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This year’s John Lewis Christmas advert has been released.
The musician to follow in the footsteps of Ellie Goulding , Tom Odell and Gabrielle Aplin as singer of the annual trailer is Bastille frontman Dan Smith.
REO Speedwagon’s 1985 power ballad “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, which features on the US bands band’s record Wheels Are Turnin ‘, is this year’s song of choice.
The touching advert, which tells the story of a little girl and her friendship with an excitable dragon named Edgar, marks John Lewis & Partners’ first ever joint campaign with Waitrose & Partners.
Last year’s edition was a tribute to Elton John , which saw the “Your Song” star reminisce about his life and career in reverse.
Show all 12 1 /12John Lewis ad songs ranked John Lewis ad songs ranked
John Lewis ad songs ranked 11. Vaults – “One Day I’ll Fly Away” by Randy Crawford (2016) This was the biggest commercial flop of the lot, and it’s not particularly hard to see why – Blythe Pepino’s operatic voice is impressive, but this cover drags itself along at an irredeemably slow pace.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 10. Tom Odell – "Real Love" by John Lennon (2014) Frankly, you could be listening to Tom Odell’s drippy cover of “Real Love” as you read this, and you’ll probably have already forgotten what it sounds like.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 9. Gabrielle Aplin – “The Power of Love” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (2012) After she gained a cult following with acoustic covers on YouTube, it was Gabrielle Aplin’s cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s 1984 classic that propelled her into the mainstream, becoming the first UK No 1 single to come from the John Lewis Christmas ads. It’s a little anodyne though, awash with breathiness and vocal fry. Aplin has produced much better songs since.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 8. Anon – “From Me to You” by The Beatles (2008) The inaugural John Lewis Christmas cover song, this one feels like a festive performance by a group of primary school kids – joined by their trendy, Beatles-loving teacher. It builds to a slapdash cacophony of voices and instruments – janky violins and all – but there’s something sweet about it.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 7. Taken By Trees – “Sweet Child o’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses (2009) Transforming Slash’s inimitable opening guitar riff into a muted keyboard refrain strips it off its soul somewhat – but Taken By Trees’s Victoria Bergsman injects just enough pathos into her cover that all is almost forgiven.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 6. Dan Smith – "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon (2019) A very pleasant, if a little insipid, cover of the 1985 REO Speedwagon ballad “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, led by a gentle piano and with a tasteful smattering of festive bells. Smith has stayed true to his usual vocal style – clear-cut and emotive with a mildly exaggerated English accent (“wot started out as friendship…”) – but he’s adiosed that big stadium-pop sound in favour of the obligatory twinkling and jingling and soporific strings. It’s all very nice.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 5. Slow Moving Millie – “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths (2011) For hardcore Morrissey fans (a dying breed these days, thanks to the regularity of Moz’s offensive rants), it was an affront that he even allowed his song to be used for such corporate means. For everyone else, Slow Moving Millie’s rendition, though inevitably not a patch on the original, was pleasant enough fare.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 4. Aurora – “Half The World Away” by Oasis (2015) A song about aching to escape your humdrum hometown doesn’t exactly lend itself to Christmas cheer, but the Norwegian singer’s cover adds a suitably slow tempo theatricality to proceedings, and gives strange new intonations to the song’s wistful lyrics. It’s unchallenging and sentimental, so it fits the remit perfectly – but it failed to boost Aurora’s career in the same way it did for others.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 3. Elbow – “Golden Slumbers” by The Beatles (2017) Guy Garvey’s gravelly baritone and Northern twang isn’t quite what we’ve come to expect from a John Lewis advert song, but after 10 years of placid covers, his relatively gutsy rendition of the 1969 Abbey Road song is a welcome change.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 2. Lily Allen – “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane (2013) No one hates Lily Allen’s cover of “Somewhere Only We Know” as much as Lily Allen does. “I can’t listen to the song, I’ve got to be honest,” she told Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw just a few weeks after the song’s release in 2013. “It’s quite shrill.” Earlier this year, she claimed she’d been “bullied” by her label into recording the cover. And yet, saccharine though it may be, few of Allen’s own songs showcase her often maligned voice quite like this cover. Add to that the twinkling piano and swelling strings, and the result is a weepy sugar hit to rival your late-night Quality Street binge.
John Lewis
John Lewis ad songs ranked 1. Ellie Goulding – “Your Song” by Elton John (2010) It’s hard to ruin a song whose lyrics are as quietly profound as these, but Goulding’s cover does more than simply not tarnish Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s original. Sure, her distinctly trilling voice raises some people’s hackles, but if you can get on board, this minimalist arrangement works beautifully.
Eight years later, Elton John himself starred in the 2018 John Lewis Christmas advert, playing out his career in reverse to the strains of his own, 1971 version of this song. Of course, it is incomparable to anything else on this list, so it can only share the top spot.
John Lewis
Previous John Lewis Christmas ad covers include Oasis song “Half the World Away” and “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane.
Martin George, Partner and Customer Director, Waitrose & Partners, said: “The magic of friendship and making our loved ones feel special, are some of the most wonderful things about this time of year.
“The Christmas pudding in the final scene is not just the showpiece of a spectacular feast which brings all the villagers together. It’s a reminder that a thoughtful gesture – whether that’s a delicious meal or a special gift – can mean so much.”
Click here for our verdict on the 2019 ad.
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