Ed Sheeran previews Christmas single duet with Elton John

Ed Sheeran has given a sneak preview of his upcoming Christmas single, which is a duet with Elton John. 

Ed previously revealed that he has recorded a festive song with Elton after being approached by the music legend last year. 

During an "Ed Sheeran hour" with Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 today to celebrate the release of his new album =, Ed performed a section of the track live with his guitar. 

"There's loads of sleigh bells on it and it sounds a lot more Christmassy than that," he said afterwards of the currently untitled song. 

MORE: Every Official Christmas Number 1 ever

Ed then admitted he is less precious about keeping his new songs locked away until their release, explaining: "A song like Shape Of You I kept secret for so long, but with Bad Habits, I was like, 'why can't I leak little bits of it?'. Nowadays, I think it just gets people excited for the tune." 

Here's what happened when Zoe Ball asked @EdSheeran for a sneak peak of his Christmas Duet with Sir Elton John, live on @BBCRadio2. pic.twitter.com/sF14O202p7

— BBC News Entertainment (@BBCNewsEnts) October 29, 2021

Ed has plenty of experience landing a festive hit, scoring the Official Christmas Number 1 in 2017 with Perfect, which was boosted to the top thanks to a very festive music video. Meanwhile, Elton's 1973 Step Into Christmas has entered the Top 10 for the past two festive seasons.

News of the collaboration means Ed and Elton are a strong contender for this year's Official Christmas Number 1. This year's chart race kicks off on December 17, with the Number 1 announced on December 24. 

This year, Official Charts has joined forces with Nine Eight Books to bring the first-ever official guide to every Christmas Number 1 single in history. The Official Christmas No.1 Singles Book is available now at Waterstones, Amazon, WHSmith*.

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