Sheryl Crow and James Blunt (right) are among performers on the '9th Annual A Home for the Holidays' Friday on CBS.

For Sheryl Crow, there's a big difference to her third time on a yearly special about adoption. She's now an adoptive parent herself.

The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is readying for her first Christmas with seven-month-old Wyatt and also performing on the 9th Annual A Home for the Holidays Friday, December 21, on CBS. Initiated by the late Wendy's restaurant founder Dave Thomas - who was an adoptee - and the Children's Action Network, the programme offers true stories of youngsters and the families who took them in.

Fergie, Reba McEntire, James Blunt and Carole King also are scheduled to sing during the hour. Another returnee to the show, Rene Russo, is among the talents introducing the segments; George Lopez and NUMB3RS co-star, David Krumholtz, participate as well.

AIDS-afflicted children

"They've asked us for three songs each," Crow says of herself and the special's other music stars. "We send them the ones we'd like to do, and they approve them or not. Recently, I did a concert for Alicia Keys' foundation, which is about saving AIDS-afflicted children by getting medication to them; at the piano, we did an acoustic version of a song called I Shall Believe, and I think I might do that.

"I love this show," Crow says, "It's one of the most inspiring things. When there's so much depressing information and imagery, it's just nice to be part of something that is doing such amazing work in getting kids placed in homes."

The outlook is more personal than ever for Crow, having adopted her son in May. "Just knowing how deeply you can love a child, even if you didn't actually give birth yourself, the feeling cannot be any different to me. I'm such a softie when it comes to this stuff anyway, knowing how much a family means to the development and growth of a child, it's an honour for me to have an impact on the life of my own adopted boy."

With her societal concern also mirrored by her work for environmental causes, Crow reasons, "Everything right now is so interconnected. I try to narrow down my philanthropic work so that it has some sort of impact, but when it comes to children, it's difficult to say 'no' when there's some place you can actually be of some service."

On the professional front, the artist behind such hits as All I Wanna Do, Strong Enough and Soak Up the Sun is bracing for a big start to 2008. Crow's album, Detours, is set for release February 5, and its songs reflect recent milestones in her life, from her breast-cancer crisis in 2006 to the adoption.

Crow calls it "a really honest and truthful record. There's a song called Lullaby for Wyatt, and you can hear him chewing at the end of it. That's in the take we used, anyway. In the one we didn't use, which we did after that, he's screaming."

Adoptive mom

Touring will be a big part of promoting Detours, a prospect Crow finds "daunting, it's a lot bigger deal than it used to be. Now it requires a baby crib, someone to help me with him and less sleep. I'm looking forward to it, though. The music's good, and it's been a long time since we've played new music, so it's very exciting."

So is Crow's anticipation of her first Christmas as an adoptive mom. "I'm from a big family, and we're very, very close," she says, "so I'd imagine it's just going to be more and more fun every year."

- Jay Bobbin, Zap2it