aespa has released “Santa Baby” as a digital single that preserves Eartha Kitt’s original vocal recording while adding new contributions from Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning. The track is not a cover. Instead, it functions as a studio-built duet between the K-pop group and a singer who passed away nearly twenty years ago. The project comes from Primary Wave Music, the company that assumed control of Kitt’s catalog earlier this year.
The decision to pair a current K-pop act with a vintage holiday recording rests on the song’s lasting commercial strength. Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” remains one of the few pre-rock Christmas records to reappear on the Billboard charts every holiday season. Primary Wave Music, which partnered with Kitt’s estate, reports that the track has approached half a billion streams on Spotify alone. By placing Kitt’s voice alongside aespa, the publisher is betting that the song’s next generation of listeners will discover the original artist through a group they already follow rather than through a seasonal playlist they inherited.
The original recording dates to the early 1950s and was made with Henri René and His Orchestra. Joan Javits and Philip Springer wrote the song as a playful wish list that included sables, yachts and decorations from Tiffany. The new version runs just under three minutes and was issued under the “Primary Wave Music IV” label. aespa has previously revisited older material, notably re-recording the late-1990s S.E.S. hit “Dreams Come True” for SM Entertainment’s Remastering Project. For this release, the members described the experience as personal. All four have said they grew up listening to Eartha Kitt’s original during the holidays, and they called the chance to add their own touch a special moment.
The commercial arrangement is straightforward. Primary Wave’s agreement with the estate and Kitt’s daughter, Kitt Shapiro, covers the music catalog as well as name, image and likeness rights. The publisher already holds rights connected to Prince, Whitney Houston and Bob Marley, giving it strong incentive to extract more value from its most streamed Eartha Kitt recording in a new market.
Questions remain because Eartha Kitt cannot approve a duet assembled from her existing vocal. Her history with the song suggests she was selective about associated artists. She reportedly disliked Madonna’s connection to the track, even though critics later credited Madonna’s cover with renewing interest in it. Kitt Shapiro, who serves as executor of the estate, is the only family member to publicly endorse the project. She said she believes her mother would be delighted to hear her voice beside the members of aespa. That endorsement comes from a daughter who is also a business partner in the deal. The single arrived with audio only and no new music video, entering the most congested month of the year for holiday music.
The song became available on all major streaming platforms on November 13, 2026, and kicks off a year-long celebration leading to Eartha Kitt’s centenary. She recorded the original in October 1953. Born on January 17, 1927, in North, South Carolina, she died on December 25, 2008, at the age of 81. Following releases in Asia, Latin America and North America, aespa will take the European portion of their SYNK tour to nine cities. The run includes Manchester’s AO Arena on January 14, The O2 in London on January 16, followed by Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Milan and Barcelona, before ending at the Accor Arena in Paris on February 2. No additional Asian or Latin American dates are included in this leg.
The London performance falls on the night before what would have been Eartha Kitt’s 100th birthday. The four voices singing her song on that stage will belong to a group she never heard.
