By Gavin Boyle
Country music legend Carrie Underwood made a surprise appearance onstage at her church to lead the congregation in multiple Christmas songs.
“Her singing this song & ‘How Great Thou Art’ are my favs,” one fan wrote on a video of Underwood singing “O Holy Night.” Another fan added, “Beautiful. Merry Christmas to all.”
Underwood has been connected with Christmas music for years, releasing a full album in 2020 to celebrate the season. The album My Gift features a collaboration with John Legend, along with a rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” featuring her young son.
Related: Carrie Underwood Calls ‘Singing In Church’ Her Favorite Christmas Memory
“‘Little Drummer Boy’ is a central song in My Gift. That’s where the title of the album came from, and it;’s one of my favorite Christmas songs. I started thinking about what would make it extra special, so I have a very special duet partner,” Underwood said about the album. “[My son] loves to sing, and that is so his personality. He’ll make crafts, or he’ll do things for you, and he’s like, ‘Didn’t I do a good job? Didn’t I do my best? Are you proud of me?’ And it’s the sweetest ting. And I just thought his sweet little voice would sound perfect.”
“If nothing else, I will have this for the rest of my life. I think it’s the perfect piece of the puzzle for this whole album,” she added.
A lifelong Christian, the songs that Underwood chose to include on the album were songs that she grew up singing. Because they were songs that she was intimately familiar with, she expected it to be an easier process than it ended up being.
“I had the illusion that making a Christmas album was just going to be super easy. Right? I knew I wanted to do a lot of standards, and then when you have been singing something your whole life, and there’s so many different versions, it was interesting to find a way that it’s still true to tradition, but then also find yourself in it as an artist,” she explained. “I made demos on my phone before we went to record them just so everybody could get a handle of what things were going to sound like.”
Returning to the church to lead the congregation in worship brings Underwood back to the start of her career as the first time she ever was given a solo was on a church stage.
“The first time I ever sang a solo in front of people was at church. I must have been six or seven years old. It was so scary, all those grown-ups listening to me. But the minute I opened my mouth, it wasn’t just me doing it. Something welled up inside me, something I couldn’t keep for myself. Sometimes you don’t realize how powerful a gift is till you share it,” Underwood recalled.
It is amazing to see such an icon of the industry remain true to her faith and donate her talent to the church through wonderful renditions of classic holiday songs.
Read Next: Carrie Underwood Gets in the Christmas Spirit at Church
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