John Legend has added hefty doses of comedy and sexiness to classic holiday songs.
Not long after he was announced as People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive," the Grammy-winning singer appeared in a Tonight Show sketch that poked fun at his new title as well as those cheesy Christmas album commercials. Jimmy Fallon took on the role as the combover-donning host Jasper St. Mirth, who introduced Legend's new holiday project, titled Sexiest Elf Alive.
"Do you love Christmas music, but wish it was less cheerful and more, sexy?" St. Mirth asked viewers. "Well then, you’re going to love this new album from the man who brought you A Legendary Christmas and A Legendary Christmas: Deluxe Edition—it’s John Legend Presents: Sexiest Elf Alive. It’s full of all the sexiest, sultriest, nastiest Christmas songs out there."
The camera then cuts to Legend rocking a sleeveless elf costume, complete with a red-and-green hat and big gold chain. He then plays a few piano keys before delivering a less wholesome remix of "Jingle Bells": "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, put some tassels on your nips, and let them swing away, hey!"
Legend goes on to sing sexified renditions of "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." You can check out the full holiday sketch above.
Legend also sat down with Fallon to discuss a wide range of topics, including getting crowned Sexiest Man Alive, appearing on the Dilfs of Disneyland Instagram page, and the recent backlash over his "Baby, It's Cold Outside" remake.
"We thought it would be fun, you know, we knew there was some controversy around the original lyrics, and looked at it with 2019 eyes," he said about the song, which was assisted by Kelly Clarkson. He went on to add, "We knew there was some controversy around the original lyrics, and looked at with 2019 eyes, we thought it would be fun to do a new version, make it fun, update the lyrics to be more current. So we talked about ride-sharing services, and we make a joke like, 'Why do you still live at home with your mom?' ... Some people were just so upset that we would mess with that sacrosanct version of the original song."
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is included on Legend's deluxe edition of A Legendary Christmas; the album features tracks like "My Favorite Things," "Christmas in New Orleans," and "This Christmas," which he performed during his Tonight Show appearance.
