In October 2021, when Primary Wave first acquired a stake in Bing Crosby’s estate, the company’s new leadership outlined two primary objectives.
“One is we want to make Bing the king of Christmas and holidays, every season, every year,” Jack LeVine, senior marketing manager, told Billboard. The other goal: “Exciting, educating, and engaging global and young audiences around Bing and his catalog.”
Nearly 7,000 miles away, one person key to achieving both goals was making waves as part of South Korean boy band BTS. In 2021, the group reignited global attention on K-pop with a string of hit singles, including the 10-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Butter.” But while the performer known as V dazzled the world as a member of BTS, the artist born Kim Tae-hyung was also a devoted jazz fan. His favorite artist? Bing Crosby.
Fast forward three years, and V can now call Crosby his duet partner. On Friday, Dec. 6, a revamped version of “White Christmas” was released, combining Crosby’s vocals—lifted from a rare recording—and V’s newly recorded voice, backed by updated instrumentals. The collaboration represents years of work by Primary Wave, Crosby’s children Mary and Harry, and a team of producers and marketers dedicated to preserving Crosby’s legacy while modernizing his appeal.
The project’s origins can be traced to a July 2022 vlog, where V sang Crosby’s “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” in his car. At the time, Primary Wave had considered pairing Crosby with a contemporary artist but struggled to find the right fit. Sarah Nekich, who leads digital and audience engagement for the estate, said discovering V’s video was serendipitous.
“It was just too perfect,” Nekich told Billboard. “He has a beautiful, jazz-like voice that sounds very similar to a young Bing Crosby. It was a no-brainer: these two are meant to be on a song together.”
V’s label, HYBE x Geffen, was receptive to the idea. Producer Gregg Field, known for his work with John Williams and Herbie Hancock, was brought on to craft the duet. Using technology to isolate Crosby’s vocals from a mid-20th-century radio recording, Field and his team created a fresh instrumental arrangement designed to resonate with modern audiences.
The process wasn’t without challenges. Crosby’s part was extracted and enhanced with software to restore clarity, a process Field compared to “removing years of crud to expose what’s there.” Meanwhile, V recorded his vocals remotely in late 2023, just before beginning his 18-month military service.
“The musical decisions [V] made showed he understood who he was singing with,” Field said.
When the duet was announced in November, it was met with an outpouring of enthusiasm from BTS fans, known as ARMY. The response was immediate: Crosby’s social media engagement skyrocketed by 300,000%, and his follower count doubled on X (formerly Twitter).
For Mary Crosby, the collaboration honors her father’s spirit of innovation. “Dad was always ahead of the game and loved musical experiments,” she said. “This collaboration with V is a continuation of that. Many people from his era wouldn’t have been able to wrap their heads around it, but I think Dad would have.”
Mary believes her father would have eagerly partnered with V if he were alive today. “Dad would’ve jumped at the chance,” she said. “He tried everything and sang with everybody. That sparked him.”
With the duet now streaming, Primary Wave is optimistic about its potential to become a new holiday classic—and perhaps even reach the top of the Billboard charts this Christmas.
“Respect to the queen,” LeVine quipped, referencing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” “But I hope we outperform Mariah this year.”