Elton John and CMAT released a new duet of his 1973 single “Step Into Christmas” on Thursday, Nov. 5, as an Amazon Music Original, so it’s streaming on Amazon Music and nowhere else, Amazon announced. “I’ve loved CMAT since I first heard her and saw her videos years ago,” Elton said in the announcement. “She has this incredible personality, and a wicked sense of humour.”
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“Anyone can listen to Amazon Music by downloading the free Amazon Music app,” Amazon said in its U.S. announcement. Prime members get Amazon’s catalog in shuffle mode, and Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can pick songs on demand, according to the release, which doesn’t say when or whether the duet will reach other services.
A year ago, Kylie Minogue had Amazon’s big holiday exclusive, and “XMAS” became her “first-ever UK Christmas Number 1,” Official Charts reported in December. “2025 marks the platform’s first Official Christmas Number 1 single,” the chart company added.
What’s New in Elton John and CMAT’s ‘Step Into Christmas’
The duet is built on stems from the original 1973 recording, with added strings and CMAT’s vocals, and it’s out through EMI and AWAL, Music Week reported. “When I listen to the music of Elton John, I am seven years old in the back of my mam’s car,” CMAT said in Amazon’s announcement.
“Reconciling this feeling with the reality of getting to work with the man in question has been confusing to say the least, but the greatest joy of my life,” she said.
Elton pointed to the rock ‘n’ roll and Americana he hears in her music. “And that’s why I was so thrilled with the idea of us collaborating on ‘Step Into Christmas,'” he said. “She’s done an amazing job.”
CMAT, 30, is a singer-songwriter from County Meath whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, the Press Association reported. “Christmas is my absolute favourite thing in the world, second maybe only to Elton John,” she said.
Rocket Man, Meet RocketMAT: How the Duet Was Teased
CMAT dressed as Elton for Halloween and called herself “RocketMAT,” and he gave the look his blessing on Instagram with “Rocket Girl,” NME reported. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, Elton posted a clip of a CMAT doll on top of a Christmas tree, captioned “Stepping into Christmas with a special person this year…any guesses?”
The admiration goes back at least two years. On his Apple Music radio show “Rocket Hour” in 2024, Elton said CMAT was “kicking ass,” NME reported.
In May, CMAT won best album at the Ivors for “Euro-Country,” her third album, at Grosvenor House in London, the Ivors Academy announced. That same night, the academy gave Elton an Ivors Academy Honour and said he’d become its “first-ever President,” a new role speaking for songwriters and composers worldwide.
How ‘Step Into Christmas’ Became a Holiday Staple After 1973
Elton and Bernie Taupin wrote the song as a thank-you to fans, Official Charts says, and it first came out Nov. 23, 1973, Universal Music Canada noted last December. “The Christmas single is a real loon about and something we’d like to do a lot more of,” Elton told Melody Maker, The Sunday Post recounted.
It peaked at No. 24 in January 1974, Official Charts noted this week, then hit a new high of No. 7 on the UK singles chart dated Dec. 26, 2025. “Part of what made Phil Spector records were the rooms, the musicians and the ambience,” Elton said of its sound, according to The Sunday Post.
The same Universal announcement said the song had gone platinum with the RIAA, “recognizing more than one million certified units in the United States.” Gayety’s guide to the best Christmas songs by queer artists calls it “pure holiday joy.” (His 1989 “Sacrifice” video also just passed 1 billion YouTube views.)
Elton waited years to formally come out as gay because he figured it was already “common knowledge,” HuffPost UK reported in 2012. “Nobody asked me,” he told NBC’s “Today” host Matt Lauer.
Can Elton and CMAT Match Kylie’s Christmas No. 1?
“It’s hard to put into words how special this feels,” Kylie told Official Charts when “XMAS” took the title last year. “Being Christmas Number 1 really is the most wonderful gift!”
Elton has had a Christmas No. 1 before, in 2021, when he and Ed Sheeran joined LadBaby on “Sausage Rolls For Everyone,” Music Week noted. “Their chemistry is undeniable, and this new version honours everything people love about the original while bringing something fresh and joyful for a whole new generation of fans,” Laura Lukanz, head of Amazon Music UK, said of the new duet.
This year’s chart week runs from Friday, Dec. 18, to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 24, and the Christmas No. 1 “will be revealed on Friday December 25 2026” on BBC Radio 1’s “The Official Chart,” Official Charts said. “We couldn’t be prouder to share it exclusively with Amazon Music listeners this Christmas,” Lukanz said.
“I would like to invite the whole world to step into Christmas with us,” CMAT said.
