Now this is a Christmas party worth my attendance.
Early Monday morning, Kim Kardashian made her formal return to music with a rendition of “Santa Baby,” originally performed by Eartha Kitt back in 1953. The track, produced by Travis Barker and released in partnership with the blink-182 drummer’s DTA Records and Columbia, comes nearly 14 years after her debut single “Jam (Turn It Up).” While that one was later the subject of some mixed feelings from the SKIMS co-founder, Kim’s take on “Santa Baby” seems poised for a deeper appreciation in the years ahead.
For the video, Kardashian tapped Nadia Lee Cohen and Charlie Denis to direct, resulting in a crawling-the-floor, distorted VHS-inspired visual journey that takes the viewer on a guided tour, of sorts, of a gloriously debaucherous Christmas party. There are hints along the way of Kubrick, Lynch, and blink as Kim slowly makes her way to the video’s befitting conclusion, i.e. a cameo from a camera-wielding Macaulay Culkin in a Santa suit.
Take the full plunge above, and/or dip your toes with a listen of the track itself on the streamer of your choice.
For Barker, “Santa Baby” joins a roster of prior holiday-focused creations, including blink’s seasons-spanning “Happy Holidays You Bastard,” which touches on everything from a binge-eating grandfather to oral sex. In 2019, blink, then featuring Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba in place of founding member Tom DeLonge (who ultimately returned to the band three years later), took the claymation route with the video for “Not Another Christmas Song.”
