Who is Lola Young, the London singer behind the John Lewis Christmas advert?
The highly-anticipated festive advert is out today
Last updated 25th Nov 2021
Rising music star Lola Young has been chosen to provide the soundtrack to this year's John Lewis Christmas advert.
The 20-year-old singer-songwriter, from south London, joins previous music superstars including Ellie Goulding, Lily Allen and Tom Odell in contributing to the retailer's annual festive campaign.
WATCH: John Lewis release 2021 Christmas advert
Her cover of 'Together In Electric Dreams', originally released by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder in 1984, accompanies Unexpected Guest - a two-minute tale of a young alien experiencing their first Christmas on Earth, complete with mince pies and novelty jumpers.
Lola Young went to the same school as Adele and Amy Winehouse
Young started writing songs aged 11 and by 13 had competed in and won a national open mic competition, and cites Joni Mitchell and Prince as early influences.
She enrolled at the arts-focused Brit School in Croydon, south London, which counts Adele, Amy Winehouse, Raye and Loyle Carner among its alumni.
After gigging around London, she secured a record deal with Island Records, owned by Universal Music Group and the home to Ariana Grande, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj.
Her catalogue so far includes the single Woman, her debut seven-track release titled Intro and the Renaissance EP.
Since mid-2020 she has been in the studio writing with superproducer Paul Epworth, who has worked with artists include Adele, Florence + the Machine and Rihanna, ahead of the release of a new collection of tracks scheduled for this year.
She has a run of live dates scheduled for November and December, taking her from Dublin, London, Liverpool and Manchester to Amsterdam and Berlin.
Back to covers after original song last year
Last year Celeste became the first musician chosen to write and record an original song for the John Lewis Christmas advert.
In a step away from tradition, the retail giant commissioned the singer to produce a new track, titled 'A Little Love'.
This year it's back to a cover with Lola Young's beautiful version of 'Together In Electric Dreams' providing the soundtrack to the John Lewis Christmas advert.
'Together in Electric Dreams'
The original song was recorded as part of a soundtrack to the film Electric Dreams in 1984 and was released in 1984.
Written by Philip Oakey (from the Human League) and Giorgio Moroder (nicknamed the Father of Disco and composer for numerous films, including Flashdance) the song reached number three in the UK singles chart.
John Lewis adverts through the years:
2007: Shadows
Going back to 2007 for the first John Lewis Christmas advert 'Shadows', it's hard to believe it was released so long ago! In this advert, we see people stacking items together in a plain white room with a shadow building on a wall set to 'Aubade' from the Romeo and Juliet suite by Prokofiev. It's not clear what it is until a child runs in and throws glitter over the piece, bringing the picture to life - a girl with gifts and a dog all ready for Christmas.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2008: From Me To You
The 2008 offering was set to a soudtrack of the Beatles classic 'From Me To You' - sang covered by employees! The 2008 Christmas advert showed people being paired with present ideas - the thought being that if you know the person well, you're bound to find the right present.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2009: Sweet Child Of Mine
It was all about children in the 2009 Christmas advert as they opened gifts for adults like kitchenware, big slippers and adult-size handbags. Aptly, the soundtrack was a cover of Guns N' Roses classic 'Sweet Child O' Mine', performed by Taken By Trees. The tagline is simply 'remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling'.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2010: A Tribute to Givers
It's one we can all relate to; the struggle of wrapping - and subsequently hiding - an awkward-shaped present, but persevering because you know they'll love it. In this Christmas advert, set to Ellie Goulding's cover of Elton John's 'Your Song', we see people attempting to wrap and hide all sorts of gifts. Not forgetting the animals either - as a boy leaves the warmth of the house to hang a stocking outside for his dog.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2011: The Long Wait
We all know the feeling when it seems as though Christmas is taking forever to finally arrive! In the 2011 advert, a little boy is opening his advent calendar day by day, looking impatiently out of the window in what we're led to believe is him waiting excitedly to open his presents on Christmas Day.
But when the big day arrives, he runs past his own presents, reaches into his wardrobe and fetches a messily-wrapped package... which he's waited all month to give to his mum and dad. Set to a cover of The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want' by Slow Moving Millie, this one really tugged at the heartstrings.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2012: The Journey
After the momentum of 2011, the John Lewis bigwigs stepped it up for the 2012 Christmas advert. It was incredibly moving, showing a little girl building a snowman and a snowlady, then looking disappointed when the snowman's gone by morning.
