Elton John has more reason than usual to celebrate this Christmas. The British pop-rock legend announced that his classic 1973 holiday tune “Step Into Christmas” has been honored with new sales certifications on both sides of the pond.
Videos by American Songwriter
Elton posted a couple of photos of himself and the platinum awards on his social media pages, along with a note that reads, “A special Christmas present to me! ‘Step Into Christmas’ has gone platinum in the US and 4× platinum in the UK. To think a song released over 50 years ago is still part of so many people’s festivities (and even sat in the UK Top 10 again this year!) is very special.”
The song was certified platinum by the RIAA for equivalent sales units of 1 million copies in the U.S. In the U.K., a song is certified platinum by the Official Charts Company if it notches 600,000 equivalent sales units, meaning “Step Into Christmas” has amassed at least 2.4 million units in the country.
“Step into Christmas” was a non-album single that Elton released in November 1973. The song topped the Billboard Christmas singles chart in December of that year. In John’s home country, the track initially peaked at No. 24 on the U.K. singles tally. It later reached No. 8 on the U.K. chart in 2019 and 2020.
“Step Into Christmas” currently sits at No. 9 on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart. In the U.S., it’s ranked No. 50 on the Billboard Holiday 100 tally.
More About “Step Into Christmas”
“Step Into Christmas” was co-written by John and his longtime lyricist, Bernie Taupin, and produced by Gus Dudgeon. Elton and Bernie have both noted that the song was an homage to the famous Phil Spector-produced holiday tunes of the early 1960s, recorded by such acts as The Ronettes.
A promotional video for “Step Into Christmas,” featuring John performing the song with the members of his famous 1970s band—drummer Nigel Olsson, guitarist Davey Johnstone, and bassist Dee Murray—premiered in December 1973 on the U.K. special Gilbert O’Sullivan: Welcome to My Show. In the clip, Taupin stood in for Elton’s percussionist, Ray Cooper.
In 2024, an official video for the tune was released. It featured model/actress Cara Delevigne as Elton recreating his performance in the original “Step Into Christmas” video, with a humorous storyline added imagining the chaos that might have happened behind the scenes during the shoot. Delevingne appeared wearing the same flamboyant outfit Elton donned during the original video. She also wore a wig that mimicked the receding hairline John had back in 1973.
Actors also portrayed the members of Elton’s backing band and Taupin.
The updated clip also featured segments from the original video shown side by side with the new footage.
Elton John’s Upcoming Plans
Although he retired from touring after his Farewell Yellow Brick Road trek ended in 2023, Elton continues to play occasional concerts. John currently is scheduled to perform a headlining set at the 2026 Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 7.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Variety, Elton revealed that he’s preparing to record a new album, following his 2025 collaborative project with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels?
John told Variety that he’s preparing to start writing some new songs with his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. He also reported that he’s planning to collaborate on the next album with Andrew Watt, who produced Who Believes in Angels? and co-wrote all its tunes with John, Taupin, and Carlile.
“I’ve got seven new lyrics from Bernie, and … they’re really, really good,” Elton shared. “[S]o I can’t wait to go in the studio with Andrew and just write and see what happens.”
John also explained that he intends for his next album to be a bit different from Who Believes in Angels?, which was influenced by Carlile’s love of Elton’s 1970s-era work.
“The album with Brandi, it’s a timeless record, but it’s not of its time,” he maintained. “We just wanted to make a record that we loved, with great songs. That was a yesterday record, and it was fantastic. But there is a part of me that wants to do a much more commercial record and do more Bernie Taupin songs that are more of today than yesterday.”
(Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
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