Ed Sheeran and Elton John have left no seasonal cliché untouched in their efforts to create a classic Christmas pop smash. It starts off with young Ed crooning over Elton’s piano as if they are both cosying up for a bit of Nat King Cole fireside warmth. But before you can clink your eggnog glasses, some busy elf starts rattling the sleigh bells, Sir Elton’s bashing out the big chords, an orchestra kicks in, a choir pipes up and it all gets a bit lively.
The lyrics pack in references to mistletoe, wine and snow and pretty soon the unlikely duo are roaring in the kitchen about just how much they love each other. “My God, you look beautiful!” belts Elton with an enthusiasm that does not so much suggest an odd-couple romantic duet as something family members might declare after they’ve been dipping into the mulled wine. The choir keeps expanding with every chorus. And did I mention the bells? Sleigh bells, church bells, jingle bells, so many bells.
It was Sir Elton’s idea that the singer-songwriter superstars join forces on a bid for the Christmas number one, with all profits going to charity. The song itself was inspired by Sheeran’s realisation that there has never been a hit called (simply) Merry Christmas (and no, Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody doesn’t count, apparently).
The duo make-up for that oversight by singing the phrase ten times in three and a half minutes. Yet they are astute enough to add a touch of bittersweetness to allay the bumptious fun. “I know there’s been pain this year but let it go,” Sheeran sings. “Next year, you never know …”
It is phenomenally catchy. Indeed, they might just have pulled off the challenging task of adding a genuine classic to the overcrowded Christmas pop canon. But we’re all going to hate it by Boxing Day.
