On her fantastic new Christmas album, Wrapped In Red, Kelly Clarkson covers Imogen Heap’s “Just For Now,” a song whose seasonal tie I wasn’t aware of prior to its inclusion on the set.

Heap originally wrote and pitched the “Just For Now” for The O.C.’s second season episode “The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn’t.” In a 2005 interview with Paste Magazine, Heap recalled the producers’ rejection of the song, saying, “It was, I think, a little too dark for them. Not quite the toasted marshmallows they had in mind.” Instead she recorded “Just For Now” for her second solo album, Speak For Yourself, though Heap still became practically synonymous with the series anyway, soundtracking several moments of heightened emotion (including a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” when Marissa met her mortal end).

“Just For Now” wasn’t an obvious contender for Wrapped In Red, as Clarkson explains. Though she was familiar with the song, it was her A&R rep who helpfully pointed out Heap’s theme of a dysfunctional family celebrating Christmas:

Strengthening the song’s holiday connection, Wrapped In Red producer Greg Kurstin dresses “Just For Now” with an arrangement that quotes “Carol Of The Bells.” Coupled with Clarkson’s performance — rooted in personal experience with less than perfect holiday gatherings — the cover is perfection.

As an ebullient tonic to the dysfunctional downer of “Just For Now,” don’t miss Clarkson’s  “Underneath The Tree” Remix EP, released last week.

Purchase Kelly Clarkson – “Just For Now” (Imogen Heap cover) via iTunes, Amazon MP3.