"Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Tony Springer in an attempt to speed up the song's publishing process. Lyrically, the song is a

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

look at a Christmas list addressed to

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables,

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

s, and decorations from Tiffany, which become increasingly laced with innuendo and the implication that the woman is infatuated with Santa. Music critics gave mixed reviews to the single, with some calling it too suggestive for a holiday-themed song. Springer was initially dissatisfied with "Santa Baby" and called it one of his weakest works. It has since been included on lists of both the best and worst Christmas songs ever written. In the United States, "Santa Baby" became the best-selling Christmas song of 1953 and found more success, retrospectively, when it entered various component charts by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' in the 2000s and 2010s. Elsewhere, it peaked on the

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...

s in Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. , Kitt's version had sold more than 620,000 copies, having appeared on her self-titled and first extended play in 1954. "Santa Baby" has been parodied, referenced, and featured in various films and television series. It has also been covered by many artists, such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

and

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...

. Other musicians, including the

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

and

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

, released covers of the song as singles. Many of the cover versions experienced major commercial success, with Minogue's version reaching the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart and selling over 600,000 copies. Madonna's cover has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States and was subject to discussion by many music critics, who believed her version revived the popularity of the song. However, Kitt disliked Madonna's association with the track. Grande's cover was released as a duet with

Elizabeth Gillies Elizabeth Egan Gillies (born July 26, 1993), also known as Liz Gillies, is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a teenager and made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the Musical theatre, musical ''13 (musical), 13'' (200 ...

and managed positions on charts in several countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

's version has been named multiple times as one of the worst Christmas songs ever.

Background

In August 1953, songwriters Philip Springer and Joan Javits were commissioned to write a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

song for

for the upcoming holiday season. The writers had first met in 1950 during Springer's trip to

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

where Javits had sought advice about beginning a career as a songwriter, which he advised against. Their professional relationship resumed three years later when Springer was searching for a new writing partner, he recalled:

I was looking for a new lyric writer, so I asked someone who had a lot of contacts and they suggested Joan Javits, the exact person who I suggested stay out of the industry! She said she was too busy. I asked her if she had ever written a hit and she said hadn't, so I said, ‘l have. Are you going to tell me that you refuse to write songs with a songwriter who's done more than you in the business?'

In a 2008 interview, Springer told the interviewer that "Philip and Joan (both

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

writers) checked into the song title with the publishers from a company called Trinity Music, owned by BMI. At the time, BMI and ASCAP were entrenched in a 'war,' as Philip described it, so in order to get the song published and settle their differences, they had to create a fictional BMI songwriter who they named Tony Springer."

Recording and release

Kitt recorded the single live with René and his orchestra on October 5, 1953, at a recording studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The song was released later that month by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

in the United States and Canada. To promote the single, the record label purchased page advertisements in ''Billboard'' as "1953's Big Christmas Record!" It was pressed as a

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for wide release, while a promotional

10-inch single A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gr ...

was created for airplay. The RCA Victor 7-inch release featured Kitt and René's version of " Under the Bridges of Paris" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. In the United Kingdom and Denmark, "Santa Baby" was released in 1954 under the label

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. On this version, the B-side was Kitt's cover of " Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)". Kitt also performed the song in the 1954 film ''

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'', after which it was used as the closing track of the extended play ''

''. The single received numerous reissues, including in Italy in 1957 when

RCA Italiana RCA Italiana was an Italian record company founded in 1949 and active until 1987, the date on which, together with the parent company RCA Records, it was bought by BMG Entertainment. History Founded in Rome in 1949 under the Vatican's protec ...

released a 7-inch single that was paired with B-side "Thursday's Child". The same label also distributed a four track promotional

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

titled ''White Christmas'' that same year, featuring Kitt's version of "Santa Baby" as the second

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

. In 1987,

Collectables Records Collectables Records is an American reissue record label, founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene also formed the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels. History It maintains a catalogue of over 3,400 active titles on compact disc, with thousands ...

released a limited edition 7 inch single of Kitt's " C'est si bon" (1953) paired with "Santa Baby" on the flip side. In 1960, Kitt recorded a new studio version of "Santa Baby" for her Kapp album '' Revisited'' with Maurice Levine as musical director. The album featured new versions of songs she had recorded earlier with RCA Victor. The Kapp version is faster and shorter by about a minute, with more emphasis on orchestration and no vocal accompaniment.

