Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson Bask in the Light of “The Star”

Pop divas Kelly Clarkson and Mariah Carey make their marks this Holiday season in Sony Pictures Animation’s The Star, a family film about the events leading up to the very first Christmas.

Clarkson provides the voice of one of the stable animals, Leah the Horse, while Carey composes and sings the film’s title track.

In The Star, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day Bo finds the courage to break free and ends up befriending newlyweds Joseph and Mary. Mary’s kindness soon sets Bo on the adventure of his dreams. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo follows the Star and become unlikely heroes in the greatest story ever told – the first Christmas.

Residents of the most famous stable in history who haven’t been able to sleep for nine months – ever since that star appeared in the sky. But Leah the Horse thinks the beauty of the spotlight is worth missing some sleep.

Grammy Award winner Clarkson, who plays Leah, says that playing a character suffering from a lack of sleep was maybe not a huge stretch. “I have four children, so I’m sleep deprived,” she kids. “Also, it was cool to be able to play a horse – I own a horse, because my daughter is an equestrian. It felt like the right time to play a Southern Belle who hadn’t had sleep in nine months.”

For Clarkson, it was gratifying to play a character in a story about faith. “For me personally, it’s so important – without faith, it would be a very lonely life,” she says. “I have to have faith in something bigger, the majestic world around us. And that’s what all of these characters are looking for – they’re all looking to be part of something greater than themselves.”

Meanwhile, Grammy winner Mariah Carey wrote and performs the title track for The Star’s soundtrack.

“The song was inspired by the beautiful way in which the story of Christmas is told in the film,” says Carey. “I thought about the star of Bethelhem while writing this song, but also about following your heart, following your dreams.”

“I’ve loved Christmas since I was a kid,” Carey continues, “even when we didn’t have any money and my mother would wrap fruit for a Christmas gift. It wasn’t about the gift – I just loved the spirit of Christmas.”

“When Mariah Carey walks in a room, you know ‘a star’ has arrived,” says composer Marc Shaiman. “But when it came time to co-write our song for The Star, she became only a great songwriter intent on getting her love of Christmas into the words and music. And when our song was complete, she proceeded to sing a thrilling vocal, filled with that passion. It was my honor to be able to share and help illuminate her joy.”

In Philippine cinemas December 6, The Star is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.