Music Reviews

Saweetie ain’t known as “Icy Grl” for nothing. Not only is that the name of her double-platinum debut single from 2017—not to mention it sharing half the title of her way-hot 2019 EP, Icy—but it also defines the character of her enticing, rat-a-tat brush-off flow to an “ice” T.

But now, the Bay Area rapper has set her hot-but-chill sights on reveling in the holidays with a new double-stockinged single under the Dear Big Santa mantle, which was released by Warner Records in late November 2024. The one-two party punch of Dear Big Santa’s two festive tracks, “I Want You This Christmas” and “Big Santa,” has arrived just in time for us all to enjoy Saweetie’s holiday reverie on max repeat.

To best aurally inhale “I Want You This Christmas” and “Big Santa” in their respective 360-degree presentations on Apple Music (and elsewhere), I nestled right into them using my cozy AirPod Pros, following a few sessions spent with my trusty Astell & Kern JH Audio Siren Series Layla in-ear monitors, House of Marley Liberate XLBT headphones, and floorstanding GoldenEar Technology Triton One loudspeakers.

“I Want You This Christmas” commences with a helium-inflected double-repeat of the song title — a knowing, semi-Auto-Tuned nod to Alvin and The Chipmunks, mayhap? — with a heavenly organ fill in the height channels before Saweetie interrupts the third repeat after the first two words to fully state her claim more upfront in the mix and spread across the main soundstage. Dig her lower-range dip into the “uhh” syllable in the phrase “milk and cookies” (so nice, she dunks it twice), before the next half of that verse swoops up to a higher plane in the center left. You’ll also note the Alvin-ized “I want” phrase recurring behind her in various quadrants throughout the track, almost like she’s running around the Christmas tree.

Holiday-specific bells and chimes sprinkle all throughout the Atmos channels too—the perfect accompaniment to how Saweetie extends the “ooh” portion of “you” in the title phrase for added emphasis of intent. “I Want You This Christmas” ultimately adds up to a lovely, seductively romantic gesture about reciprocating the most important feelings we can share at this (or any) time of the year—and it’s all nicely feted with a sonic bow comprised of channel-shifting chimes before Saweetie echoes the final two words of the song title at the denouement.

That all said, “Big Santa” gets a little more down to the business of, er, connecting the dots on your “naughty or nice” list. Tinkling piano notes roll out to the right following the opening organ figure in the left, with Saweetie’s introductory vocal buried under a virtual snowdrift before she takes full charge down the middle with that rapid-fire flow she’s known for. Sparse low-end tones and percussion samples accompany her near the jump, swelling in volume in spots but never overwhelming her leads. As Saweetie gets to the breathier phrase, “When the snow falls,” she takes to the skies to lay out the balance of her wish. “I want it all,” she continually implores—and when she gets to the title phrase in the choruses, the bass throbs low and deep in the center left to reinforce the message. Her reverbed, channel-splicing laughter at the tail end of “Big Santa” is the final big star placed on top of the listening tree.

Saweetie has just unwrapped two wonderful Atmos presents for us for the holidays—so let’s now enjoy them together in all their icy, seasonal splendor.

“I Want You This Christmas” and “Big Santa” can both be listened to in Dolby Atmos here on Saweetie’s Dear Big Santa two-fer single on Apple Music.