Composition and lyrics

According to the official sheet music for the song at Musicnotes.com, "Santa Baby" is set in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

with a moderately slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 84

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. The key of the song is D-flat major with Kitt maintaining a relatively consistent vocal range that spans from A♭₃ to A♭₄ in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical Pitch (music), pitch by combining a musical Note (music), note name (with accidental ( ...

. The song contains chord progressions that follow a D♭-B♭m-E♭-A♭ pattern in the verses and whenever she sings "Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight". Upon completing the lyrical component of "Santa Baby", Philip Springer expressed his dissatisfaction with its content. During a meeting with a group of music publishers in 1953, Springer warned them: "Gentlemen, this is not really the kind of music that I like to write. I hope it's OK. It's the best I could do."

Public reception

In a 2019 poll created by ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', Kitt's version of "Santa Baby" was voted the ninth "most annoying festive song" by British listeners. A 2021

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poll in the United States registered it the most annoying Christmas song.

Commercial performance

According to ''Billboard'', "Santa Baby" was the best-selling Christmas song of 1953, mostly due to the controversy surrounding it. RCA Victor, Kitt's label at the time, referred to the single as "far more than a seasonal success ..but a further tribute to Eartha's art – for, as each of us desires, she can make every day of the year seem like Christmas". On the US ''Billboard'' Best Selling Singles chart, "Santa Baby" debuted at number 16 before rising to number ten the following week, ultimately peaking at number 4. On November 21, 1953, ''Billboard'' reported that the single had sold 200,000 copies, which the magazine called surprising: "Unlike many other Christmas tunes it has broken the deejays' 'We won't play Christmas records in November' sound barrier, and has been getting loads of airtime." "Santa Baby" entered several of the ''

'' charts in the twenty-first century. In 2005, the song had its best week on the

Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking ...

chart, reaching number 28 in the month of December. It returned to the chart in December 2007, when it re-entered at number 59. During the week of December 21, 2012, "Santa Baby" peaked at number 11 on ''Billboard''s seasonal Holiday Digital Song Sales chart in the United States. In total, the single has spent 101 weeks ranking on the chart. It also reached the similar Holiday Streaming Songs chart where it peaked at number 6. On December 9, 2008, the mastertone recording of "Santa Baby" received a gold certification from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies or more.

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

reported that "Santa Baby" is one of the holiday season's most popular ringtones, and that it in addition to six other holiday songs have sold an accumulated 2.3 million units in one year later. The ''Billboard''-published Ringtones chart later listed Kitt's version of the song peaking at number 6 in December 2010. According to the German database ''

Statista Statista (styled in all lower case) is a German online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization. In addition to publicly available third-party data, Statista also provides exclusive data via the platform, which is collect ...

'', Kitt's version of "Santa Baby" has sold 620,000 copies in the United States as of 2014. In later years, the track found more success and entered the

s in several countries other than the United States. According to Springer, the retrospective success of "Santa Baby" was completely unexpected. In an interview with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', he said: "I ask myself, ‘How come?' I've written so many songs that, to me, musically are much better than 'Santa Baby', and they're not popular. The answer has to be that 'Santa Baby' has a magic that goes beyond a composer's plans." In Canada, the single reached number 42 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

in 2023. In the United Kingdom, Kitt's version of "Santa Baby" debuted on the UK Singles Chart in 2007, when it hit number 85. It had previously reached number 30 on the accompanying

UK Singles Downloads Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart con ...

in 2006. The single had its best-performing period on the UK Singles Chart during the 2023 holiday season, when it charted for three weeks and reached its highest peak position to date of number 44. The

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

later awarded "Santa Baby" a gold certification, signifying certified units of 400,000 copies. In France, the single debuted with a peak of number 92 on December 28, 2013; it dropped to 113 the following week but rose to 96 the week after that, marking its last appearance overall. "Santa Baby" also charted in Germany and Switzerland and positions 73 in 2018 and 94 in 2019, respectively.

Impact and legacy

Following the mixed reception that music critics gave to "Santa Baby" in 1953, Springer and Javits reworked the song completely for the upcoming year. In 1954, Kitt recorded a new holiday song titled "This Year's Santa Baby", featuring new lyrics but identical songwriter credits. The publishing company who handled the song's legal matters promoted the new release by distributing "Santa Baby"-themed apparel, in addition to releasing

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

and children-specific versions of the song. Rob LeDonne from ''Billboard'' called "Santa Baby" one of the "most recognizable non-traditional yuletide recordings" in a piece commemorating its 65th anniversary. In 2019, Kelly O'Sullivan of ''

Country Living ''Country Living'' is an American lifestyle and home magazine published by the Hearst Corporation since 1978. The monthly magazine focuses on food, home renovation, home decor, DIY and lifestyle. The magazine hosts four Country Living Fairs a ...

