October may have just started, but Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John are giving music fans a reason to look forward to the Christmas season already.
In a Wednesday (Oct. 6) interview on Jan-Willem Start Op, a morning radio program from Dutch radio station NPO Radio 2, Sheeran officially announced that he and John would be releasing a Christmas song together this December. As hosts Jan-Willem Roodbeen and Jeroen Kijk in de Vegte questioned the singer about his plans for any upcoming holiday music, Sheeran finally spilled the beans and told them of the song: “It’s f—ing great.”
Sheeran revealed that John — whom he says he talks to on the phone “almost every single day” — called him on Christmas Day back in 2020 to propose his idea. “He rung me on Christmas Day and he said, ‘”Step Into Christmas” is No. 6 on the charts, and I’m 74, and I’m still having f—ing chart hits, this is great! I want to do another Christmas song, will you do it with me?’” the “Shivers” singer said.
The star admitted that he was skeptical at first about the idea, saying “I’ve never really wanted to do a Christmas song.” However, after the death of a close friend, he said he got some perspective and decided to take John up on the opportunity. “It really just hit home how stuff can just change overnight,” he said. “I was like, ‘Why the f–k am I not doing a Christmas song with Elton John? I might not be here tomorrow, this will be a f—ing great way to celebrate Christmas.’”
Both Sheeran and John are currently in the process of releasing some new music for their fans: Sheeran’s long-awaited fourth studio album = is set to release on Oct. 29 via Atlantic Records, with his latest singles “Bad Habits,” “Visiting Hours” and “Shivers” all set to appear on the LP. Meanwhile, John is preparing to release an album of collaborations with artists like Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Puth and many more titled The Lockdown Sessions, due out Oct. 22 via Interscope.
Check out the full episode of the show here, and watch a clip of Sheeran’s interview below.