Pop star Olivia Rodrigo unwrapped her first-ever Christmas song on Thursday night, alongside a festive music video starring Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon. The track, called Take Me Home (4 Christmas), finds the pop star asking her boyfriend to "show some serious commitment" by bringing her to his parents' house for the Christmas break. As soon as it was released, fans noticed similarities to The Waitresses' 1981 festive hit Christmas Wrapping...
And it turns out that was by design rather than mistake. Chris Butler, who wrote The Waitresses' song, posted a message on Facebook, external, saying Rodrigo had contacted him to seek permission for the song; and praising her "phenomenal" writing. "About two months ago, I received a weird email from someone claiming to be 'Olivia Rodrigo'," he said.
"Said she'd written a Christmas song, and invited me to hear it." Admitting he'd never heard of the pop star before, Butler said he assumed the email was a fake. But after researching her career, he became a fan - not just of her music, but of the fact she'd hired an all-female band, and negotiated control of her master recordings. In the end, he decided to reply to her email - and posted the text to his Facebook profile.
"If you really are you, thanks for contacting me. And your comments are really sweet, and very flattering," he said. "They're really sweet and flattering... even if you AREN'T you.
"If you really are Olivia Rodrigo: I like you, I like your music. I like the arrangements especially. And that your recordings sound like people are playing on them.
He continued: "I like that your lyrics are intense, real, and poetic. I like that you "got" my songwriting, and that you like our band." Butler also accepted the invitation to hear Rodrigo's Christmas song, and told his followers: "Her song was/is great. "It's going to be a smash, maybe even that elusive Christmas number one contest they have every year in the UK." Although the song is indebted to the Waitresses' new wave and post-punk sound, Butler does not receive a writing credit on Take Me Home (4 Christmas) as it neither samples nor interpolates any of his music.
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