'' ranked "Santa Baby" at number 56 on her list of the "60 Best Christmas Songs". On August 4, 1989, ''Billboard'' released ''Christmas Greatest Hits 1935–1954'', a collection of 10 popular Christmas tracks in the United States, in which "Santa Baby" was included in the track listing. Kitt has since featured "Santa Baby" on several of her

compilation albums A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from one artist, then generally the tracks we ...

in her discography. She also reprised the tune for her seventh studio album, '' Revisited'' (1960), and her first live album, ''Eartha Kitt at Tivoli'' (1962). In later years, it appeared on catalog albums such as ''Eartha Kitt'' (1979), ''At Her Very Best'' (1981), ''The Best of Eartha Kitt'' (1982), ''Mink Shmink'' (1989), ''Eartha-Quake'' (1993), ''After Dark'' (1995), ''That Seductive Eartha'' (1996), ''The Ultimate Collection'' (1996), ''Purr-Fect: Greatest Hits'' (1999), ''Greatest Hits'' (2000), ''Legendary'' (2001), and ''Heavenly Eartha'' (2002).

Track listings and formats

United States and Canada 7" single # "Santa Baby" – 3:22 # " Under the Bridges of Paris" – 2:40 United States promotional 10" single # "Santa Baby" – 3:22 # "Under the Bridges of Paris" – 2:40 United Kingdom and Denmark 7" single (1954) # "Santa Baby" – 3:22 # " Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" – 3:11 Italy 7" single (1957) # "Santa Baby" – 3:22 # "Thursday's Child" – 4:00 United States 7" limited edition single (1987) # " C'est si bon" – 3:01 # "Santa Baby" – 3:22

Charts

Certifications

Madonna version

recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" for the 1987 charity album '' A Very Special Christmas''. It was released on November 12, 1987, by

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

. Caroline Framke from ''

the A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' argued that Madonna's version increased the popularity of the song, initiating an "explosion of covers and parodies ofollow". When asked about his thoughts on Madonna's cover, Phil Springer said he was happy she covered the original Kitt rendition instead of the revised "This Year's Santa Baby" from 1954. Randall Norberts from the ''

'' insisted that "Madonna was the perfect adapter for the song when she recorded it in 1987", comparing the lyrical messages between "Santa Baby" and her 1985 single " Material Girl". After the release of Madonna's "Santa Baby" in 1987, the song became licensed and was used in various theatrical releases and television series, such as ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on Uhry's 1987 play. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his role from th ...

'' (1989), ''

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'' (1999), and ''

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'' (2003).

Musical structure

In Madonna's version of "Santa Baby", the singer heightened her range by half of an octave in order to "reach the aggressively cutesy 'baby voice' that the song has come to be associated with".

Critical reception

Madonna's cover of "Santa Baby" was met with divided opinions from music critics. The staff at ''

BlackBook ''BlackBook'' is an arts and culture magazine published bi-annually to print and online. Founded by Evanly Schindler in 1996 as a quarterly print publication, covering topics ranging from art, music, and literature to politics, popular culture ...

'' gave a positive review, finding Madonna's version to contain "a sense of humor she's long since replaced". According to Framke from ''the A.V. Club'' wrote of the song: "There is no Christmas song more polarizing than 'Santa Baby'". She stated that part of the song's commercial appeal stems from its sexual implications and claimed that although Kitt's version contained sensual vocals, Madonna's version is what "cranked the sex appeal up to 11". It was also reported by Framke that Kitt was displeased with Madonna's cover of her single. During a live performance of "Santa Baby" years after Madonna's version was released, Kitt was quoted saying: "I used to have a lot of fun with this song, and then Madonna sang it". In his review for ''Kansas Pitch'', David Cantwell said "Madonna's recording of 'Santa Boy' is so lame that it actually succeeds in making the phrase 'merry Christmas' seem like a contradiction in terms". Xavier Piedra from ''Billboard'' included Madonna's version in an unranked list of the top ten best covers of "Santa Baby". His review stated: "This cover from the legendary pop singer is guaranteed to be stuck in your head, and on your holiday playlist, for days." Paris Close, also a writer for ''Billboard'', included the cover in her list of "15 Songs For an LGBTQ Holiday Kiki" and claimed its sex appeal would be enough to "spice up any occasion".

