Just as the feverish anticipation surrounding the John Lewis advert has become a Christmas tradition, so too has speculation on who will voice its soundrack.
Rather than a recogniseable name following UK music stars such as Ellie Goulding, Lily Allen and Tom Odell, this year the retailer has gone with a seven-foot American clown who goes by the name of Puddles Pity Party.
Mike Geier, an entertainer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sings the cover of All the Small Things, originally released by punk rock band Blink 182 in 1999, which plays over The Beginner – a 90 second tale of a middle-aged man learning to skateboard before welcoming a young teenager into the family home.
Despite his Pennsylvanian roots, Geier is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and garnered international fame through his most critically acclaimed act Puddles Pity Party, a Pagliacci-type clown.
Standing at 6 ft 8 inches tall, the 58-year-old is known for his irreverent, melancholy style of performing, often mixing comedy, mime and audience participation with his baritone song covers. And he sure brings that vibe to All the Small Things, an upbeat song once described by Q magazine as “power pop”.
In 1998, Geier founded a clown-based band with several other Atlanta-based musicians, though the project later disbanded, paving the way for his “Pity Party”. Puddles Pity Party has a depressed persona and is known not to speak on stage or do any interviews.
Geier is known to refer to his alter-ego in the third person, and while performing as Puddles will refer to himself as Mike, also in the third person.
He shot to fame in 2013 after recording a cover of Royals by New Zealand artist Lorde, with Postmodern Jukebox. As of October 2022, the clip has been viewed over 32 million times, with Lorde reportedly citing it as her favourite cover of the song.
Since the release of the video he has toured internationally, and in 2017 participated in the 12th series of America’s Got Talent.
Viewers were initially confused when the 6ft 8in clown appeared on stage, but were impressed with his voice when he started singing.
He managed to get all the way to the quarter-finals of the competition, performing his Lorde cover, but recieved an (X) from Simon Cowell and was subsequently eliminated the following night.
His other popular covers include Chandelier by Sia, Mad World by Tears For Fears and The Sounds of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel.
In January 2019 Geier, as Puddles, began a headline act residency at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada.
He currently has 160K monthly listeners on Spotify. Puddles Pity Party has more than 94 million total YouTube views and boasts 841K subscribers on his channel.
Commenters have already flooded the singer’s cover of All The Small Things with John Lewis references - informing him that he should expect to become famous in the UK.
One user said: “Anyone else discovered this great artist thanks to John Lewis? Blink 182 is my fave band and I love this cover!” Another said: “He’s about to have an influx of middle class British fans”.
A third added: “Feel like you’re going to be a celebrity in the U.K. very soon.... brace yourself haha”.
The touching advert itself has gone down well with fans who praised its themes of raising awareness for children in the care system.
One user said: “As someone who’s been in the care system myself as a child, this really feels close to home. And it did make me shed a tear, that how I know it’s a John Lewis advert. And it does make you think about how powerful adverts can be, even if they are simple and basic”.
Another said: “I’ve been in care myself and this was so touching and really showed the lengths people will go to try and help a child feel more settled & belonging. It was such a touching & thoughtful advert”.
