Ed Sheeran has revealed that he will be releasing a Christmas single in collaboration with Elton John.
Elton John’s previous Christmas song, 1973’s Step into Christmas, failed to make much of an impact in the charts on its original release. In the decades since it’s become a staple of Christmas radio airplay and entered the UK Top 10 for the first time in 2019.
Sheeran says Step into Christmas’s chart revival inspired Elton John to release a new holiday themed song this Christmas.
“Elton rang me on Christmas Day to say Merry Christmas,” Sheeran revealed in an interview on Dutch radio. “Elton rings me almost every single day. He said Step into Christmas is Number 6 in the charts! I want to do another Christmas song – will you do it with me?”
Asked for details of the song, Sheeran teased “It’s just me and him. It’s great.”
Sheeran admitted that at first he “didn’t feel like [the song] suited” him but Elton convinced him to go ahead with the collaboration. For Sheeran, the chance to collaborate with one of his idols was too good to turn down.
“You don’t know if you’ll still be there tomorrow, everything can change overnight,” he said. “I may not be here tomorrow. Why shouldn’t I grab this opportunity?”
Elton John recently announced The Lockdown Sessions, an album of collaborations with artists including Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Eddie Vedder.
Last week Elton John released Finish Line, a collaboration with Stevie Wonder, which he called “one of the best records I’ve ever made.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of Finish Line,” Elton said in a statement. “Stevie’s voice is as good as I can ever remember hearing him – he sounds like a 17-year-old again, he’s singing with a sheer joy and exuberance in his vocals. Andrew Watt has done an unbelievable job on the production. It was a magical process.”
“I’ve always loved collaborating with Stevie, and I’m delighted that after 50 years of friendship we finally get to do a full blown duet,” he added. “He has always been so kind and sweet to me, and his talent is beyond ridiculous. When you listen to what he does vocally and instrumentally on Finish Line you think, this is a true genius here.”
“It is both a joy and honour to sing, play piano and harmonica for Elton,” Stevie Wonder said of the duet. “He has truly been one of the great spirits of music, life, friendship and love, who I’ve met on this life journey! True artistry and music like love equals a forever commitment lasting many lifetimes.”
Ed Sheeran’s upcoming album, titled =, will release on October 29th. It features his recent chart-topping single Shivers.
