Grammy-award winning R&B singer/songwriter Susan Carol rendered a stunning, peaceful, but powerful performance of her Christmas song, “Mistletoe” at the live recording of the Essence Holiday Celebration of Joy.
The Essence Holiday Celebration of Joy special filmed in Atlanta and Los Angeles, according to a press release. The holiday special premiered on Thanksgiving Day on YouTube and Essence.com.
The special bridged the holiday season, faith music and community- a live showcase of good-feeling music to get you in the spirit for the holiday season.
Carol, who is also a gifted guitar player, starts the set by playing a guitar solo, said “it was surreal to be on the Essence stag First of all, I felt like I was in a dream,I was like, I can’t believe I’m here.”
Carol said she quickly wrote the Christmas ballad and formulated chords to prepare for the show. After coming up with the chords and lyrics, she sent it to legendary producer MyGuyMars to beef it up.
“Mistltoe” talks about falling in love during the Christmas season- featuring kisses under the mistletoe and drinking hot cocoa. She’s giving her presence as a gift and asking for the same in return for her gift.
Carol’s acoustic set sounded like a winter wonderland. She has a voice that carries itself with effortless runs and a vintage sound.Carol sounded confident when performing and looked like she was home on the stage.
Carol said she writes songs from life and her real experiences, with inspiration from God.
But everything hasn’t been merry and bright for the singer/songwriter lately. Less than two weeks prior to her stellar performance, Carol went live on Instagram from her car on a rainy day about how life has been challenging for her lately, which is not her norm, she said.
“That day I felt led to share,” Carol said. “Life has certain seasons. Certain seasons you are up and certain seasons you are down. I’ve been on a beautiful journey of freedom, learning and isolation where you really get to know yourself. It’s a transitional period.”
Right after giving a tear-filled, soulful acappella version of popular gospel song, “Just Can’t Give Up Now,” Carol shared with her fans that she has been unexpectedly homeless since February, living out of her car, storage unit and occasional hotel visit. That particular day she said she had nowhere to go.
“God is providing and I have everything I need, but I’ve been stripped of everything in this season of life,” she said. “God is here and I know that I have a purpose. My gifts are inside of me and I still have to share them. Trials are just a part of it.” Carol said she knows a lot of people are silently suffering, but she wanted to let them know there’s hope, they can make it, and they’re not alone.
“This wasn’t a help me type of thing,” she said. “This is real life, but I’m going to push through it. Where there is pain, there is beauty. I was really scared to post it, but I have to overcome that. It’s bigger than me. I’m going through this to help someone.”
Carol said she thought she would receive negative judgment, but received the total opposite. Support from her fans and others declaring their victory from their own situations. She said she’ll continue to sing about her life stories to be real and raw through her music.
Carol is currently working on a album with her team Ray Daniels and Theron Thomas that’s expected to release next year via Def Jam.
“I have an incredible team,” she said. “This beautiful album is about life. It’s going to be an experience. You’ll hear and feel the story. Just some beautiful music with an evolved version of me that’s never heard before.”
To view Susan’s Carol perform of “Mistletoe” at the Essence Holiday Celebration of Joy, click https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRnO6jdkpI0/
To view the entire Essence Holiday Celebration of Joy event, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z67rdZ6IpFg.
