Martin's version of the suddenly much-buzzed-about 1944 song surges by 70 percent in sales.

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" has come under fire of late, with some radio stations banning the holiday standard in light of the #MeToo movement and others defending and continuing to play it. Frank Loesser wrote the song in 1944, and its storyline of a male suitor who attempts to dissuade his object of affection from leaving for the chilly outdoors is being newly dissected.

Despite the controversy, or perhaps in part because of attention generated by it, a version of the song hits the top 10 of Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart for the first time. Dean Martin's take, recorded in 1959, is the chart's Greatest Gainer, soaring from No. 31 to No. 10 on the Dec. 22-dated list, up 70 percent to 11,000 downloads sold in the week ending Dec. 13, according to Nielsen Music. A week earlier, it returned to the chart with a 257 percent blast to 7,000 sold.

For a second consecutive week, Martin's cover is the second-best-selling holiday song, below Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (14,000, down 6 percent).

On the Holiday 100 chart, which ranks the top holiday songs of all eras via a blend of streaming, airplay and sales data, Martin's "Cold" jumps 31-17. Until a week ago, it had never ranked in the top 40 dating to the chart's 2011 inception. (Carey's "Christmas" continues to rule the Holiday 100 and becomes the highest-charting yuletide hit in 60 years on the Billboard Hot 100.)

Also on the Holiday 100 are two other versions of "Cold": Idina Menzel's 2014 duet with Michael Bublé, at No. 72 (up 8 percent in overall activity), and Brett Eldredge's 2016 take, featuring Meghan Trainor, at No. 84 (down 2 percent). Both gain in sales: the former by 5 percent to 3,000 and the latter by 17 percent to 2,000.

Martin's interpretation of "Cold" also surges by 35 percent to 11.1 million U.S. streams in the tracking week. Plus, it gains by 25 percent to 1.4 million in airplay audience (while his 2006 duet version with Martina McBride climbs by 26 percent to 3.2 million).