When Carrie Underwood released “Cry Pretty” in 2018, she unleashed a lot of emotion in the song. Written while Carrie was dealing with the aftermath of both her fall and her three miscarriages, co-writer Lori McKenna praises the American Idol alum for being willing to bare her soul in the anthemic tune.
“It started with the title,” Lori recalled to Entertainment Weekly. speaking of the song she wrote with Carrie, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose. “It got thrown around the room and Carrie was willing to go there. For her to be that vulnerable and talk about not having your s— together all the time, I thought, was so brave. With someone in the public eye that much you don’t know. She’s really great to write with.
“She’s a hell of a writer,’ Lori continued. “And the makeup and the visual they put with it was so great, and gave everyone a glimpse of her being vulnerable. When you don’t feel like you can lose your s— for a minute, you can and then you’ll be okay again.”
“Cry Pretty” was the title track of Carrie’s latest album. The Oklahoma native just announced the release of her first Christmas album, My Gift, on September 25.
“I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas album and it’s been a long time coming,” Carrie said of the holiday project. “I knew this would be my next music project after wrapping my tour last year, and I think it’s turned out to be the perfect time for an album like this, in this period of such personal and spiritual reflection.
“For me, it’s more important than ever to focus on the true meaning of Christmas in a project like this,” she continued. “Even though it has been a tough year for all of us, sometimes I feel like the greatest realizations can be inspired by the most difficult times, and make us more grateful for the things we do have and for what truly matters.”
The album’s title came from a line in one of Carrie’s favorite Christmas songs.
“It’s really hard naming a Christmas album,” Carrie said. “I tried to think about the songs that were in it. I started thinking about individual songs. One of my favorites is ‘Little Drummer Boy.’ It’s one of my favorites because the sentiment behind it is just so honest. There’s a little boy, and of course I think of my five-year-old Isaiah. They’re bringing gifts to baby Jesus. He doesn’t have anything; he’s poor. So he says, ‘I know. I’m gonna play my drum for Him. That’s what I have.’
“To me, that’s a gift that was given to him by God, his love of music,” she continued. “I imagine he was a good little drummer. I love music; I love singing. That is my personal little gift that I get to do, that I’m so blessed to do. I want to use that gift, and I want to give it back to Jesus. That’s why I landed on My Gift as an album title.”
My Gift will also be available on vinyl on October 30. Pre-order the album here.
