The most divisive song of the 2019 holiday season is also one of the top selling ones.
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has soared up the digital sales charts as Christmas draws near, with sales increasing 70% in the latest tallying, putting the Dean Martin hit in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart.
People, of course, have been discussing the nuances of and messages within “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” since they jostled for the best seat at Thanksgiving dinner. Some feel the song condones unwanted sexual advances, an especially sensitive topic in light of the #MeToo movement. Others feel those accusations are political correctness run amok.
The debate has had some far-reaching effects, with some radio stations opting to ban the song from their holiday playlists. But the 1944 ditty has proven immune to the criticisms. This year, in fact, marks the first time it has made the Top 10 in the digital song sales chart.
Specifically, it was Dean Martin’s 1959 take on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that made the charts. That leaped from the number 31 spot to number 10 in the list for Dec. 22 (which records sales for the week ending Dec. 13), according to Nielsen Music. Eleven thousand downloads of the song were sold that week.
Meanwhile, on Billboard’s Holiday 100, Dean Martin’s take on the song jumped from 31 to 17. A 2014 version from Idina Menzel and Michale Buble is at 72 and the 2016 version from Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor came in at 84.