Ariana Grande is spicing things up this festive season with a revamp of one of her classic hits.
The pop star dropped an updated version of her 2014 hit “Santa Tell Me,” with its 2023 outing a little bit frisky. Moving from Santa’s nice list to the naughty one, “Santa Tell Me (Naughty Version)” landed on music-streaming platforms on December 11. Although updated, not all music fans could hear the difference, leading to confused listeners posting online to ask what had changed.
A puzzled fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “It literally sounds the same am I missing something.”
However, music aficionados on the social-media platform noticed a slight difference. One posted: “She literally changed two lines.” A second added: “It’s two line changes in the bridge and an extended outro and that’s it.”
“Nothing changes expect 2 lines of the bridge.. but might be a great streaming strategy, let’s see,” a listener wrote.
Robin Marchant/Getty Images
So, what makes this version naughty? The 2014 hit has two specific lines that go: “Oh, I wanna have him beside me, like oh-woo-oh / On the 25th, by that fireplace, oh-woo-oh.” Newsweek has contacted Ariana Grande’s publicist via email for comment.
Festive music lovers say the song is a must-play tune when the season comes, but the new lyrics might make them think twice before playing it out loud at a family gathering.
The updated lyrics read: “Oh, I wanna let him unwrap me, like oh-woo-oh / Get on top of him, by that fireplace, oh-woo-oh.”
It appears the confusion was magnified with news of the song dropping at midnight for different time zones.
🚨 “santa tell me” (naughty version) is being added to “christmas and chill” on streaming services. it’s being released at midnight local time. pic.twitter.com/E7Vvo32E0K
— Ariana Grande Today (@ArianaToday) December 10, 2023
So, for many, it was a case of rewinding and playing the song back, and for others, they were too eager, with their time zone not having the update.
Frustrations poured in online, with comments such as: “I got the song !! But Spotify didn’t update the lyrics yet!” and “… same! Help!”
After the realization about different time zones, a relieved fan wrote: “lol [laugh out loud] yes it was jus that when I put this song, she didn’t sing those lines. But it was jus that it wasn’t updated.”
Grande has been busy filming the movie adaptation of the musical Wicked, but with the revamped Christmas song and some music-studio images that the star shared on Instagram, fans are speculating that new music is on the horizon.
A few days ago, the “Thank U, Next” singer shared a series of images and videos on Instagram with a microphone in her hand and at the studio desk working on music.
The post has amassed over 4 million likes from Instagram users and received comments like, “FINALLY,” “She back,” and “She’s HOME!!!”
Her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo said: “Love you, sweetheart, no one is ready, I’m so freaking proud of you!! This project is so freaking special!!!”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.