Lady Gaga is more experienced than just about any modern pop star when it comes to singing classic songs, thanks to endeavors like her albums with Tony Bennett and her recent Harlequin album, which primarily features covers of jazz standards. So, it’s only natural that she tackle a Christmas favorite, and that’s just what she did with today’s (December 16) release of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”
Instead of playing the song in a traditional jazz style, though, she opts for a more guitar-heavy, organ-accented rock sound. It’s definitely still a trip back in the aesthetic time machine, albeit not to the sound of most classic Christmas songs.
Gaga debuted her rendition of the song during A Carpool Karaoke Christmas, a new holiday special surprise-released on Apple TV. Also appearing on the special (with host Zane Lowe, not James Corden) are Chappell Roan and Dua Lipa.
During Gaga’s segment, Lowe surprised her with an appearance from AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. Gaga then explained, “You want to hear something funny? I was in [2000’s] ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ video. I was 17 and I was an extra in the back and I was headbanging. And they were like, ‘Don’t headbang. We want it to be modern.’ And I was like, ‘No, I can’t. Like, there’s only one move that I can do.'”
Listen to Gaga’s “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” above.
