Santa Baby (album) explained

Santa Baby
Type:studio
Artist:Alicia Keys
Cover:Santa Baby.jpg
Released:November 4, 2022
Genre:Christmas
Length:36:09
Producer:
  • Alicia Keys
  • Tommy Parker
  • YNG Josh
Prev Title:Keys
Prev Year:2021
Next Year:2023

Santa Baby is the ninth studio album and first Christmas album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released through Alicia Keys Records and Mom + Pop on November 4, 2022 as her label debut on Mom + Pop, exclusively on Apple Music.[1] [2] Her first Christmas album, Santa Baby consists of eleven tracks, featuring four original songs and seven cover versions of Christmas standards.[3] [4] The album's lead single "December Back 2 June" was released on October 28, 2022.[5] It was released on Spotify and other streaming platforms on November 4, 2023, to commemorate its first anniversary with no prior announcement.

Composition

Santa Baby is Keys's first Christmas album, and the first project released through her independent label since her contract with RCA Records ended.[6] [7] The album consists of eleven tracks, reworked by the singer herself, including four original compositions: "December Back 2 June", "You Don't Have to Be Alone", "Old Memories on Christmas", and "Not Even the King", which was originally included on Keys's 2012 album Girl on Fire.[8] [9] [10] Musically the album features Christmas songs with soul, R&B, jazz and gospel influences. Keys explained the meaning of the album and the production with the Alicia Keys Records team:[11]

"The album that I just released for the holidays, being the first release on my own imprint, it feels really exciting. 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. [...] I’m really, really ecstatic about Alicia Keys Records. It’s a big statement being an artist who has been able to have the gift and the tenacity of longevity"

Promotion

On October 28, 2022, Keys published the first single from the album, "December Back 2 June".[12] To promote the album, Keys appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 8, 2022.[13] On December 21, 2022, Keys performed at the Apple Music Live: Alicia Keys Holiday Masquerade Ball in Broadway's United Palace Theater, alongside Jon Batiste and Jvke.[14]

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who appreciated the production and arrangement of the songs matched with the singer's vocal abilities. In her review for Vibe, Mya Abraham wrote that Santa Baby "blends the comfort of tradition with elevated, modern production, allowing listeners to bask in whatever they define the holidays to be."[15] Ed Mazza by HuffPost felt that Keys "shows off her songwriting skills" with her original compositions.[16] Jon Pareles, reviewing the album for The New York Times, describes Keys' vocals as "high, breathy and playful, and she allows herself to show scratches and imperfections", juxtaposed with a production composed of "elaborate arrangements" drawing from soul, gospel and jazz. Pareles notes that these are eleven "largely secular songs", in which the four songs written by the artist "are about longing and affection; [...] Throughout the album, she invites loved ones closer".[17] Columbia Daily Tribune awarded the album five out of five stars, describing Santa Baby as "sleek, substantive and sexy", in which there is a "shimmering piano and forward-moving grooves [to] frame Keys' voice".[18] Madison Vain and Bria McNeal, reviewing the album for Esquires Best Christmas Albums list, called Keys's vocals across the album's tracks "angelic".[19] Chuck Arnolds of the New York Post ranked the project fourth among on his list of the 12 Best Christmas Albums of 2022.[20]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, Santa Baby entered the UK Digital Albums chart at its peak of number 24. In the United States, the album debuted at number 148 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the Top Holiday Albums chart.

Track listing

Notes

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateFormat(s)Label
VariousNovember 4, 2022Alicia Keys Records[21]

Notes and References

  1. News: Williams . Ebony . 2022-10-24 . Alicia Keys announces first Christmas album "Santa Baby" . . 2022-10-28.
  2. Web site: Santa Baby by Alicia Keys . Apple Music . 2022-10-28.
  3. Web site: Alicia Keys to release her first-ever holiday album . November 6, 2022 . . en.
  4. Dailey . Hannah . November 22, 2022 . Best New Christmas Songs for 2022: Lizzo, Camila Cabello & More . December 8, 2022 . . en-US.
  5. Web site: Samuels, Keithan . Alicia Keys Shares New Holiday Song 'December Back 2 June' . . 2022-10-28 . 2022-10-28.
  6. Web site: Romualdi . Melissa . October 20, 2022 . Alicia Keys Announces First-Ever Holiday Album . https://web.archive.org/web/20221021002809/https://etcanada.com/news/937977/alicia-keys-announces-first-ever-holiday-album/ . dead . October 21, 2022 . December 8, 2022 . . en-US.
  7. Web site: Hogan . Kate . December 8, 2022 . Celebrity Christmas Albums You Have to Check Out This Season . December 8, 2022 . . en.
  8. Web site: Grant . Shawn . October 21, 2022 . Alicia Keys Announces New 'Santa Baby' Christmas Album . December 8, 2022 . . en-US.
  9. Web site: Ruggieri . Melissa . November 28, 2022 . 6 new Christmas songs you must hear in 2022 by Pentatonix, Alicia Keys, Debbie Gibson and more . December 13, 2022 . . en-US.
  10. Web site: Griffiths . George . December 12, 2022 . New and updated Christmas albums for 2022: From Cliff Richard and Backstreet Boys to Alicia Keys and Sia . December 14, 2022 . . en.
  11. Web site: Melas . Chloe . December 12, 2022 . Alicia Keys debuts her first holiday album and says she'd love to collaborate with Mariah Carey . December 13, 2022 . . en.
  12. Web site: Vulpo . Mike . November 4, 2022 . The MixtapE! Presents P!nk, Alicia Keys and More New Music Musts . November 6, 2022 . E!.
  13. Web site: 12/08/22 (Alicia Keys, Eddie Izzard) . . 2022-12-16.
  14. Lonsdale . John . December 21, 2022 . How to Watch Alicia Keys' Holiday Masquerade Ball Concert on Apple Music Live . December 26, 2022 . . en-US.
  15. Web site: Mya. Abraham . Coco Jones, Tems, Alicia Keys, And More Spin Through An Emotional Moodboard This New Music Friday . . November 4, 2022 . November 6, 2022.
  16. Web site: Mazza . Ed . November 28, 2022 . Your Holiday Playlist: All The Best New Christmas Songs For 2022 . December 8, 2022 . . en.
  17. News: Caramanica . Jon . Moore . Marcus J. . Pareles . Jon . Zoladz . Lindsay . December 8, 2022 . 15 Fresh Takes on a Classic Tradition: The Holiday Album . en-US . . December 8, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  18. Web site: Danielsen . Aarik . November 12, 2022 . Backstreet Boys, Alicia Keys and Switchfoot lead the slate of 2022 holiday albums . December 8, 2022 . . en-US.
  19. Web site: Vain . Madison . McNeal . Bria . November 22, 2022 . 25 New-ish Christmas Albums That Actually Rule . December 8, 2022 . . en-us.
  20. Web site: Arnolds . Chuck . December 2, 2022 . The 12 best new Christmas songs of 2022 . December 8, 2022 . . en-US.
  21. Web site: Alicia Keys - "Santa Baby" (Target Exclusive, CD). Target. 2022-10-29. 2022-10-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20221029183254/https://www.target.com/p/alicia-keys-34-santa-baby-34-target-exclusive-cd/-/A-87677698. live.

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