{
  "id": 18302797,
  "title": "Elton John Enlists CMAT For New Version of Festive Smash ‘Step Into Christmas’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/elton-john-enlists-cmat-for-new-version-of-festive-smash-step-into",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-05T12:09:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Billboard",
    "slug": "billboard",
    "url": "https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/elton-john-cmat-step-into-christmas-1236374667/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Elton John is teaming up with CMAT for a fresh rendition of his beloved Christmas song, \"Step Into Christmas.\" Originally released in 1973, the beloved festive classic now features the talented Irish country-pop star, CMAT, on vocals alongside the iconic musician. The reimagined track is now available exclusively on Amazon Music.\n\n\"Step Into Christmas\" reached No. 7 on the U.K.'s Official Singles Chart in 2025 and No. 49 on Billboard's Holiday 100 charts in 2026. During a recent interview, John expressed his long-standing admiration for CMAT, stating, \"I’ve loved CMAT since I first heard her and saw her videos years ago. She has this incredible personality, and a wicked sense of humor. You can tell she has rock n’ roll and country and Americana at the heart of what she does — we’re kindred spirits in so many ways.\"\n\nCMAT echoed her sentiments, saying, \"When I listen to the music of Elton John, I am seven-years-old in the back of my mam’s car. It doesn’t matter how old or famous I become — whenever I listen to Elton John I will always be seven-years-old in the back of my mam’s car. The experience of working with him has been a great joy.\" She added, \"Christmas is my absolute favourite thing in the world, second maybe only to Elton John. I would like to invite the whole world to step into Christmas with us and make your yuletide dreams come true.\"\n\nThe collaboration marks yet another successful partnership between Amazon Music and various renowned artists, including Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, John Legend, Olivia Dean, and more. In 2025, Kylie Minogue's Amazon Music-exclusive \"XMAS\" charted at No. 1 on the U.K.'s Official Singles Chart.",
  "summary": "The track is streaming exclusively on Amazon Music.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Stereogum",
        "title": "CMAT Joins Elton John On “Step Into Christmas” Remake",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/cmat-joins-elton-john-on-step-into-christmas-remake",
        "published": "2026-11-05T15:37:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}