Jimmy Fallon has recruited Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion for “It Was A…(Masked Christmas)”: a shimmery pop tune about Christmas in the time of COVID-19.
“It Was A… (Masked Christmas)” takes cues from the Yuletide songs of decades past, with bubbly, ‘80s-esque synths and a sharp, mix-filling beat evocative of early ‘00s pop. Fallon delivers the track’s lead vocal with far more aplomb than expected from a late-night talk show host, adding colour to Grande’s ethereal singing with his bold flair.
Megan’s primary contribution is a rapped verse towards the end of the track, waxing lyrical on her ambitions to make her 2021 holiday season especially wild. She raps: “This Christmas I’m a make it count/No more quarantine on the couch /This year hang that mistletoe / I’m a kiss everybody that I know/This year’s different, you can tell /Deck those halls and jingle bells / Put Purell on everything / Turkey, egg nog, candy cane.”
The track arrives today with a video showing Fallon, Grande and Stallion in a series of Christmas-themed settings – drinking eggnog by an open fire, skiing down a mountain, dancing inside a snow globe and lining up for their vaccine booster shots. For her solo verse, Stallion appears wearing vaccine needles glued to her fingernails. You can see it below.
Last week, Megan announced the cancellation of an upcoming show in Houston “out of respect” for those impacted by last month’s Astroworld tragedy. She was due to play a homecoming gig at the 713 Music Hall venue in Houston last Friday (December 3) as part of her current US tour.
The tour comes in support of her new mixtape ‘Something For Thee Hotties’, which landed last month via 300 Entertainment and sported the singles “Tuned In Freestyle”, “Outta Town Freestyle”, “South Side Forever Freestyle” and “Thot Sh_t”.
Megan took home three wins at this year’s American Music Awards, earning the trophies for Favourite Trending Song (with “Body”), Favourite Hip-Hop Album (with Good News) and Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist. NME gave Good News a four-star review, saying: “This debut finds Megan Thee Stallion determined to retain her freewheeling positivity in a difficult year. And isn’t that the sound of 2020?”