The Voice alumni Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande are two of the most celebrated singers in the industry for obvious reasons. But if you (somehow) need evidence explaining why, look no further than their duet from Clarkson’s 2021 NBC holiday special, When Christmas Comes Around.
The two performed their festive track “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me?” for the special. And get this: They didn’t rehearse before doing the taping. “It literally was the first time that we had been in the same room singing it,” Clarkson told Entertainment Tonight. “And it’s a pretty detailed song!”
Grande added, “Oh, it’s a vocal. We switch harmonies almost every verse, or every pre-chorus, we flip-flop what we’re singing. It was really fun.”
Clarkson told ET she was inspired to put Grande on “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me?” after they performed together with Coaches Blake Shelton and John Legend for The Voice Season 21 premiere. Clarkson almost scrapped “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me?” from her 2021 holiday album but told ET, “[The Coaches] all did this group performance, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I should make [‘Santa, Can’t You Hear Me?’] a duet!’ ‘Cause I loved how [Grande and I] sounded together.”
For the When Christmas Comes Around performance, Clarkson and Grande went retro glitz with their style—an aesthetic Clarkson loves.
“I’m not really into fashion until it’s like, Old Hollywood,” Clarkson told ET, while Grande added, “She kills Old Hollywood glam.”
