Watch Carrie Underwood’s Soaring ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ on ‘CMA Country Christmas’

Carrie Underwood was among the performers to take the stage for this year's CMA Country Christmas on Monday night (Nov. 29), and she kept things traditional and elegantly simple with a rendition of the modern holiday classic, "Mary, Did You Know?"

Underwood took the stage dressed in a glittering, floor-length black gown, accompanied by soft piano and acoustic guitar. Candles, wreaths and decorated Christmas trees twinkled in the background throughout her performance.

A year before she brought the song to CMA Country Christmas, Underwood included her version of "Mary, Did You Know?" on the track list of My Gift, her 2020 holiday album. Upon release, her version of the song charted inside the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot Christian Songs.

"Mary, Did You Know?" was first recorded by Christian performer Michael English, and it's since been covered by many artists across a wide variety of genres, including Dolly Parton and — most recently — Carly Pearce.

It's been a particularly festive holiday season for Underwood thus far, as her CMA Country Christmas performance comes on the heels of another appearance she made as part of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Though that event was Thanksgiving-themed, Underwood looked ahead to Christmas when she took the stage, singing another My Gift selection, "Favorite Time of Year."

Also, earlier this month, she shared a comedic original song called "Stretchy Pants," which celebrates the pleasures of over-eating during the holidays. A portion of the song's proceeds will benefit the Store, Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley's not-for-profit free grocery store that allows Nashville-based families in need the dignity of a normal shopping experience.

Each year, the CMA Country Christmas holiday special gathers a collection of artists to perform holiday standards and festive original songs. In 2021, the show's lineup also included Brett Eldredge, Lady A, Lainey Wilson, the Pistol Annies, Jimmie Allen and more. The show was taped in Nashville and aired on ABC; it's now available to stream on-demand on Hulu.