Ed Sheeran has treated fans to an early Christmas present by dropping new song Under The Tree.
The original song features on the soundtrack of upcoming Locksmith Animation feature film That Christmas, which is released on Netflix on December 4.
Singer-songwriter Sheeran, 33, shared the track on YouTube on Tuesday.
The song is set to rival Band Aid 40 for Christmas number one. It comes after Sheeran objected to the use of his vocals in the new remix of the charity single that conquered the charts in 1984.
While some Christmas songs can be a bit hit and miss, the comments section underneath the video for Sheeran’s new song was full of praise for the Grammy Award winner’s latest efforts.
“Here comes Ed to save Christmas again!” declared one person.
“Another masterpiece” agreed another, with a third saying “this song will be in my head for days and days”.
Others hailed it “beautiful” and “comforting”, saying “my heart can’t take this beautiful song”.
Some also predicted: “This is gonna be one heck of a Christmas hit”.
The accompanying music video was shot in Southwold in Suffolk and features Sheeran alongside Bridgerton actress Claudia Jessie as his girlfriend as they explore That Christmas’ themes of love, loneliness and togetherness.
It also marks filmmaker Richard Curtis’s music video directorial debut.
Speaking about the challenge, he said said: “It’s a real thrill to make my music video directing debut with my dear friend Ed Sheeran. I hope I’ve done justice to his gorgeous song. It's lyrically magical and it unlocks a critical moment in the film for us. Suddenly you feel all these layered emotions that go beyond what is seen on screen and you are filled with longing and hope.”
For his part, Sheeran said: “Richard Curtis made my fav Christmas film, and tv special. He came round my house in 2021 and showed me a rough of his new one, then asked me to make a song for it. How could I resist. Having kids, I struggle to find great great movies for very young kids to watch at Christmas, and this ticks all the boxes.
“This song is written about a character in the film who wants to spend Christmas with his dad, but doesn’t get to. It’s a heartbreaking scene, and something so many people go through every year being alone at Christmas. Hope everyone loves the song, the movie is called That Christmas and it’s out 4th December on Netflix. Me and my family love it. Yours will too.”
