John Legend has now unveiled the reissued version of his festive album A Legendary Christmas, and you know what that means, don’t you?
Yep, his much-discussed reworking of Baby It’s Cold Outside is now available to listen to in full.
Last week, it was reported that John had teamed up with Kelly Clarkson to record a new version of the Christmas classic, which has proved controversial in recent years, with many suggesting lyrics like “what’s the sense in hurtin’ my pride?” and “baby, don’t hold out” were predatory and inappropriate to play on the radio in 2019.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, it was suggested the pair’s new version of the track would have a “newfound sensitivity” and emphasise the importance of consent.
The song was released on Friday, along with the rest of John’s reissued Christmas album, with many of the song’s original lyrics replaced with more era-appropriate ones.
While Kelly’s lyrics remain pretty much the same as the original, John’s lines now include “we’re both adults, who’s keepin’ score” when his counterpart suggests “half a drink more” and “it’s your body and your choice” when she questions “what will my friends think?”.
The announcement that John had reworked the song was praised by many, although the likes of Piers Morgan were predictably up in arms about it, with the Good Morning Britain presenter going off on one on the daytime show earlier this week.
However, what perhaps wasn’t originally conveyed when the song was first discussed was that it was actually pretty tongue-in-cheek, with a few silly lines like “your driver, his name is Murray” thrown in, as well as “wait, what are you still livin’ at home for?” when Kelly suggests her “daddy will be pacing the floor”.
John’s wife Chrissy Teigen poked fun at the backlash when one Twitter user reminded people that “John Legend is not holding people captive and forcing them to listen to the new version”.
“You’re wrong here,” she joked. “I watched he and Kelly physically burn all original versions in our backyard. It was crazy actually I was like whoa guys settle down.”
Take a listen to John Legend and Kelly Clarkson’s version of Baby, It’s Cold Outside in full above.