|
|
|
BRENDA LEE’S “NOCHE BUENA Y NAVIDAD,” THE NEW SPANISH LANGUAGE ADAPTATION OF HER ICONIC HOLIDAY HIT, “ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE,” SOUNDTRACKS LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINE CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS IN NEW ANIMATED VIDEO BY FANTOONS
| |
|
FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND SONG CREATED WITH THE HELP OF
RESPONSIBLY SOURCED AI AND BRENDA LEE’S FULL AUTHORIZATION
| |
| LOS ANGELES (November 15, 2024) — Brenda Lee’s “Noche Buena y Navidad,” the new Spanish adaptation of her iconic holiday hit, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” soundtracks the myriad ways Christmas is celebrated across Latin America and amongst Latíne families in the U.S. in the charming new video created by Fantoons, the renowned animation studio co-founded by Venezuelan-born, U.S.-based writer and director, David Calcano, and producer, Linda Otero.
| |
| Throughout the festive, colorful clip, viewers are taken on a Christmas Eve bike ride that begins below the equator in the summer, traveling through beautiful Latin American towns in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and El Salvador, before transitioning to winter and heading north to Mexico and Miami in the United States, all along the way showcasing the many Noche Buena traditions of Spanish speaking people all over the world. The video culminates with Brenda Lee performing “Noche Buena y Navidad” on stage in Los Angeles.
Many of the foods and specialties eaten in the various regions when celebrating with loved ones on Christmas Eve are highlighted throughout the cultural melting pot, including handmade tamales, pan de jamón, asado and Ponche Navideño, a traditional Mexican punch made of guava, tejocote, Opal apple, cane sugar, prunes, cinnamon and tamarind. The Easter Egg-laden video is filled with cassette tape imagery throughout as a nod to how holiday music was traditionally shared in Latin America and Latíne culture on mezcladitos or mixtapes for family and friends.
“Noche Buena y Navidad” was refreshed under the production of acclaimed four-time Latin GRAMMY Award-winning producer, Auero Baqueiro, keeping the original music and background vocals while replacing Lee’s original lead vocals with a newly translated Spanish language vocal, created using a new AI vocal model, derived from Brenda Lee’s voice that has been fully approved by her.
The result is a new version of the familiar and cherished holiday classic that sounds as if 13-year-old Brenda Lee was in the booth, singing it for the first time.
The track’s new vocal was created with the help of SoundLabs AI’s MicDrop, a cutting-edge AI audio plug-in which allows a user to transform their voice into another voice or instrument. In partnership with UMG, SoundLabs is creating official ultra-high fidelity vocal models for artists, using their own voice data for training while giving them full artistic approval and control of the output. More information about the process is available here: https://www.universalmusic.com/brenda-lees-iconic-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-released-in-spanish-for-the-first-time-with-help-from-soundlabs-ais-responsibly-trained-micdrop-ai-tech/
“Noche Buena y Navidad” is the first collaboration with a UMG artist to be released and marks the first time that a music company has used ethically trained AI to release a new language version of a classic song, created responsibly with the artist’s involvement and authorization.
“I am so blown away by this new Spanish version of ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,’ which was created with the help of AI,” says Brenda Lee. “Throughout my career, I performed and recorded many songs in different languages, but I never recorded ‘Rockin’’ in Spanish, which I would have loved to do. To have this out now is pretty incredible and I’m happy to introduce the song to fans in a new way.”
Last holiday season, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” was the No. 1 song in the U.S. for three weeks, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart more than half a century after it was recorded and released in 1958, by the then 13-year-old star.
About Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee signed with the legendary Decca Records label before her 12th birthday and went on to record such landmark hits as “Sweet Nothin’s,” “All Alone Am I,” “Break It To Me Gently” and “I’m Sorry.” Though she had success in multiple genres including rockabilly, pop and rock, Lee found her home in country music. Lee’s best-loved hit, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” celebrated its 65th anniversary last year and continues to top the charts year after year. Not only has Lee sold more than 100 million albums globally, throughout her career she shared stages and earned the respect of the world’s most revered performers. The Beatles opened for her and the lads from Liverpool became good friends with the Southern belle from Atlanta, and Elvis Presley and Lee made their Grand Ole Opry debut on the same night. Lee had nine consecutive top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits from 1960 to 1962 and set a record for a female solo artist that was unequaled until over two decades later. Lee churned out country hits such as “Sunday Sunrise” and “Big Four Poster Bed” and continued to have country hits into the 80s, including “I Love Her So,” a duet with George Jones. Lee was the first woman inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Hall of Fames and she is a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. Her hit song “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” was certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA and reached 1 billion streams on Spotify. In November 2023, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever, 65 years after the song’s debut, and was at the top spot for three weeks. By hitting the No.1 spot, Lee broke several records, many of which were held by Mariah Carey and “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” whom Lee beat out for the top. Lee claims just the third holiday No. 1 ever on the Hot 100. “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” is also Lee’s third No. 1. She now holds the record for the longest gap between an artist’s first and most recent week at No.1 on the Hot 100, as her first No.1 was her single “I’m Sorry” in 1960. Lee and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” now also hold the record for the longest climb to the top of the Hot 100, as the Johnny Marks-written hit was released 65 years ago, when Lee was just 13 years old. Now, at 79-years-old, Lee is also the oldest woman to top the Hot 100, surpassing previous record-holders Cher (“Believe,” age 52) and Carey (“All I Want for Christmas is You,” age 53).
| |
|
|
|
|
