Shania Twain Celebrates the Holidays with Sabrina Carpenter on A Nonsense Christmas Netflix TV Special

There are some people around the Holler offices who believe Shania Twain is wholly responsible for setting the template for all modern pop music. The heady concoction of hook heavy pop with stadium sized rock dynamics that she perfected on albums like Come on Over and Woman In Me with her husband at the time, Robert "Mutt" Lange, has influenced everyone from Britney Spears to Taylor Swift.

Post Malone and Rihanna both cite her as an influence, and in recent years, younger artists have begun paying their respects to the queen of country pop. Harry Styles brought Shania out as a surprise guest during his headlining set at Coachella in 2022 and she featured on Orville Peck's Show Pony EP in 2020.

Now Grammy-nominated pop singer Sabrina Carpenter joins them, bringing out the country pop queen to duet with her on a version of 'Santa Baby' amongst other "musical comedy holiday special celebrity guests" on her Netflix TV Special, A Nonsense Christmas, which aired on Netflix last Friday 6th December.

Shania was introduced to the show playing the part of "Mrs Claus" during a skit about Sabrina Carpenter's friends, played by Owen Thiele and Hacks' star Megan Stalter, thinking Sabrina has been dating Santa Claus.

"If he's really Santa then he'd know that the only thing I'd asked for as a little girl was to sing a duet with Shania Twain," she told the studio audience. At which point, Shania burst onto the set apologetically, asking, "Is my husband here?"

Sabrina is shocked to find out that her latest boyfriend is already married, to which Shania explains that they've been married for "400 years" and Santa Claus, played by Sean Astin, adds that after the first 100 years of marriage they "decided to be open."

Whereupon the scene wiped to an orchestra on a stage and Sabrina introducing Shania Twain. Wearing a white sparkly puff sleeved dress, Shania joined Sabrina to perform the holiday classic, 'Santa Baby,' originally a hit for Eartha Kitt in 1953 when it became the best-selling Christmas song of the year.

Sabrina Carpenter leaned into her own affection for the country genre when she joined Kacey Musgraves on stage at Outside Lands festival 2024 and on her latest Grammy nominated album, 'Short N' Sweet, earlier in the year on the twangy Jack Antonoff produced song 'Slim Pickins.' It's not the first time 'Santa Baby' has had a country makeover either. American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler, included it on her country compilation album, Hear Something Country Christmas in 2007.

For more on 'Santa Baby' and other holiday country songs check out our Holler list of the Best Country Christmas Songs.

Sabrina Carpenter's A Nonsense Christmas is available to watch on Netflix now featuring songs taken from her 2023 Fruitcake EP.