Entertainment Music Ed Sheeran Teases Upcoming Christmas Song with Elton John: It's 'Great' Ed Sheeran said Elton John called him on Christmas Day last year to ask if he wanted to collaborate on a holiday song By Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis Rachel DeSantis is a staff writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 6, 2021 12:00PM EDT Elton John and Ed Sheeran. Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Ed Sheeran is giving fans an early holiday present this year: a Christmas duet with Elton John! The "Shivers" singer, 30, revealed that he and John are teaming up for an all-new Christmas song that will hit the radio waves in December. Though Sheeran initially played coy regarding the specifics of the collaboration in an interview with Dutch radio station NPO Radio 2, he eventually opened up, calling the track "f—ing great." "Elton rung me on Christmas Day to say Merry Christmas," Sheeran said, adding that the talks to the star "almost every single day." "He rung me on Christmas Day and he said, '"Step Into Christmas' is No. 6 in the charts, and I'm 74, and I'm still having f—ing chart hits, this is great! I want to do another Christmas song, will you do it with me?'" Though Sheeran said he wasn't initially keen on John's proposal, he eventually decided to dive in on the track, which is just him and the "Rocket Man" singer. "You don't know if you'll still be there tomorrow, everything can change overnight," he said, according to NME. "I may not be here tomorrow. Why shouldn't I grab this opportunity?" Sheeran is currently gearing up for the release of his fourth full-length album, titled = (and pronounced Equals), which will come out on Oct. 29. Elton John Releases 'One of the Best Records I've Ever Made' — a Duet with Stevie Wonder! "= (Equals) is a really personal record and one that means a lot to me," he said in a statement in August. "My life changed greatly over the past few years — I got married, became a father, experienced loss, and I reflect on these topics over the course of the album. I see it as my coming-of-age record, and I can't wait to share this next chapter with you." RELATED VIDEO: Ed Sheeran Is Announced as The Voice's Season 21 Mega Mentor The four-time Grammy winner — who was also recently announced as the Mega Mentor for season 21 of The Voice — is married to Cherry Seaborn, and the couple welcomed daughter Lyra Antarctica in August 2020. John, meanwhile, has plenty more star-studded collaborations up his sleeve on The Lockdown Sessions album, which comes out on Oct. 22 and will feature songs with Stevie Wonder, Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X and more. The star's enduring holiday hit "Step Into Christmas" was released in 1973.