Format Digital download | Recorded 2014 Length 3:24 | |
Released November 24, 2014 (2014-11-24) | ||
"Santa Tell Me" is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande. It was written by Grande, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Savan Kotecha. The song was released on November 24, 2014, via iTunes Stores, as the Christmas original single in America. Musically, the song is a Christmas song with influences of R&B and soul.
Contents
- Background
- Promotion and release
- Composition
- Critical reception
- Commercial performance
- Music video
- Live performances
- References
Commercially, despite being a Christmas song, "Santa Tell Me" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number 42 while also entering the record charts of several other nations, including Canada, Netherlands and Japan. The music video was directed by Chris Marrs Piliero and was released on Grande's official Vevo on December 12, 2014. The song received its first performance at the 2014 A Very Grammy Christmas concert in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on November 18, 2014.
Background
Ariana released her first Christmas EP titled Christmas Kisses on December 17, 2013. The extended play had a total of 4 songs, and included covers of classics, such as "Santa Baby" and Wham!'s "Last Christmas". It also contained two original songs: "Love Is Everything" and "Snow in California".
"Santa Tell Me" was first mentioned by Ariana Grande on Tuesday, October 28 in a livestream through Twitcam. In the livestream, she said that she didn't want to do a Christmas song at first, but she changed her mind. Ariana also announced that a music video would accompany "Santa Tell Me", and that this song was her favorite Christmas song out of all of the ones she had recorded so far.
She officially announced the song and its title on her Twitter page on November 13, 2014, saying, "putting out a kewt Christmas song for u on nov 24th called Santa Tell Me! lil something for the holidays :) so excited #10DaysTilSantaTellMe."
Promotion and release
Ariana used the hashtag #10DaysTilSantaTellMe on Twitter to initiate the 10-day countdown of the song's release. She also performed the song for the first time on November 18, 2014 at the 2014 A Very Grammy Christmas concert in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. On November 18, Republic Records released the cover art of the song, which depicts a simple light pink background with "Santa Tell Me" written in the middle in golden script. On November 21, Republic Records also released a 15-second snippet of "Santa Tell Me" through their Instagram page; the preview contained part of the chorus. Ariana tweeted the last hashtag on November 23, #SantaTellMeTonight. She also posted the iTunes link of the song, which was then available for pre-order.
"Santa Tell Me" was released at midnight on November 24 on iTunes. The audio was also uploaded to Grande's official YouTube channel, ArianaGrandeVevo on November 24. Shortly after its release, the lyric video was uploaded to Vevo on November 26. It contains various photos of Ariana from her childhood during Christmas.
Composition
"Santa Tell Me" is a Christmas song with influences of R&B. It is written in the key of G major. Grande's vocals span from B3 to A5. Lyrically, the song is about how Ariana is disappointed in Santa not visiting her and not granting her Christmas wish, and she asks if he really cares. She sings, "Santa tell me if you're really there / Don't make me fall in love again if he won't be here next year / Santa tell me if he really cares / 'Cause I can't give it all away if he won't be here next year."
Critical reception
"Santa Tell Me" received generally positive responses after it was released. Jessica Ginting of FDRMX gave it 4 stars out of 5, and described the song as "a warm, feel-good song", but also said that "its cheerful instrumental restricts it from going beyond the surface, which takes away from its emotional impact." Brian Mansfield of USA Today described the song as "an attempt at a seasonal staple", but falling short of Mariah Carey's Christmas song, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", "coming across like a jingly cross-breed version of Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' and Amy Grant's 'Baby Baby'."
Commercial performance
In the United States, "Santa Tell Me" officially debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated December 13, 2014 at No. 65, and has since peaked at No. 42. The song also peaked at No.7 on Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for the chart dated December 27, 2014. In Canada, "Santa Tell Me" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at No. 73 and peaked at No. 27. As of 2015, the song sold 120,000 copies in the United States.
Music video
The official video was released on December 12, 2014. It was directed by Chris Marrs Piliero. The video features Grande with her friends dancing, laughing and giving gifts around her house along with a two-minute outtake section at the end. It surpassed 100 million views on November 26, 2016, making it Grande's fourteenth Vevo-certified music video after "Let Me Love You".
Live performances
Ariana Grande first performed "Santa Tell Me" on November 18, 2014 at the 2014 A Very Grammy Christmas Special concert in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The concert aired on December 5, 2014 on CBS. She also performed "Santa Tell Me" as part of the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour 2014. On December 8, 2014, Grande performed the song while taping the Disney Parks Frozen Christmas Celebration TV special which aired on Christmas Day.