Santa Baby (album)

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Santa Baby
Studio album by
Alicia Keys
ReleasedNovember 4, 2022
GenreChristmas
Length36:09
Label
Producer
  • Alicia Keys
  • Tommy Parker
  • YNG Josh
Alicia Keys chronology
Keys
(2021) 		Santa Baby
(2022)
Singles from Santa Baby
  1. "December Back 2 June"
    Released: October 28, 2022[1]

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.[2][3] Her first Christmas album, Santa Baby consists of eleven tracks, featuring four original songs and seven cover versions of Christmas standards.[4][5] The album's lead single "December Back 2 June" was released on October 28, 2022.[6] It was released on Spotify and other streaming platforms on November 4, 2023, to commemorate its first anniversary with no prior announcement.

Composition[edit]

Santa Baby is Keys's first Christmas album, and the first project released through her independent label since her contract with RCA Records ended.[7][8] 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.[9][10][11] Musically the album features Christmas songs with soul, R&B, jazz and gospel influences.[12] Keys explained the meaning of the album and the production with the Alicia Keys Records team:[13]

"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[edit]

On October 28, 2022, Keys published the first single from the album, "December Back 2 June".[14] To promote the album, Keys appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 8, 2022.[15] 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.[16]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]

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."[18] Ed Mazza by HuffPost felt that Keys "shows off her songwriting skills" with her original compositions.[19] 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".[12] 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".[20] Madison Vain and Bria McNeal, reviewing the album for Esquire's Best Christmas Albums list, called Keys's vocals across the album's tracks "angelic".[21] Chuck Arnolds of the New York Post ranked the project fourth among on his list of the 12 Best Christmas Albums of 2022.[22]

Commercial performance[edit]

In the United Kingdom, Santa Baby entered the UK Digital Albums chart at its peak of number 24.[23] In the United States, the album debuted at number 148 on the Billboard 200 and number 19 on the Top Holiday Albums chart.[24][25]

Track listing[edit]

Santa Baby track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Santa Baby"
Alicia Keys3:53
2."Christmas Time Is Here"
Keys3:26
3."My Favorite Things"
  • Tommy Parker
  • Joshua "YNG Josh" Comerly[a]
3:54
4."December Back 2 June"
Keys2:43
5."Please Come Home for Christmas"
Keys3:17
6."Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"
Keys4:05
7."You Don't Have to Be Alone"
Keys2:19
8."The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"
Keys2:47
9."Old Memories on Christmas"
  • Keys
  • Hemby
Keys2:59
10."Not Even the King"
Keys3:00
11."Ave Maria"
Keys3:46
Total length:36:09

Notes

  • ^a signifies a co-producer

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Santa Baby
Chart (2022) Peak
position
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[23] 24
US Billboard 200[24] 148
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[26] 7
US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard)[25] 19

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for Santa Baby
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various November 4, 2022
Alicia Keys Records [27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alicia Keys releases first-ever holiday single 'December Back 2 June'". Retro Pop Magazine. October 29, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  2. ^ Williams, Ebony (October 24, 2022). "Alicia Keys announces first Christmas album "Santa Baby"". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "Santa Baby by Alicia Keys". Apple Music. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "Alicia Keys to release her first-ever holiday album". Today. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Dailey, Hannah (November 22, 2022). "Best New Christmas Songs for 2022: Lizzo, Camila Cabello & More". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  6. ^ Samuels, Keithan (October 28, 2022). "Alicia Keys Shares New Holiday Song 'December Back 2 June'". Rated R&B. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Romualdi, Melissa (October 20, 2022). "Alicia Keys Announces First-Ever Holiday Album". ET Canada. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  8. ^ Hogan, Kate (December 8, 2022). "Celebrity Christmas Albums You Have to Check Out This Season". People. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  9. ^ Grant, Shawn (October 21, 2022). "Alicia Keys Announces New 'Santa Baby' Christmas Album". The Source. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  10. ^ Ruggieri, Melissa (November 28, 2022). "6 new Christmas songs you must hear in 2022 by Pentatonix, Alicia Keys, Debbie Gibson and more". USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  11. ^ Griffiths, George (December 12, 2022). "New and updated Christmas albums for 2022: From Cliff Richard and Backstreet Boys to Alicia Keys and Sia". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon; Moore, Marcus J.; Pareles, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (December 8, 2022). "15 Fresh Takes on a Classic Tradition: The Holiday Album". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Melas, Chloe (December 12, 2022). "Alicia Keys debuts her first holiday album and says she'd love to collaborate with Mariah Carey". CNN. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. ^ Vulpo, Mike (November 4, 2022). "The MixtapE! Presents P!nk, Alicia Keys and More New Music Musts". E!. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  15. ^ "12/08/22 (Alicia Keys, Eddie Izzard)". CBS. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  16. ^ Lonsdale, John (December 21, 2022). "How to Watch Alicia Keys' Holiday Masquerade Ball Concert on Apple Music Live". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  17. ^ "Santa Baby – Alicia Keys". AllMusic. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  18. ^ Abraham, Mya (November 6, 2022). "Coco Jones, Tems, Alicia Keys, And More Spin Through An Emotional Moodboard This New Music Friday". Vibe. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  19. ^ Mazza, Ed (November 28, 2022). "Your Holiday Playlist: All The Best New Christmas Songs For 2022". HuffPost. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  20. ^ Danielsen, Aarik (November 12, 2022). "Backstreet Boys, Alicia Keys and Switchfoot lead the slate of 2022 holiday albums". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  21. ^ Vain, Madison; McNeal, Bria (November 22, 2022). "25 New-ish Christmas Albums That Actually Rule". Esquire. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  22. ^ Arnolds, Chuck (December 2, 2022). "The 12 best new Christmas songs of 2022". New York Post. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Alicia Keys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Alicia Keys Chart History (Holiday Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  26. ^ "Alicia Keys Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "Alicia Keys - "Santa Baby" (Target Exclusive, CD)". Target. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
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