Ed Sheeran and Elton John Wrote Three Christmas Songs

It’s close, that moment when it begins to feel a lot like Christmas. Give it a month, five-weeks max. It’s that precious time when the days are shorter, but somehow easier. The holidays draw nearer. And the Christmas songs climb the charts.

Expect Ed Sheeran and Elton John to mount a serious challenge.

Sheeran stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (Nov. 8) for a chat about life, parenthood, and his new album = (Equals), which is currently at No. 1 on sales charts around the globe.

Conversation, however, swiftly moved to Christmas and Sheeran’s good mate Elton.

The pair speak every day, apparently. And John, fresh off his own hit collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions, pitched an offer Sheeran surely couldn’t refuse: a Christmas duet.

When Elton pitched his idea, Sheeran was cool. “I’ve always been quite against it,” Sheeran noted. “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.”

The pair went and cranked out three songs, including one called “Merry Christmas.” And, according to Sheeran, they’ve gone whole hog with sleigh bells, ding-dongs, the works.

Elton already has a U.K. Top 10 holidays hit in his catalog, “Step Into Christmas” from 1973. He wants another.

Watch the interview below.