Chart performance

Many years after its initial release, Madonna's version of "Santa Baby" entered various holiday-centric charts in the United States. On the main Holiday 100 chart, it peaked at number 44 in December 2011 during its fourth and final week. On the Holiday Airplay chart compiled by ''Billboard'', it peaked at number 24 during the week ending December 13, 2003, marking Madonna's first entry on that chart. It spent a total of 11 non-consecutive weeks among the Holiday Airplay chart. In the United States, "Santa Baby" did not enter ''Billboard''s

chart, but rather the Holiday Digital Song Sales component chart. In 2010, the song peaked at number 46; in total, her cover spent three weeks tallied on the chart. ''Statista'' reported in 2014 that Madonna's cover of "Santa Baby" has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States.

Charts

Kylie Minogue version

Background and release

originally recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" in 2000. It was used as the B-side to her single " Please Stay", from her seventh studio album ''

Light Years A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astro ...

'' (2000), on select physical releases in 2000. A promotional

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

for "Santa Baby" was distributed by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

in the United Kingdom in December 2000, with "Please Stay" as a B-side. A different promotional CDR was released on August 21, 2003, by Parlophone, in preparation for the upcoming holiday season. Minogue's version of "Santa Baby" was produced by Chong Lim and credited Javits and Phillip Springer as the writers. In November 2010, the cover was included on Minogue's

'' A Kylie Christmas'', alongside a newly recorded cover of "

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heatwave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions. ...

". She released a different holiday-themed extended play in Europe titled '' A Christmas Gift'', which featured two tracks from her eleventh studio album ''

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

'' (2010) and closed with "Santa Baby". On November 13, 2015, Minogue released her thirteenth studio album, and first Christmas album, titled '' Kylie Christmas''. Her cover of "Santa Baby" was included in the project's track listing with Steve Anderson, the album's

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

, being attributed as an additional producer. ''The A.V. Club''s Caroline Framke compared Minogue's cover to Madonna's, suggesting that they channel similar "inner pin-up girl .

Critical reception

In 2018, ''

''s Xavier Piedra listed Minogue's cover in a list of the ten best covers of "Santa Baby", writing: "Kylie Minogue's 'Santa Baby' cover remains very true to the original track. ..This cover truly is an updated version of the classic that will not disappoint." Piedra also praised Minogue's vocal delivery for embodying the "cheekiness" of Kitt's original version. The ''

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''s Cameron Adams described Minogue's version as an "old school, feel-good festive fave".

Commercial performance

With the inclusion of streaming data in chart tabulations in the late 2010s, Minogue's version of "Santa Baby" attained most of its commercial success nearly two decades after its initial release. It charted in Australia and various European countries. In the former region, Minogue's cover spent one week on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. After the release of ''A Kylie Christmas'', "Santa Baby" debuted at number 85 for the week of December 27, 2010; her cover of "Let It Snow", the other track on ''A Kylie Christmas'', charted closely to "Santa Baby" at number 89. In Germany, "Santa Baby" reached number 60 on the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official charts for music, home video, and video games in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on be ...

. It also appeared on the

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

chart in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 68. In Denmark, Minogue's cover did not reach the country's top 40 singles chart, but was issued a Gold certification from

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

for shipments of 45,000 copies in that country. On the streaming component chart in Hungary, Minogue's cover of "Santa Baby" hit number 27. In Switzerland and on Sweden's Heatseeker chart, the song peaked at numbers 57 and 10, respectively. Her cover achieved its highest-peaking position in the United Kingdom during the 2020–2021 Christmas season. On their

singles chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, it debuted on the list dated December 16, 2007, at number 93, the same week that Kitt's original version entered at number 85. Minogue's cover later reached number 38 during the week of December 29, 2017, becoming Minogue's fiftieth top 40 entry, collectively. It reached a new peak at number 31 on the chart dated January 1, 2021. Her cover made a second appearance on the chart in 2010 when it was paired as a double

single with "Let It Snow"; the dual single charted at number 188 on Christmas Day. As of December 2019, her cover had sold 330,000 copies in the United Kingdom. It went on to receive a Platinum certification from the

in December 2021, denoting combined sales and shipments figures of 600,000 copies. In Ireland, her cover charted at number 52 in 2017 on the country's official single chart. It reappeared at number 56 the following year, which led Jack White from the Official Charts Company to predict that it would reach the top 50 in Ireland during 2019. It also entered the Ö3 Austria singles chart, peaking at number 67 during the chart dated January 4, 2019. As of 2021, Minogue's version of "Santa Baby" has earned in excess of £417,000 in streaming revenue.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Santa Baby". *

performer * Joan Javitswriter * Philip Springerwriter * Chong Limproducer, arranger * Steve Andersonvocal production * Doug Bradyengineer, mixer

