Brenda Lee says “Noche Buena Y Navidad”
Last year, I wrote a little about Brenda’s Lee’s Christmas classic, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and how, at 78, she had just made a music video to go with the song she recorded when she was 13. Whomever handles Brenda Lee’s business affairs knows how to keep the money coming. For 2024, there’s a new Spanish-language version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and Brenda got to take it easy. Producers used AI to go back to 1958 and have “Brenda” sing en Español.
The Spanish lyrics are a lot more generic than the original. References to pumpkin pie and mistletoe are dropped for hugging and presents – and expanding the celebration to both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – making this new version more relatable to more of the world.
Original lyrics
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung where you can see every couple tries to stop
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree, let the Christmas spirit ring
Later we’ll have some pumpkin pie and we’ll do some caroling
Spanish lyrics translated to English
I want to dance and enjoy Christmas with you
So many presents to open, the stars will shine
I want to dance and smile, celebrate next to the tree,
Share all this happiness in a hug.
So, who is actually singing? Latin Grammy-winning producer Auero Baqueiro kept the original instruments and most of the original “aah and ooh” background vocals, but brought in Peruvian-born and Los Angeles-based singer Leyla Hoyle for the lead vocal. Hoyle has recorded background vocals for everyone from Olga Tañon to Gwen Stafani. She also has a solo line in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s “Encanto.” Hoyle did her best impression of young Brenda Lee and then AI completed the transformation.
The animated music video for “Noche Buena Y Navidad (Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree)” was created by Fantoons, which has created similar YouTube videos for everyone from Dean Martin and The Beach Boys to Frank Zappa and Rush. If you own the rights to a “legacy” song, it’s good to get an official video on YouTube so you can profit from the views. That’s gotta be a big part of why, last year, Brenda Lee made a video of the original “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” In just the last year, it got 34 million hits (and 34 million pre-roll commercials). Here’s a couple more Fantoons videos for YouTube – one for Christmas and one … not.