Elton John said his latest project was so secret that even he wasn’t allowed to speak about it ― but it was spoiled anyway by his collaborator, Ed Sheeran.
The rock icon told NME he has been working on a Christmas song with Sheeran for release during the upcoming holiday season.
“I was sworn to secrecy and then big mouth fucking Sheeran goes to the Netherlands,” he said, referring to an interview Sheeran gave to Dutch radio station NPO Radio 2 where he spilled the beans.
Ed told NPO Radio 2 that Elton called him last Christmas after his 1973 hit Step Into Christmas reached the top 10 again, according to Insider.
“He said, ’Step Into Christmas is Number 6 in the charts,” Ed told the station. “I want to do another Christmas song ― will you do it with me?”
Ed said he didn’t feel it at first.
“I’ve never really wanted to do a Christmas song,” he said, according to Billboard, but the death of a friend made him reconsider. “It really just hit home how stuff can just change overnight.”
There was also another factor: Elton John.
“I was like, ‘Why the fuck am I not doing a Christmas song with Elton John? I might not be here tomorrow, this will be a fucking great way to celebrate Christmas,’” he said.
There’s no release date yet.
“We haven’t finished it yet, so there’s still work to be done,” Elton told NME. “I can’t say any more than that because it’s in his hands.”
Ed said in a separate interview in September that he had written three songs with Elton “and one of them is out of this world.”
Ed had previously suggested the tune would be released in early December. However, he announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for coronavirus, which could potentially delay work on the song.
Elton John just released his latest disc, The Lockdown Sessions, which is a series of collaborations with other artists. Ed’s ”=” album comes out this week.