NEWS
Ed Sheeran and Elton John pose backstage during the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the STAPLES Center on Feb. 9, 2013 in Los Angeles.
Kevin WinterEd Sheeran and Elton John are teaming up to give fans a new holiday song for their festive playlists.
After teasing the release of Christmas music, the English musicians announced Monday (Nov. 29) that their new song “Merry Christmas” will be released on Friday. In addition, the duo revealed in a joint Instagram post that all U.K. profits from the song this holiday season will go to the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
The post features a video of Sheeran doing his best Love Actually impression, borrowing the famous scene where Andrew Lincoln’s Mark silently professes his love to Keira Knightley’s Juliet with romantic cue cards. This time, though, Sheeran is just announcing his and John’s “Merry Christmas” song.
The pair posted a second joint post, in which John and Sheeran shared a sneak peek of the corresponding video for the track, which contained a short snippet of the song. “Filled up with so much love/ All our family and friends are together where we all belong/ Merry Christmas, everyone,” the 71- and 30-year-old are heard singing. “This was an absolute blast! Our music video for ‘Merry Christmas’ is coming this Friday,” they captioned the post.
During Sheeran’s Nov. 8 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he revealed that John, who recently released a hit collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions, pitched him a Christmas duet idea. The collaborators would later go on to write three Christmas songs together.
“I’ve always been quite against it,” Sheeran recalled. “Not that I don’t like Christmas, I love Christmas, but in terms of doing a Christmas song, you need to chuck the kitchen sink at it.”
John already has a holiday hit under his belt: “Step Into Christmas” topped Billboard‘s Christmas Singles chart in 1973 and also hit the top 10 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart that same year.
See John and Sheeran’s new posts below.
Sharleen Spiteri joined BBC Radio 2’s The Sara Cox Breakfast Show ahead of Texas taking the stage to launch the main live music programme at Radio 2 in the Park in Stirling.
Checking in from rehearsals, the Texas frontwoman spoke about getting ready for the band’s opening performance at City Park. Radio 2’s annual flagship festival takes place there from 11 to 13 September 2026. "I’m match fit because I’ve had a couple of days’ rehearsals," Spiteri said. "We’re kicking the whole weekend off, which we’re very much looking forward to, so everybody’s got to get ready to party."
Before the live acts take over, Friday’s DJ Pre-Party gets the weekend started with Radio 2 favourites Sara Cox, DJ Spoony, Gary Davies, Michelle Visage, and Rylan behind the decks.
Jo Whiley helped set the mood with a special programme from Stirling’s Tolbooth venue. Working with BBC Introducing Scotland, the broadcast put the spotlight on Scotland’s emerging music scene through performances and conversations with Fright Years, Alice Faye, and James Emmanuel.
Fright Years, a four member band from Edinburgh, played "Never Been Wrong" and offered their take on Simple Minds’ "Waterfront." Glasgow singer and songwriter Alice Faye, the BBC Introducing in Scotland 2026 winner, paired "Some Brief Encounter" with a rendition of Lulu’s arrangement of "I Started a Joke." James Emmanuel, who was born in Nigeria and now lives in Edinburgh, sang "Brothers & Sisters" before taking on Chaka Khan’s "I’m Every Woman."
"We’re all about celebrating BBC Introducing and all the music that’s come out of Scotland," Whiley told listeners. "It's about celebrating the local music scene and the incredibly important work that BBC Introducing does to support independent, up-and-coming artists."
Joining the conversation were Stephanie Cheape, presenter of BBC Introducing in Scotland, Tara McLoughlin, venue manager for Stirling Council, and student radio presenters representing the University of Stirling’s Air3 Radio.
Listeners can catch the complete interviews and live performances from the weekend’s programmes on BBC Sounds.
