Grown-Up Christmas List

"Grown-Up Christmas List"
Single by Amy Grant
from the album Home for Christmas
Released	1992 (US)
Format	Promo CD single
Recorded	1992
Genre	Christmas, pop
Length	3:44
Label	A&M, Word Records
Writer(s)	David Foster, Linda Thompson-Jenner, Amy Grant
Amy Grant singles chronology
"Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)" (1992) "Grown-Up Christmas List" (1992) "Let the Season Take Wing" (1992) Music video "Grown-Up Christmas List" on YouTube

"Grown-Up Christmas List" (sometimes titled "My Grown-Up Christmas List") is a Christmas song composed by David Foster (music) and Linda Thompson-Jenner (lyrics),^[1] and originally recorded by Foster (with singer Natalie Cole on vocals) for his 1990 non-holiday album River of Love. Though it was also released as a single, the song was not a hit upon its first appearance. In 1992, however, Amy Grant recorded a version for her second holiday album, Home for Christmas. Grant's version featured altered lyrics and an additional verse that Grant penned herself. Her record label at the time, A&M Records, promoted the song as the second single from the album, and it received substantially more radio airplay than the original version by Foster.

The song is about a visit with Santa Claus by an adult who does not ask Santa for anything material for Christmas, but rather nothing but good things for all humanity.

The original version by David Foster with Natalie Cole also appeared on Foster's 1993 holiday set, The Christmas Album.^[2]

In 2003, former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson performed "Grown-Up Christmas List" on the show's Christmas special, which resulted in renewed airplay of the song during the holiday season that year.

Music video

A&M Records released a music video for Amy Grant's recording of the song, featuring an appearance by Grant's son, Matthew Chapman. Grant's version is the one most people associate with the song.

List of notable recordings

The song has been frequently covered by other artists, including:

• Bryan Duncan (1995)
• Chuck Negron (1996)^[3]
• B.J. Thomas (1997)^[4]
• Donny Osmond (1998)
• Monica (2000)^[5]
• Barbra Streisand (2001)^[6]
• Ginette Reno (2002)^[7]
• Michael Bublé (2003)
• Kelly Clarkson (2003)
• Lea Salonga (2004)
• The Manhattan Transfer (2005)
• Jane Monheit (2005)
• Regine Velasquez (2005)
• Clay Aiken (2006)
• Ayaka Hirahara (2006)
• Luis Miguel (2006)
• Ayla Brown (2007)
• Aretha Franklin (from the album This Christmas, Aretha) (2008)
• Kyla (2008)
• Rissi Palmer (2008)
• Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus (2008)
• Rodney Carrington (2009)
• Joe (2009)
• Charice (2010)
• The Veronicas (2010)

The 2000 version by Monica also contains a second verse penned by Thompson-Jenner. Kelly Clarkson's 2003 version was the first version to make any of Billboard's singles chart; her rendition peaked at no. 17 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart during the Christmas holiday season of 2003.

Track listing (Amy Grant single)

1. "Grown Up Christmas List – Edit 3:44"
2. "Grown Up Christmas List – LP Version 5:00"

References

1. ^ Holden, Stephen (December 10, 1993). "Holiday Noises, Joyful and Otherwise, on Disk", The New York Times, p. C33.
2. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (November 26, 1993). "Spicing up the season: Holiday albums abound", Philadelphia Daily News, p. 72.
3. ^ Gundersen, Edna (December 16, 1996). "Getting in tune with the holiday season", USA Today, p. D4.
4. ^ Galante Block, Debbie (August 23, 1997). "Holi-discs for '97 marry Christmas to every conceivable musical genre", Billboard 109 (34): 64–5.
5. ^ Harrington, Richard (December 10, 2000). "Musicmakers, Taking Up the Santa Cause: From Christina Aguilera to – Yikes! – Rosie O'Donnell, the Sounds of the Season Packaged Just for You", The Washington Post, p. G5.
6. ^ Mervis, Scott (November 23, 2001). "Holiday gems & lumps of coal: Santa's got a mixed bag of new Christmas music", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. W1.
7. ^ Blakey, Bob (December 8, 2002). "Sounds of the season: Ginette Reno: The First Noel", Calgary Herald, p. D5.