Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Well not really, as it's a balmy low 70's / upper 60's here in southern California (yeah I know, we Angelenos have it so easy), but the highly anticipated music video of Haley’s and Casey’s duet of this holiday classic is finally here! It’s hard to believe, but this is the third collaboration from these lovable and jazzy former Idol finalists, after ‘Moanin’ and ‘I Feel the Earth Move.’ Shot like a homemade movie, I find this video rather cute and charming, kinda like Mariah Carey’s 1994 video of her signature Christmas song ‘All I Want for Christmas is You,’ which you can also find in the ‘Favorites’ section of my YouTube channel (behind this one of course).

‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ is a mash up video with various cuts in both color and black & white of Haley and Casey in different clothes, playfully singing to vintage microphones, goofing off and otherwise engaged in various holiday shenanigans. The two have great chemistry and spontaneity around each other, and who expected right off the bat in a role reversal that it’s Haley opening the door for Casey?  Haley looked, well, scrumptious in a red dress, then a black one.  Some of the cuts featured recording studio personnel, such as the one in which one of them played an air sax. Here’s an idea, we should have a world ‘Air Saxophone’ championship like the one we have for air guitars.  And how about Sax Hero! Who wouldn’t want to be a badass sax player like Kenny G, Dave Koz, Paul Taylor, Mindi Abair or Candy Dulfer?  Just be extra careful when you pronounce the word 'Sax.'

So what about the singing and the music?  In contrast to their previous duets, ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ is light and airy. Heckle if you must, but I always loved that subcategory of jazz (or bastard child of jazz depending on how you see it) people call ‘smooth jazz,’ with its smooth grooves and easy listening rhythms. Piano chanteuse Norah Jones made a pretty decent career out of it, and I still sometimes get goose-bumps whenever I listen to her sing ‘Don’t Know Why’ or ‘Come Away with Me’ live. Though Haley's been known to growl once in a while, I love it even more when she croons softly in that sexy voice of hers.  Her silky smooth jazz voice is like butter, such a pleasure to listen to.  And let's raise a glass to the red-bearded Santa, Casey Abrams, too shall we?  He was magnificent in this duet and damn, his falsetto voice is pretty dope!

Be sure to download this great holiday classic from iTunes or Amazon available starting on November 21. It's the perfect music to listen to while curled up by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate or apple cider in your lap.  After all, it's cold outside!  Except for southern California, of course.