After months of hype, “Bad Habits” singer Ed Sheeran and the legendary Sir Elton John have released their highly-anticipated Christmas single.
After “Step Into Christmas” hit the U.K. Top 10 charts for the first time, Sheeran revealed that John reached out to him for a collaboration.
“Elton rang me on Christmas Day to say Merry Christmas. Elton rings me almost every single day,” Sheeran said in an interview last October “He said, ‘Step Into Christmas is Number 6 in the charts! I want to do another Christmas song – will you do it with me?”
As The Blast previously reported, Sheeran and John teamed up to create a teaser video and posted it to Instagram on Monday, November 29, 2021.
Sheeran & John Team Up For Charity
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In the teaser video, Sheeran approached John’s door while wearing a festive Christmas sweater. After John opens the door, Sheeran puts a finger to his lips and begins to drop cards to reveal a long message:
“Hello. Last Christmas, I received a call from my mate Elton John and he told me we should do a ‘Christmas Song’ and I replied, ‘Yeah, maybe in 2022.’ But I actually wrote the chorus that day and here we are. Our Christmas song ‘Merry Christmas’ is out this Friday. Go pre-order or pre-save it now. It has sleigh bells. A lot of them…”
In the post, Sheeran revealed that “All UK profits from this year’s Christmas period will go to the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation (www.essmf.com) and the Elton John AIDS Foundation (@ejaf).”
The Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation was started by the “Perfect” singer in 2019 to provide upcoming artists aged 18 and under with “small but hopefully used grants” to help them start a music career.
Currently, the foundation only accepts applicants that live in the Suffolk area, where Sheeran grew up and began his music career, but he is hoping that, with additional funding, they will be able to branch out and support other areas.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation was established in 1992 in the United States. It expanded into the United Kingdom in 1993. The nonprofit organization “supports innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care, and support services to people living with HIV.”
All proceeds from pre-orders on Friday, December 3, 2021, and from purchases throughout the Christmas season, will go to benefit the two charities.
Fans Can’t Stop Shaking Their Sleigh Bells To A ‘Merry Christmas’
Fans couldn’t get enough of the new collaboration. The music video, which was released early Friday morning, had over 700,000 views within the first five hours of its release.
“It does not get better than this,” one fan wrote.
“Dear Elton & Ed, thank you for gifting us this gem,” wrote another. “Early Merry Christmas to all.”
“Such a lovely feel-good song,” another shared. “Think that’s exactly what we all needed this year!”
“Absolutely love this song, great video too!” another commented. “The best Christmas song in a very long time!”
Another shared, “I love how everyone unites, celebrates, and spreads happiness with each other at Christmas. Keep spreading the good vibes.”