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Kellie Pickler version

Background and release

In 2007, American singer

Kellie Pickler Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music singer, actress and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of ''American Idol'' and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to ...

recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" for the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

-themed compilation album, ''Hear Something Country Christmas''. The song was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

in North and South America on September 18, 2007, through

19 Recordings 19 Recordings Inc. (registered in the United Kingdom as 19 Recordings Ltd.) is a New York–based record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, th ...

. Following the album's release, the song was distributed as a promotional

in the United States by BNA Records and Sony BMG Nashville in 2007. The CD featured three different

radio edit In music, a radio edit, or a "clean version," is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay. It may be censored for profanity, vulgarities, or subject matter; or adjusted for length, instr ...

versions of the song, including one with a cold ending. Pickler's cover of "Santa Baby" was produced by Blake Chancey and mastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio at The Place... For Mastering studios in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Pickler's version of "Santa Baby" was described as a sultry Christmas song with a "classic arrangement fhorns". According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, her cover is set in the

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of common time and has a moderately slow

of 86 beats per minute. The key of the song is in

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

and Pickler's vocal range advances in the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of G–Em–Am–D. Her voice spans one octave, from D₄ to D₅. Pickler's cover also made an appearance on the compilation '' Now That's What I Call a Country Christmas'' (2009) and the charity album, '' A Very Special Christmas 7'' (2009). Proceeds from the latter album's sales benefitted

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

. In 2010, Pickler was invited to appear as a guest musical act on the inaugural '' CMA Country Christmas''

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of en ...

. For the appearance, she performed her cover of "Santa Baby" while dressed in a red dress "and matching gloves". A contributor to the ''Country Music Family'' website lauded Pickler's performance, calling it enjoyable and fun to watch. They also enjoyed her vocals, writing that she "used the song to display her talents as a vocalist". David Drew from WUBE-FM referred to this performance of "Santa Baby" by Pickler as the song's official music video. On December 15, 2013, Pickler uploaded a promotional audio clip of the song to her

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel.

Reception

Pickler's cover of "Santa Baby" was frequently labeled a standout by critics. Lea Weatherby from Mic included her version in a playlist of the best country Christmas songs. After listing several other covers of the song, she wrote: "Though Pickler had some pretty big boots to fill, this rendition gives the song the wholesome, southern charm it needed." Eric Cornish from WKDQ liked her cover, calling it hot. Drew also liked the song, finding it to be cute and including it on his annual list of "12 Days of Christmas Music". In 2012, Sterling Whitaker from ''Taste of Country'' named Pickler's version as one of the "Top 50 Country Christmas Songs" of all time. He called the song sexy, and sultry, and appreciated the classic-style arrangements. Pickler's cover of "Santa Baby" reached two ''Billboard'' charts in the US. On December 8, 2007, the song debuted at number 49 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, becoming the week's second-highest new entry after

's cover of "

Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with " Everything She Wants" in several Eur ...

" (2007), which debuted at number 48. After rising for five weeks, it peaked at number 33 on the issue dated January 5, 2008. The song's performance was replicated exactly on the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart. On both charts, the song spent a total of six weeks appearing. As of December 2014, her version has sold approximately 140,000 digital downloads in the US.

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Hear Something Country Christmas'' and Tidal. *

performer * Joan Javitscomposer, lyricist * Phil Springercomposer, lyricist * Tony Springercomposer, lyricist * Blake Chanceyproducer * Joseph M. Palmacciomastering

Charts

Release history

Taylor Swift version

recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" for her first extended play, '' The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection'' (2007).

Reception

Dan MacIntosh from ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as ...

'' liked Swift's cover, calling her version "sexy".

