Despite its status as a classic Christmas song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is also considered controversial. Many think the the song’s original lyrics are problematic, since it has a woman telling a man she needs to go home, but he tries to make her stay.
So when Voice coaches Kelly Clarkson and John Legend teamed up to duet on the tune in 2019, they decided to update it. In doing so, they removed lyrics that have raised eyebrows and changed them to make the male voice understanding of the female’s desire to go home.
But while the original version of the song is considered controversial by some, Clarkson and Legend’s updated version also ruffled some feathers upon its release. Many criticized the two singers for changing a song that has long been considered a classic.
JohnLegend and Kelly Clarkson did great with the update version of Baby it’s cold outside but still prefer the original by Dean Martin. Getting too politically correct nowadays #TheVoice
— Sheila (@Sheilanylv1979) December 4, 2019
Legend addressed these criticisms in an interview with People:
“It’s just another version of the song. If you don’t wanna listen to it, you don’t have to. No one’s saying you can’t listen to the old version. Those versions all exist. People make new versions of songs all the time and we thought it’d be fun to update the song and make it more current.“
Despite the backlash they previously received for their new rendition of the song, Clarkson and Legend decided to perform it on one of the Voice results shows.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5okIg-HQsH/
Dressed in a glittery, blue dress, Clarkson opened the performance singing from a comfortable perch on a red couch. Legend took a seat at a red piano while crooning his lines in response to Clarkson’s.
The stage was transformed into a Christmas wonderland, with a fully decorated set appearing behind the two coaches. There was even a fake staircase and fireplace out there!
Everyone in the live audience gave Clarkson and Legend’s performance a warm response upon its conclusion. People could be seen soaring to their feet as they applauded.
The video of Clarkson and Legend’s Voice performance has since been deleted. But you can watch them sing the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show by checking out the video below.