Darlene Love says she was 'snubbed' by producers of Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting: 'They book these younger artists who can't even hit the high notes'
Singer Darlene Love, the voice behind the iconic song “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” says she’s been snubbed repeatedly by producers of the Christmas tree lighting extravaganza at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Love, now 78, described her unhappiness in a lengthy Facebook post Wednesday night, as the annual event was broadcast live on NBC. She pointed out that, although she’s still alive and performing, younger artists who “can’t even hit the notes properly and are off key” are regularly brought in to perform her 1963 track. This year, the song went to Pitch Perfect alum Skylar Astin and former Glee actress Alex Newell, stars of the upcoming NBC show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
Love said her publicist has been trying to book her on the show for more than a decade.
“They keep saying that I’m not their demo or big enough and would only book me if Bette Midler or Bruce Springsteen would do it with me,” Love wrote. “I would NEVER ask my friends to do that.”
Love deemed the situation “such an insult and let down!”
Yahoo Entertainment has reached out to both NBC and Brad Lachman Productions for comment.
TV viewers can still catch Love performing her signature song for them. Gone are the days when she sang it every year on the Late Show With David Letterman, since Letterman retired in 2015, but she’s now made a tradition of singing it on ABC’s The View. She’s booked for the Dec. 20 show in 2019.
Video: Darlene Love Performs ‘Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)’
Meanwhile, Love has several holiday shows booked throughout the northeast and in California in the final few weeks of the year. Her setlist includes many other Christmas tunes, such as “All Alone on Christmas,” which was memorably used in the movie, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter.