Charts

Michael Bublé version

recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" for his seventh studio album, ''

'' (2011). Bublé's version made extensive changes to the lyrics, including saying "Santa Buddy", "Santa Pally" and "Santa Poppy" instead of "Santa Baby". The cover has been ranked consistently on lists of worst Christmas songs ever made. Richard Evans from '' Best Life'' included Bublé's version of "Santa Baby" in his list of "The Most Hated Christmas Songs of All Time", primarily for the changes in lyrics to ensure "everyone knows he is not attracted to Santa". Steve Eighinger listed Bublé's cover as number 6 on his list of the worst Christmas songs ever made.

Composition and structure

According to Musicnotes.com, Bublé's version has a

with a 12/8 feel and has a moderately slow

of 96

. The key of the song is in

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

, with Bublé's vocal range spanning from A₂ to C₄ in

. The song progresses in the chord progressions of F–F/A–C in the first verses, followed by F-F/A-G-C.

Charts

Certifications

Ariana Grande and Liz Gillies version

On November 6, 2013,

announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

she would be releasing new music each week leading up to Christmas. On the fourth and final week she released a cover of "Santa Baby", which features Grande's former ''

Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspi ...

'' co-star

(credited as Liz Gillies). It was distributed to digital retailers such as

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

on December 10, 2013. It was then placed as the fourth and closing track to her first extended play, '' Christmas Kisses'', which was released the same week.

Critical reception

Grande's version of "Santa Baby" received largely positive reviews from music critics. Jocelyn Vena from

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

enjoyed Grande's take on "Santa Baby", comparing it with Kitt's original version. Carolyn Menyes from ''Music Times'' ranked it as the best song on ''Christmas Kisses'', awarding particular praise to its production and Grande and Gillies's chemistry. However, Menyes felt the mix of their vocals together could have been improved. ''Billboard''s Piedra described the collaboration as a "fun duet" and an "experience like no other".

Chart performance

Grande's collaboration with Gillies enjoyed commercial success in several countries, reaching number 36 on the Holiday 100 in the United States.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Trisha Yearwood version

Background

recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" for her collaborative album with husband

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

, '' Christmas Together'' (2016). The project was first unveiled in mid-October 2016 and was billed as the couple's first collaborative album, consisting of a combination of duets and solo works from both Yearwood and Brooks. "Santa Baby" does not feature a guest performance from Brooks but Yearwood is joined by Tania Hancheroff, Jon Mark Ivey, Shane McConnell, Lisa Silver, and Kira Small who provide backing vocals. Her cover, along with the rest of ''Christmas Together'' was released on November 11, 2016, by Gwendolyn Records and Brook's personal label, Pearl Records. Brooks' long-time collaborator Mark Miller produced the track. Yearwood performed the track along with a cover of " Hard Candy Christmas" for the 2017

'' CMA Country Christmas''.

Reception

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

''s Raphael Chestang wrote that "Yearwood shines on 'Santa Baby'", while a staff member at the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

was glad that Yearwood had fun while recording the track. A writer for

KNCI KNCI (105.1 FM Broadcasting, FM, "New Country 105-1") is a commercial radio station in Sacramento, California, United States. The station is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International. KNCI carries a country music format, alongsid ...

provided a positive review of Yearwood's cover, calling it "fun and flirty". MacIntosh from ''Country Standard Time'' agreed, lauding her vocals: "Yearwood sounds like a truly sexy hotty". Christopher Bohlsen from '' Renowned for Sound'', on the other hand, panned the track, claiming that "Yearwood makes the mistake of trying to make Christmas sexy". He also compared it unfavorably to her cover of "Hard Candy Christmas" on ''Christmas Together'', calling "Santa Baby" the weaker of the two songs. In the United States, Yearwood's version of "Santa Baby" was released to

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

radio stations. It reached ''Billboard''s weekly

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart, peaking at number 18 on January 6, 2017. It became her third entry on the chart and second-highest-charting effort after her cover of " Broken" peaked at number 17 in 2016. It also charted on ''Billboard''s

chart at number 60 during that same week.

Charts

Gwen Stefani version

Development and release

Following the release of her third studio album ''

This Is What the Truth Feels Like ''This Is What the Truth Feels Like'' is the third studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on March 18, 2016, by Interscope Records. Initially, the album was scheduled to be released in December 2014 with Stefani working w ...

