John Legend & Kelly Clarkson Update “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”

One year ago, John Legend shared his first holiday album, A Legendary Christmas. Today, he re-released the album with a new deluxe edition featuring four extra songs. In addition to “This Christmas,” “My Favorite Things,” and “Christmas In New Orleans,” John also teamed up with Kelly Clarkson for a cover of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” albeit with updated lyrics.

By now, we’ve already probably all heard about the negative interpretations surround the 1940s song’s lyrics. To many, they can come across as creepy and even date-rapey. Some radio stations went so far as to ban the song. In an effort to provide a fun, modern spin on the song, John Legend and comedian Natasha Rothwell updated the lyrics, this time with less pressure from the man’s part. The result is accessible and funny, and a great new take on the wintertime classic.

John and Kelly sound amazing together, and the big band accompaniment compliments their voices perfectly. While Kelly’s parts are essentially the same as in the original, John’s lines waver between sweetly complimentary and accepting of her decision to leave. This time, they both sound undecided about how to spend the rest of their night. Instead of the man trying to convince the woman, they both try to come to terms with a choice.

Update 11/14: The song now comes with an animated lyric video!

Listen to John and Kelly’s all-new version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in the cute lyric video below:

You can stream or purchase “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – along with the full deluxe edition of A Legendary Christmas – from all the major music providers here.

This isn’t the first time Kelly has recorded “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – though it is the first time she’s done it with updated lyrics. Kelly first recorded a duet with Ronnie Dunn for her 2013 Christmas album, Wrapped In Red.

This also isn’t the first time Kelly and John have recorded a song together. Their duet “Run Run Run” appeared on Kelly’s 2015 album, Piece By Piece. The pair has also sang together on television, including a cover of Ray Charles’ “You Don’t Know Me” on Duets in 2012 and, more recently, a cover of Extreme’s “More Than Words” with Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton on The Voice in September.

More Kelly Clarkson News

Enjoy John Legend and Kelly Clarkson’s new version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and be sure to listen to the new deluxe edition of A Legendary Christmas for some more holiday music. It also doesn’t hurt to revisit Kelly Clarkson’s Wrapped In Red. Keep checking back here for all the latest music news.

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