateful for expanding our
Speaker 1: holiday playlists, bringing holiday cheer, talking about peace on earth
Speaker 1: and goodwill to all in the process. And my friends,
Speaker 1: if you haven't done so already, get Carrie's Christmas album
Speaker 1: My gift and unwrap it right away, pick up, find
Speaker 1: your path, and download her fitness app fit fifty two.
Speaker 1: You'll be on your way to a healthier, happier, more
Speaker 1: energetic version of you. For the holiday season and the
Speaker 1: new year ahead, and in the midst of it all,
Speaker 1: remember your fortunes, Remember how blessed we are. Be generous
Speaker 1: to others, and take some time to slow down and
Speaker 1: love someone