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All I Want for Christmas

Dec 25, 2006  •  Post A Comment

TelevisionWeek is trawling video-sharing Web sites to find the hottest clips spreading on the Internet. Visit TVWeek.com to view the latest.

The setup: Need a last minute gift idea for your special sweetie? Well, you only need wrapping paper and a box for this one. Pop star Justin Timberlake and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Andy Samberg perform a duet in this Internet-only Christmas clip, crooning a suggestion for the perfect gift. Want a hint? Well, it’s a four-letter word that starts with “D,” if that helps.

The source: NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” ran the bleeped-out version of the song when Mr. Timberlake appeared on the show on Dec. 16. The network then posted the explicit version on NBC.com and YouTube. In an interesting twist, this sanctioned SNL sketch was written by the same scribes who penned the now-famous “Lazy Sunday” skit that kicked off the year of the great viral video debate between networks and YouTube. As the year draws to a close, the “D*** in a Box” song is a classic example of joining them if you can’t beat them.

The hits: By Dec. 21, the NBC-posted version generated nearly 2.9 million views on YouTube, with another 1.5 million views for user-posted duplicates, and 320,000 views on NBC.com.

Viral Video: D*** in a Box