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Merry Christmas (song)

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"Merry Christmas"
Single by Ed Sheeran and Elton John
from the album = (Christmas Edition) and The Lockdown Sessions (Christmas Edition)'
Released3 December 2021
Length3:29
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Steve Mac
Ed Sheeran singles chronology
"Overpass Graffiti"
(2021) 		"Merry Christmas"
(2021) 		"Sausage Rolls for Everyone"
(2021)
Elton John singles chronology
"Finish Line"
(2021) 		"Merry Christmas"
(2021) 		"Sausage Rolls for Everyone"
(2021)
Music video
"Merry Christmas" on YouTube

"Merry Christmas" is a song by British singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and Elton John. It was released through Asylum and Atlantic Records as a single on 3 December 2021. The song appears on the Christmas editions of Sheeran's fifth studio album, =, and John's thirty-second studio album, The Lockdown Sessions. The two artists wrote the song alongside its producer, Steve Mac.[1] "Merry Christmas" entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart during the chart week of 10 December 2021, becoming Sheeran's twelfth chart-topper in the country and John's ninth number-one single in the country. It also topped the charts in the Flanders region of Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Background and promotion

"Merry Christmas" is Sheeran's first Christmas song, and John's second Christmas single, following the release of 1973's "Step into Christmas", although Sheeran had previously co-written the 2016 Christmas song "When Christmas Comes Around" by English singer Matt Terry. In an interview with NPO Radio 2 in October 2021, Sheeran revealed that John asked him to do a song with him the previous year after the success of "Step into Christmas". He also recalled writing the chorus of the song the same day he was asked by John.[2]

On 29 November 2021, Sheeran and John both announced the collaboration and its release date.[3] They also stated that all proceeds from the song in the United Kingdom will go towards donations for the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.[4] In November 2021, on an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Sheeran revealed that he went to stay with John after writing the song's chorus, in which they ended up making three Christmas songs together with "Merry Christmas" being one of them.[5]

Commercial performance

The song debuted at number one on 10 December 2021, knocking “Easy on Me” by Adele off the number one spot after 7 consecutive weeks. The song stayed at number one for two weeks. The song became 2021’s Christmas number two single on December 24th 2021, having been knocked off the top spot by “Sausage Rolls for Everyone” by LadBaby, a parody of “Merry Christmas” which features both Sheeran and John. As a result, 2021 became the first year that the Christmas number one and two singles were two versions of the same song by the same artists.

On 31 December 2021, "Sausage Rolls For Everyone" was replaced at number one by "Merry Christmas", when LadBaby dropped to number 29 in the charts. "Merry Christmas" was one of five hits Sheeran was credited on that week, as the Official Charts Company added Sheeran to the credit of Fireboy DML's single “Peru”[6][7] when the remix debuted in the Top 40, one position higher than LadBaby's single, at number 28.

"Sausage Rolls for Everyone"

Main article: Sausage Rolls for Everyone

In December 2021, British blogger couple LadBaby teamed up with Sheeran and John to record and release a comedy version of the song titled "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" on 17 December 2021. The money raised from the song would go to The Trussell Trust.[8]

The song became 2021’s Christmas number one single on 24 December 2021, beating the likes of Gayle, Mariah Carey, Wham!, and Ed Sheeran & Elton John to the Christmas top spot. As a result, Ed Sheeran and Elton John beat themselves to Christmas number one.

