Santa Baby facts for kids

"Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt 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 Tony Springer in an attempt to speed up the song's publishing process. Lyrically, the song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list addressed to Santa Claus by a woman who wants extravagant gifts such as sables, yachts, and decorations from Tiffany's.

Music critics gave mixed reviews to the single. 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.

According to co-writer Philip Springer, he came up with the music for "Santa Baby" and completed it within ten minutes.

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 in the 2000s and 2010s. Elsewhere, it peaked on the record charts in Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As of 2014^[update], 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, Kylie Minogue, Taylor Swift and Trisha Yearwood. Other musicians, including Ariana Grande and Gwen Stefani, 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 270,000 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 and managed positions on charts in several countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Michael Bublé's version has been named multiple times as one of the worst Christmas songs ever.

Commercial performance

According to Billboard, "Santa Baby" was the best-selling Christmas song of 1953.

"Santa Baby" entered several of the Billboard charts in the twenty-first century. 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, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies or more. Sony BMG 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.