New music · Collaboration
aespa Meets Eartha Kitt on “Santa Baby”
The new holiday single pairs all four members with Kitt’s original vocals, connecting a Christmas standard to the singer’s approaching centenary.
aespa’s latest collaboration reaches back more than seven decades. On a new version of “Santa Baby,” KARINA, GISELLE, WINTER and NINGNING join the original recorded voice of Eartha Kitt, the singer who introduced the song in 1953.
Released through Primary Wave Music, the special digital single arrives ahead of what would have been Kitt’s 100th birthday on January 17, 2027. According to the official release announcement, it opens a yearlong celebration of her legacy.
The distinction matters: this is not simply aespa performing a song associated with an earlier artist. Kitt’s own vocals remain part of the recording, placing the quartet alongside the performer whose interpretation helped make “Santa Baby” a holiday fixture.
The Voice Behind the Christmas Classic
For listeners meeting Kitt through aespa, “Santa Baby” is an entry point into a career that extended well beyond one seasonal song.
A singer and actress born in South Carolina and raised in Harlem, Kitt worked across stage, film and television. Audiences also know her as Catwoman in Batman and as the voice of Yzma in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove. Those roles reached different generations, much as her music continues to do.
“Santa Baby” was written for and first recorded by Kitt in 1953. Its subsequent life has included numerous covers and reinterpretations, but the aespa collaboration puts the original performer back at the center of that history.
Kitt’s daughter, Kitt Shapiro, framed the release in personal rather than purely commemorative terms.
“My mother believed in bringing generations and cultures together through music,” she said in the announcement. “I think she would be absolutely delighted to hear her voice alongside the talented women of aespa.”
For aespa, the connection was already familiar. The members said they had all enjoyed listening to Kitt’s original during the holiday season.
“It’s such an honor to be part of a song that has been loved for so many years,” the group said. “We hope this new version brings a little extra joy to everyone’s holiday season.”
Why Primary Wave Is Part of the Story
The company behind the release helps explain why a contemporary K-pop group and a voice from 1953 are meeting now.
Founded by Larry Mestel in 2006, Primary Wave is an independent music publishing and entertainment company. Its work includes partnerships with artists and estates, music licensing, marketing and the development of projects around established catalogs.
That business is about more than keeping older recordings available. The company describes its approach as bringing established music into new cultural settings through creative partnerships and other projects. Its roster includes connections to the catalogs of artists such as Bob Marley, Whitney Houston and Stevie Nicks. Primary Wave
The aespa release offers a concrete example of what that can look like for listeners. A familiar recording gains a new point of entry through an active group, while that group’s audience is directed toward the artist behind the original.
The birthday anniversary gives the collaboration its occasion. Keeping Kitt’s recorded voice in the song gives it a more direct connection to her work than a tribute performed entirely by someone else.
A Different Kind of K-pop Collaboration
International collaborations are often discussed in terms of two current artists bringing their audiences together. “Santa Baby” adds another dimension: the meeting happens across generations as well as musical markets.
For Kitt’s listeners, aespa’s participation presents another interpretation of a long-established favorite. For listeners arriving through aespa, the song can lead backward into Kitt’s recordings and wider career. Neither audience has to approach the release with the same history.
That is the most interesting promise of this collaboration. It treats a classic not only as something to revisit each December, but as a recording that can still introduce one generation of performers to another.
Listen to “Santa Baby” on streaming services
More from aespa: the group’s 2027 UK and European tour · aespa Artist Hub.
Reporting is based on the supplied SM Entertainment release and Primary Wave’s announcement. The discussion of the collaboration’s context is editorial analysis. Artwork: COURTESY OF PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC. General aespa promotional portrait: COURTESY OF SM ENTERTAINMENT.