Music video

The official music video for "Merry Christmas" was premiered to Sheeran's YouTube channel alongside its release on 3 December 2021. Re-creating a scene from the festive romantic-comedy film Love Actually, the video sees Sheeran and John pay homage to scenes from British Christmas hits from the past, including "Last Christmas", "Walking in the Air", "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", "Merry Christmas Everyone" , and "Stay Another Day".[9][10][11] Several people made a cameo in the video including Jonathan Ross, Michael McIntyre, Big Narstie, Mr. Blobby and the Darkness.[12]

Charts

Chart performance for "Merry Christmas"
Chart (2021–2022) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 10
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] 11
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 16
Canada AC (Billboard)[18] 1
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[19] 32
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[20] 8
CIS (TopHit)[21] 57
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[22] 21
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[23] 42
Denmark (Tracklisten)[24] 12
Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 14
France (SNEP)[27] 60
Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 4
Global 200 (Billboard)[29] 15
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[30] 24
Hungary (Single Top 40)[31] 2
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[32] 22
Ireland (IRMA)[33] 1
Italy (FIMI)[34] 71
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[35] 4
Latvia (EHR)[36] 16
Lithuania (AGATA)[37] 14
Mexico Airplay (Billboard)[38] 24
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[39] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[40] 11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[41] 11
Norway (VG-lista)[42] 10
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[43] 24
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[44] 24
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[45] 35
South Korea (Gaon)[46] 127
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[47] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[48] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[49] 1
Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[50] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[51] 55
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[52] 1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[53] 25
US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[54] 38
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[55] 36

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Brandle, Lars (3 December 2021). "Ed Sheeran and Elton John Bring the Holiday Cheer With 'Merry Christmas': Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  2. ^ Richards, Will (6 October 2021). "Ed Sheeran and Elton John set to release joint Christmas single". NME. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  3. ^ Qureshi, Arusha (29 November 2021). "Ed Sheeran and Elton John's Christmas single is coming Friday". NME. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  4. ^ Sheeran, Ed; John, Elton (29 November 2021). "Our song "Merry Christmas" is out this Friday. Link in bio to pre-order it or pre-save it. All UK proceeds 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)". Retrieved 29 November 2021 – via Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos) and Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Instagram.
  5. ^ DeSantis, Rachel (29 November 2021). "Elton John and Ed Sheeran Channel Love Actually to Announce New Christmas Song 'Merry Christmas'". People. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  6. ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/fireboy-dml-ed-sheeran-peru-remix-interview-1276405/
  7. ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ed-sheeran-fireboy-dml-peru-remix-1276009/
  8. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (10 December 2021). "Sausage Rolls for Everyone: Ed Sheeran and Elton John announce surprise LadBaby Christmas song collaboration". The Independent. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Elton John, Ed Sheeran Pay Tribute to Holiday Hits in 'Merry Christmas' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  10. ^ Bowenbank, Starr (29 November 2021). "Ed Sheeran & Elton John Reveal 'Merry Christmas' Duet Release Date With 'Love Actually' Spoof". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  11. ^ Vivinetto, Gina (29 November 2021). "Why Ed Sheeran and Elton John re-created famous 'Love Actually' scene". Today. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  12. ^ EVERY CAMEO IN ED SHEERAN’S ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’, INCLUDING JONATHAN ROSS. hitc.com. Retrieved 2021-12-17
  13. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  21. ^ Ed Sheeran & Elton John — Merry Christmas. TopHit. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  22. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202150 into search. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  23. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202150 into search. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Track Top-40 Uge 51, 2021". Hitlisten. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  26. ^ "Ed Sheeran, Elton John: Merry Christmas" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Top Singles (Week 51, 2021)". SNEP. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  32. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  33. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  34. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 52" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  35. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas 2021/12/15" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  36. ^ "EHR TOP 40 – 2021.12.17". European Hit Radio. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  37. ^ "2021 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  38. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Mexico Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  39. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 52, 2021" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  40. ^ "Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  41. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  42. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single 2021–51". VG-lista. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  43. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  44. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202150 into search. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  45. ^ "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202149 into search. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  46. ^ "Digital Chart – Week 52 of 2021". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  47. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 51" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  48. ^ "Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  49. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  50. ^ "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2021-12-17." TopHit. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  51. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  52. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  53. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  54. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Holiday 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  55. ^ "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  56. ^ "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran & Elton John – Merry Christmas". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
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