Why Taylor Swift’s ‘Santa Baby’ Fails So Hard
Some Christmas music is timeless. Taylor Swift’s “Santa Baby” is a car wreck. Here’s a look at why Swift covered the song at the worst possible time in her career.
Taylor Swift was not the right singer to perform Eartha Kitt’s ‘Santa Baby’
Look, this is not an article hating on Swift. The “Love Story” singer has received more than her fair share of hate. No matter what she does, there are far too many journalists who are ready to pounce on her for clicks. I’m not here to attack her personally or to tear her down as an artist.
But even the best artists have their missteps. Even the most dedicated Swifties will tell you that some of her songs are bad. One of them is “Santa Baby.”
Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” is one of those Christmas songs that’s loved and loathed in equal measure. Whether you enjoy it or not, no one can deny the track is perfect for Kitt, a sultry jazz singer.
Swift didn’t have anything approaching that vibe in 2007. That year, she put out her Christmas album The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, and she mostly stuck to G-rated classics like Wham!’s “Last Christmas” and Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” in addition to penning an original song about the birth of Jesus Christ. Then she decided to get all sexual with “Santa Baby.” It just feels wrong.
Taylor Swift was not old enough to perform this song
Firstly, Swift was still a teenager when she put out the song. That alone makes it uncomfortable. It also makes you wonder why it still gets so much radio play.
On top of that, Swift’s approach to the track is just wrong. Who wanted to hear a country-pop version of “Santa Baby?” Country pop isn’t an inherently lousy genre or anything, but listening to this version of “Santa Baby” makes me feel like I’m celebrating Christmas Eve at Cracker Barrel. Is that really the feeling that anyone wants when they are listening to a risque song?
The writer of ‘Santa Baby’ doesn’t understand its success
“Santa Baby” was written by Philip Springer. During a 2023 interview with Songwriting, he discussed the tune’s origin. “When I write music like ‘Santa Baby’ or any of my other songs, my pen is being moved by a force outside of myself,” he said. “I don’t know what the force is, but I don’t pretend that I am that master. I was just given that particular gift to hear music when I hear words and it comes from somewhere above. But I don’t know where.”
Springer discussed the track’s legacy. “I’m still puzzled by why this song has the magic that it seems to have, but I do know that it has a magic,” he said. “I’ve seen kids of five and six years old who I just happen to meet on train rides and buses singing the song and loving it. And I’ve heard from older people who I always met on Amtrak how much they love that song. So it has to have a magic, but I don’t know what that magic is.”
Maybe “Santa Baby” has some magic, but you won’t find any of it in Swift’s rendition.
