aespa's 'Santa Baby' With Eartha Kitt's Original Vocals Arrives Nov. 13 Ahead of Her 100th Birthday
SM Entertainment said aespa's collaboration single 'Santa Baby' comes out Nov. 13 with Eartha Kitt's original 1953 vocals, a project timed to the late singer's centennial on Jan. 17, 2027, and shared comments from aespa and Kitt's daughter.
aespa's holiday duet with a legend is here. SM Entertainment said on Nov. 13 (KST) that the group's collaboration single 'Santa Baby' is out through music sites, reworking the classic carol with Eartha Kitt's original 1953 vocals built into the track. aespa's official channels had previously set the release for 12 a.m. ET on Nov. 13 (2 p.m. KST).
The project was planned ahead of Kitt's 100th birthday on Jan. 17, 2027, to connect past and present generations through music. According to bnt News, Primary Wave Music, the publisher of Kitt's 'Santa Baby', produced the artwork video and cover image and did the final mix, while SM Entertainment backed the global IP collaboration with aespa's vocals.
In comments shared by the agency, aespa said they were happy to take part in a song that has been loved for so long, and that adding their own color to Kitt's original, which all four members enjoy listening to, felt special. They said they hope the song brings warm joy to many people's year-end.
Kitt's daughter, Kitt Shapiro, said her mother cared deeply about connecting generations and cultures through music, and that she believes her mother would have been very happy to know her voice was being paired with talented artists like aespa.
aespa's holiday season continues on Nov. 20 with an m-flo ☆Taku Takahashi remix of 'KISS N TELL', the title track of their first Japanese mini album.
Confirmed
- SM Entertainment said aespa's collaboration single 'Santa Baby' is released on Nov. 13 through music sites, featuring the original vocals of Eartha Kitt, who made the carol famous in 1953 (Yonhap, bnt News).
- The release was planned ahead of Eartha Kitt's 100th birthday on Jan. 17, 2027 (Yonhap, bnt News).
- Primary Wave Music, the music publisher of Kitt's 'Santa Baby', handled the artwork video, cover image and final mixing, while SM Entertainment supported the global IP collaboration through aespa's vocals (bnt News, ChosunBiz).
- aespa will release an m-flo ☆Taku Takahashi remix of 'KISS N TELL', the title track of their first Japanese mini album, on Nov. 20 (bnt News).
Reported by other outlets
- bnt News and ChosunBiz noted that Kitt's original version still has the most streams of any version of 'Santa Baby'.