Miley Cyrus’ reworked Santa Baby has become super popular online after she appeared on The Tonight Show. The pop superstar changed the lyrics to the 1953 Christmas classic to be more fitting in todays society.
Her version became very popular online as many fans asked if she would record a studio version of the song and release it. That hasn’t happened yet, but her brilliant remake featuring lines like, “Listen Santa to what I say, A girl’s best friend is an equal pay, So stop interrupting me when I talk, And don’t text me pictures of your…”
Below are the lyrics to her reworked version:
Santa baby, I hear you’ve got
Some presents for me, Miley
I’ve been an awfully good girl
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Santa baby, I don’t need any fancy jewelry
Not me, I’ve got something else in mind
Santa baby
And I don’t need your presents tonight
Don’t want diamonds, cash, or stars
Nothing that comes in a box
No more fluff, I’ve had enough
And I can buy my own damn stuff
Santa baby, I bought a baller car of my own
My own, I bought it all by myself
Santa baby
With zero help from Elf on a Shelf
Listen Santa to what I say
A girl’s best friend is an equal pay
So stop interrupting me when I talk
And don’t text me pictures of your…
Santa baby, i’d love to know my ass
Won’t get grabbed at work
By some ignorant jerk
Tell the dirtbag to put
Away the chimney tonight
Put away the chimney tonight
Just put away your chimney tonight
So put away your chimney tonight
So put away your chimney tonight
One of the most fabulous things in life is when opposites attract and make something magical. That’s certainly what happened when Miley Cyrus decided to cover Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters. Miley Cyrus, daughter of legendary country star Billy Ray Cyrus, first came to fame as the star of the teen show Hannah Montana.
Since then, she has forged a successful musical career in the pop, country and rock genres. Metallica, on the other hand, have always been a purely heavy metal band. They have always been popular with metal fans but recently had an upsurge in popularity following the use of their song Master of Puppets on the hit Netflix series Stranger Things.
However you look at it, though, Miley Cyrus and Metallica don’t seem like an obvious pairing. Miley Cyrus has explained why that isn’t the case. She has said that she felt like the song was written for her. That’s the reason she included it as part of her set at Glastonbury in 2019. She was about to get divorced and had recently lost her home in the California forest fires.
She explains, “This song was what drove me to that place, because I knew nothing else mattered. My life in regards to love was falling apart, but I had my love for music.”
Miley later covered the song again on the album The Blacklist, which is a tribute album released in 2021. A range of artists covered every song from Metallica’s self-titled album from 1991. The name The Blacklist was chosen because the album was more commonly called The Black Album than its given name.
In Miley’s version, she was accompanied on the piano by renowned singer and songwriter Elton John. Miley’s voice is raspy and raw and lends real emotion to the song. Meanwhile, Elton has such undeniable musical talent that he can turn his hand or keys to anything.
If you’ve never heard Miley perform Nothing Else Matters, you should check it out immediately. Whether you’re a Metallica fan, a Miley fan, or neither, it is still definitely worth a listen. The video above is from a live performance on The Howard Stern show in 2021. Due to Covid, Miley and Metallica are in Los Angeles while Howard Stern is in New York. Luckily, the distance doesn’t affect the stellar quality of the performance.
It must have been strange for Metallica frontman James Hetfield to take a backing role as Miley performed the lead. However, he looked every bit as comfortable, and it was an exceptional performance. He also talked a little about the origins of the song. “Late ’80s, we built this reputation of tough guys, we’re made of stone,” Hetfield said. “And this is one of the most vulnerable [songs]. The tougher the armour, the bigger the heart you want to show, but you’re afraid to.”
I’m sure all the Metallica fans out there are very glad the band took the risk and wrote this beautiful song. It’s raw and emotional and shows a completely different side of the band. Miley captures the emotion perfectly, which makes this duet so unique.