Elton John has teamed up with CMAT for a new version of his 1973 festive hit Step Into Christmas.
The Rocket Man legend has created a new spin on his festive classic with the help of Irish singer CMAT, real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson.
“I’ve loved CMAT since I first heard her and saw her videos years ago. She has this incredible personality and a wicked sense of humour,” he said in a statement announcing the collaboration.
“You can tell she has rock and roll and country, and Americana, at the heart of what she does – we’re kindred spirits in so many ways, and that’s why I was so thrilled with the idea of us collaborating on Step Into Christmas. She’s done an amazing job.”
Step Into Christmas is a festive staple that returns to the charts during the holidays, with it peaking at number seven on the U.K. singles chart last year. The reimagining enters the race for the coveted Christmas number one as this year’s Amazon Music Original Christmas song.
Earlier this week, CMAT teased the collaboration on Instagram by dressing up as Elton for a party, while he posted a video showing a Christmas tree topped with a red-headed doll. He captioned the post, “Stepping into Christmas with a special person this year…any guesses?”
In a statement, the Take A Sexy Picture Of Me singer shared that listening to Elton’s music always takes her back to being “seven years old in the back of my mam’s car”.
“Reconciling this feeling with the reality of getting to work with the man in question has been confusing to say the least, but the greatest joy of my life,” she continued. “Christmas is my absolute favourite thing in the world, second maybe only to Elton John. I would like to invite the whole world to step into Christmas with us and make your yuletide dreams come true.”
The new Step Into Christmas is out now, exclusively on Amazon Music.