'' (2016),

announced in July 2017 that she had plans to release new music by the end of the year. She did not provide further details, but several publications speculated in August 2017 that Stefani's new material would be Christmas-related due to song titles such as "Christmas Eve", " Under the Christmas Lights", and " You Make It Feel Like Christmas" becoming registered on the two music databases, BMI and GEMA. On September 18, 2017, she took to her social media accounts and claimed that she "had something big planned for the holidays", and that more information would follow. The next day, Stefani announced her next studio album, '' You Make It Feel Like Christmas'', as well as the track listing, which revealed a cover of "Santa Baby" as the album's ninth track. One week prior to the release of ''You Make It Feel Like Christmas'', Stefani's cover of "Santa Baby" was released as a promotional single. In the United States,

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

released it for digital download and streaming on September 29, 2017. In Italy, it was released to radio stations on December 8, 2017, as the album's first single in that country. Stefani's version was produced by

busbee Michael James Ryan Busbee (June 18, 1976 – September 29, 2019), known professionally as Busbee, was an American songwriter, record producer, publisher, record executive, and multi-instrumentalist. He was known for his work in both pop mus ...

and

Eric Valentine Eric Dodd, known professionally as Eric Valentine, is an American record producer who began his career as drummer and producer in the heavy metal band T-Ride. He subsequently produced albums for artists such as Good Charlotte, Lostprophets ...

, with Javits, Philip Springer, and Tony Springer (credited as Anthony Fred Springer in the album's liner notes) were listed as the songwriters. Her cover was engineered by Valentine, mixed by Dave Clauss, and Jonathan Sterling served as assistant engineer. Laura Mace, Monet Owens, and Dolly Sparks provided background vocals for the track with arrangements from Grace Potter. Sal Cinquemani from ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' described the style of Stefani's version as a hybrid of Kitt's original slow rendition and the revised uptempo one. Regarding her decision to cover "Santa Baby" for ''You Make It Feel Like Christmas'', Stefani explained: "I haven't done many covers in my career, but this song feels like a perfect fit. What an extraordinary talent Phil Springer is. Eartha Kitt is so full of personality. This song must have been unbelievably edgy when it came out, and it still is." "Santa Baby" was performed twice by Stefani during the 2017 holiday season. As part of a promotional campaign for ''You Make It Feel Like Christmas'', Stefani appeared as a guest or performed on various television series in the US. On the November 20, 2017, episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'', Stefani was featured as a guest and performed "Santa Baby", "When I Was a Little Girl", and "

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

" to the studio audience. For the appearance, she wore a sleeveless white gown adorned by a dangly feather boa and sparkly jewelry. The same day, the taping of her mini concert was posted to Stefani's official YouTube channel and her separate Vevo account. The second time Stefani sang "Christmas Eve", she performed it on her Christmas

'' Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas'', which was broadcast to NBC on December 12, 2017. She performed the song ahead of "Christmas Eve" and wore a sparkly Santa Claus-inspired outfit. Stefani was later joined by a Claus lookalike at the end of the performance. Emily Krauser from ''

'' enjoyed the outfit, saying that she "absolutely slay-belled the fashion game" during the special. The full video of "Santa Baby" from Stefani's televised special was uploaded to her YouTube channel on December 30, 2017.

Reception

Piedra from ''Billboard'' lauded Stefani's cover, stating that it "works perfectly with her incredibly unique voice". He also placed it within an unranked list of the ten best covers of "Santa Baby". David Smyth, a writer for London's ''Evening Standard'', enjoyed Stefani's version "Santa Baby" and highlighted it as one of the stronger offerings on ''You Make It Feel Like Christmas''. Roberts from the ''Los Angeles Times'' also approved of this version, calling it a "thoroughly modern take" and containing elements of both Kitt's version and Madonna's cover. Following its promotional release in the United States, "Santa Baby" entered the Holiday Digital Song Sales chart in the US. On the edition for the week ending October 20, 2017, the song debuted and peaked at number 7, becoming the second-highest new entry from Stefani on that particular chart. Overall, it was her third highest-peaking song and one of sixteen consecutive top 40 hits on the chart. In Canada, Stefani's cover was sent to holiday radio playlists, allowing it to enter the country's Adult Contemporary chart in January 2018. It peaked at number 38, the same week that three other Stefani songs ("You Make It Feel Like Christmas" and her covers of "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont. It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as "Jingle Bells". It ...

" and " White Christmas") were ranked on the chart.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

Kim Kardashian version

Background and release

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

recorded a cover of "Santa Baby" during a season 3 episode of

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

's ''

The Kardashians ''The Kardashians'' is an American reality television series focusing on the personal lives of the Kardashian–Jenner family. The program is a retooled continuation of their previous reality show, ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'', which ...

