Ariana Grande might just land on the naughty list this year. That’s because the 30-year-old pop star dropped a revamped version of her 2014 Christmas hit “Santa Tell Me” on Monday (Dec. 11), this time tweaking a couple lyrics to make them steamier.
The nice-to-naughty changes are subtle, with Grande singing during the song’s bridge: “Oh, I wanna let him unwrap me like oh-oh-oh/ Get on top of him by that fire place, oh-oh-oh.”
Originally, the Grammy winner sang, “Oh, I wanna have him beside me like oh-oh-oh/ On the 25th by that fire place, oh-oh-oh.”
The new version of “Santa Tell Me” marks Grande’s first release under her new management company, Good World Management. The “Positions” singer recently signed with Brandon Creed, following her highly publicized split from Scooter Braun’s SB Projects in August.
Grande first teased the festive release in late November, when she inconspicuously shared a few behind-the-scenes clips from the “Santa Tell Me” music video shoot in honor of its nine-year anniversary. “tis the season!” she captioned the video at the time. “♡ Santa Tell Me ♡ almost ten years ago ”
But while the song is nearly a decade old, “Santa Tell Me” reached a new peak of No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 last year. Grande might be gunning for a higher spot in 2023 with her new, naughtier version.
Regardless, the Wicked star is a seasoned Christmas music veteran. Not only does she have two holiday EPs under her belt — 2013’s Christmas Kiss and 2015’s Christmas & Chill — but the vocalist has also teamed up with other stars for a number of wintertime collaborations. Most recently, she and Kelly Clarkson released “Santa Can’t You Hear Me.”
And in 2020, she appeared with Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson on “Oh Santa!” — which the trio reunited to perform together Saturday night (Dec. 9) for Carey’s “Merry Christmas One & All!” show at Madison Square Garden.
Listen to “Santa Tell Me (Naughty Version)” below:
