John Legend and Kelly Clarksonโs newly-updated version of โBaby, Itโs Cold Outsideโ has finally arrived.
The R&B singer-songwriter released his latest album, A Legendary Christmas, on Friday (November 8), on which his duet with the American Idol winner appears. Legend and Clarksonโs version of the Christmas classic, in case youโre unaware, has been a topic of controversy in recent weeks after it was revealed the stars had reworked several lyrics from Frank Loesserโs 1944 original to make a new "woke" version for the #MeToo era that would be less problematic than its predecessor.
Co-penned by Insecureโs Natasha Rothwell, Legend and Clarksonโs revision aims to correct the alleged implications of sexual harassment or date rape, as the record narrates a female character trying to leave while the male character makes persistent attempts to make her stay.
Some of those new verses include: โI simply should go (Text me when you get home)/ The answer is no (Mm, I guess that's respectable)/ This welcome has been (I've been lucky that you dropped in)/ So nice and warm (But you better go before it storms).โ
Despite their best efforts, Legend and Clarksonโs modern take has not sat well with many fans of the original number. โThanks for destroying โBaby, Itโs Cold Outsideโ just so you can cash-in on the snowflakes of the world,โ one user tweeted. Sharon Osbourne also slammed the revised version in a recent episode of The Talk, saying, โTo change an innocent lyric, to what is it, โYour mind and your body?โ What the hell are you on? Thatโs ridiculous.โ
What say you, Christmas song lovers: Do we love this new cover of "Baby, It's Cold Outside?"
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