'' show. She released it on December 23, 2024. Her rendition was produced by her brother-in-law

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

, the husband of her sister

Kourtney Kardashian Kourtney Kardashian Barker (born Kourtney Mary Kardashian, April 18, 1979) is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its suc ...

. The release marked Kardashian's first new music release since her 2011 debut single " Jam (Turn It Up)". The song was released through Barker's

DTA Records DTA Records (an initialism for "Don't Trust Anyone") is an American record label founded in December 2019 by Travis Barker, best known as the drummer of Blink-182. It is a joint partnership between Barker and Elektra Entertainment (a label group ...

and Kardashian's Kimsaprincess, Inc.

Composition and reception

Kardashian's rendition was described as having an "unorthodox, lofi quality to it" by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'''s Greg Evans, as she performs the song in a "husky whisper". ''

'''s Gil Kaufman thought the cover is a "sultry take on the Eartha Kitt standard". Janna Brancolini of ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' noted that "Santa Baby" is "far more stripped down" than "Jam (Turn It Up)", pointing out that the music "almost feels like an afterthought" of the music video, though. Eddie Fu of '' Consequence'' called the cover "awful" and "entirely unremarkable if not for the bizarre and disturbing music video".

Music video

The short film accompanying the song was released the same day. It was directed by Nadia Lee Cohen and Charlie Denis. The video, conceptualized as eerie house party footage with a glitchy, VHS-tape-like crackling quality, kicks off with Kardashian in a blonde bob wig slowly crawling across the floor on her hands and knees. She passes a

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

alongside a businessman making phone calls, a sleeping

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

, women in their underwear on a ''

Twister Twister most commonly refers to a tornado. Twister or Twisters may also refer to: Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paragli ...

'' mat, a man dressed as

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

raiding the fridge and more " surreal guests" and " absurd vignettes". A lit-up nativity is also seen in the background. She smolders in a blue top, beige leggings exposing her underwear and heels on her way to

. When she reaches him and runs her fingers up his leg, the seated man moves the video camera away from his face to reveal the ''

Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...

'' (1990) star

Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor and musician. Considered one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin has received a Golden Globe Award nomination and other accolades. In 200 ...

, who stares at Kardashian with a blank expression before the video ends. Brancolini thought that the video "seems to be a clear parody of the excesses of the holiday season. Using a glorified Skims commercial to make their point was probably intentional, though reasonable people can differ on whether making something meta is the same as thing as making it incisive. Unless the point was that just like Skims,

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

is seductive, and in that sense Kardashian's curves are the perfect narrative vehicle." She also compared it to

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci ( ; ; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved inte ...

's '' The Conformist'' (1970). Emily Zemler described the video for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' as "

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

directing a Skims commercial." Writing for '' The Cut'', Cat Zhang described the video as "sexy housewife of drug lord drops too much valium into her

eggnog Eggnog (), historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, added sugar, sweetened, dairy-based sweetened beverage, beverage traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk ...

and crawls dizzily around the house", and wondered about the purpose of the project: "Is this all just an elaborate Skims advertisement or is Kim just a huge fan of

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

? (She nods to '' The Shining'' in the film.) Did

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

watch ''Home Alone'' for the first time?" Riley Cardoza of ''

Page Six The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertain ...

'' dubbed the video "bizarre" and compared it with ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

''. Latoya Gayle of ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' described the video as "surreal versions of typical Christmas scenarios". Evans characterized the video as "creepy" and noted the fans' polarized reactions. Lindsay Lowe of ''Today'', Kimberly Nordyke of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' and Logan DeLoye of

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...

also pointed out the fans' polarized reactions.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1953 singles 1953 songs 2010 singles 2011 singles 2013 singles 2015 singles 2016 singles 2017 singles American Christmas songs Ariana Grande songs Christmas novelty songs Colbie Caillat songs Eartha Kitt songs Elizabeth Gillies songs Gwen Stefani songs Interscope Records singles K. Michelle songs Kellie Pickler songs Kim Kardashian songs Kylie Minogue songs LeAnn Rimes songs Macy Gray songs Madonna songs Michael Bublé songs Obscenity controversies in music RCA Victor singles Republic Records singles RuPaul songs Songs about Santa Claus Songs with music by Philip Springer Sugababes songs Taylor Swift songs Trisha Yearwood songs Versa (band) songs