December 20, 2022
‘Santa Baby’: Alicia Keys Nods to Eartha Kitt 1953 Original with Release of First-Ever Holiday Album
Alicia Keys has given fans an early Christmas gift: Santa Baby.
Lending her soulful vocals, the 15-time Grammy-winner debuted her first-ever holiday album on her own record imprint, Alicia Keys Records. After devoting more than two decades to Sony Music, her newest endeavor is a reflection of the boss artist she wants to be.
“The album that I just released for the holidays, being the first release on my own imprint, it feels really exciting,” Keys told CNN.
“I also feel very determined and focused on how I want to continue to be not only my own woman, who is creating the proper business and really being my own boss and creating the opportunities that I want, but also thinking about how does that happen with other artists, with other women.”
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According to the news outlet, Santa Baby has soared to No. 1 on Apple Music after its exclusive release. The title of the album is a nod to Eartha Kitt’s bold and sultry 1953 original, and Keys wanted to bring out her own style in her first addition to the Christmas catalog.
From “December Back 2 June” to “Christmas Time Is Here,” the album reminds us that the love and good energy during the holidays is something we can have all-year round.
“It has a soulfulness, a rawness, it has that New York energy in it too, but it just feels like something you could play from top to bottom,” Keys told the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast. “And I recorded it like that; we recorded it very consistently over about seven days, and it all really feels cohesive and great. And so I love it. I think now is the time.”
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As for future collaborations, Keys looks forward to working with someone who many consider to be the “Queen of Christmas,” Mariah Carey.
“I wanna do nothing but honor her,” Keys said, per CNN. “She got her lane, I got my lane and there, we got our lanes. If anything, we can come together and do something fresh!”