Darlene Love opens up about her favorite cover of 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)' on 'The View' podcast

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In a sneak peek of 'The View: Behind the Table' podcast, 82-year-old singer Darlene Love revealed her favorite cover of the iconic song 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).'

Released 60 years ago, the song has spawned many versions by a host of artists such as Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, Leona Lewis, the Foo Fighters, Jon Bon Jovi, and most recently, Cher, according to People.

Nevertheless, when questioned about her preference, Love informed podcast host Brian Teta, the executive producer and showrunner of 'The View,' that she favored "U2's rendition."

Why is U2's version of 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)' the favorite of Darlene Love?

"I have a connection with U2 and the song because U2 wanted me to do all the background parts, not me and some people," explained the songstress. "I did all the background parts. We went in and we did the song."

"It has a special meaning to me because it's totally different from what everybody else did. It was U2's 'Baby (Christmas Please Come Home).' That's what made it so great," she added.

The cover was released by the band in December 1987, along with the charity compilation album 'A Very Special Christmas.' A music video was also filmed for the song in November of the same year at the Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

When was 'Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)' originally released?

The song was first released as a part of the 1963 holiday compilation album, 'A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.' Penned by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, it did not chart after its initial release.

Over the years, the song did find commercial success and charted at No 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022.

An annual tradition

Love has been performing her songs live on television before the holidays for almost four decades.

Her performance was part of the routine on the episode before Christmas of 'Late Night with David Letterman' and 'The Late Show with David Letterman' for 29 years starting from 1986.

When the show wrapped in 2015, her performance became a part of the holiday episodes of 'The View.'

The singer reportedly told People, "I've just loved coming to The View every year. I was so loyal to David Letterman because he really reignited my career by bringing me back every year, so I deliberately wouldn't perform it anywhere else so I could make it special."

"And the last time, he said to me was, ‘I hope someone picks this up’ — because it was so much fun to do there. So to keep that tradition going as long as we can was important and somebody, a little bird, heard him and we brought it over to The View."