We then see that he hasn't melted - he's decided to go on his own journey through forests and fields and across mountains, all to buy his snowlady a special Christmas gift, with Gabrielle Aplin singing the soundtrack of 'The Power Of Love', originally by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2013: The Bear and the Hare
In 2013, we saw a complete change in direction with an animated advert about two unlikely friends - a bear and a hare. The hare leaves a Christmas present for the bear when he wakes up from hibernation and he's delighted to see Christmas for the first time, with all the animals around the tree. If that doesn't make your bottom lip wobble, Lily Allen's cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' will.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2014: Monty the Penguin
The 2014 John Lewis Christmas advert saw super-cute Monty the Penguin playing with a little boy. The pair did everything together, with Monty helping him build lego, play hide-and-seek and going for walks. However, the little boy notices that Monty is longing for a fellow penguin companion, staringly longingly at other couples - so he decides to fetch him a friend for Christmas. As the mum watches on, we see that Monty and his friend were cuddly toys, after all. The song was 'Real Love', originally by the late Beatles star John Lennon and performed by Tom Odell.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2015: Man on the Moon
John Lewis teamed up with Age UK for their 2015 advert. Appropriately set to a cover of Oasis' 'Half the World Away' by AURORA, a little girl is looking at the moon through a telescope when she suddenly spots an elderly man living there, alone. Every day, she returns to her telescope and decides to try every way possible to reach out to him at Christmas.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2016: Buster the Boxer
The 2016 Christmas advert tells the story of Buster the boxer dog, looking enviously on the neighbourhood wildlife having fun on a trampoline, whilst he's stuck inside.
As daughter Bridget goes to bed for Santa's arrival, her dad can be seen carefully building a brand new trampoline in the back garden. When Christmas morning strikes, Bridget excitedly runs outside to try her new toy, only for Buster to beat her to it...
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2017: Moz the Monster
Set to the dulcet tones of Elbow's 'Golden Slumbers' cover, originally by The Beatles, a little boy is initially scared of the monster under his bed. Eventually, he befriends Moz the Monster and they play together every evening.
However, staying awake through the night starts to take its toll on him, and he can hardly keep his eyes open during the day! After receiving the gift of a night light from a mysterious present-giver - presumably Moz himself - the monster under the bed disappears so that the boy can get some rest... Or does he?
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2018: The Boy and the Piano
2018's advert was all about Sir Elton John, entitled 'The Boy and the Piano'. Featuring Sir Elton John playing his hit 'Your Song', which was originally covered by Ellie Goulding for the 2010 advert, this year's offering shows Elton's journey to fame and revisiting some of his famous on-stage looks.
We then see a very young Elton receive his first piano as a gift for Christmas, with the singer reflecting on that precious memory now. 'Your Song' was first released in 1970, and proves to be a timeless classic in the heartwarming Christmas advert that aims to spread the message that 'Sometimes a gift isn't just a gift'.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2019: Excitable Edgar
The 2019 advert follows Excitable Edgar as he thoroughly enjoys the festivities in his village. Unfortunately, he struggles to control his flaming nostrils, and accidentally melts the ice-rink, reduces a snowman to a puddle and sets fire to a Christmas tree.
Edgar shuts himself away in despair, but his friend Ava encourages him to rejoin the village with the gift of a Christmas pudding, which allows him to put his fire to perfect use. All of these Christmas shenanigans is set to Bastille's Dan Smith's cover of REO Speedwagon's classic song, 'Can't Fight This Feeling'.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2020: Give a Little Love
The 2020 Christmas advert was all about celebrating acts of kindness, and how these small actions can make a big difference. Using a variety of animation techniques, interspersed with live-action, the 2020 advert was just the heart-warming sentiment we needed during the global pandemic.
It aptly dropped on World Kindness Day too, set to the first song written specifically for the John Lewis advert instead of being a cover - 'A Little Love' by Celeste.
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2021: Unexpected Guest
Released two weeks earlier than usual, the 2021 John Lewis advert shows space traveller Skye crash-landing at the height of festivities in the woods near the home of 14-year-old Nathan, who introduces her to the traditions of eating mince pies, decorating the tree and, to her slight confusion, wearing novelty jumpers.
As Skye fixes her ship, she and Nathan share a sweet goodbye kiss, with Nathan handing over his novelty Christmas jumper. The advert featured Lola Young's cover of 'Together in Electric Dreams', originally by Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder. John Lewis customer director Claire Pointon said of the 2021 advert: "After the last 18 months, we wanted our advert to really celebrate this as we look forward to a brighter future. Through the story of Skye and Nathan we celebrate friendship and are reminded of the joy of experiencing Christmas for the first time."
Watch the advert on YouTube.
2022: The Beginner
John Lewis' 2022 Christmas advert has seen the retail giant work with charities Action For Children and Who Cares? Scotland, supporting young people in care. It follows the story of a middle-aged man learning to skateboard, and persevering despite the aches and pains that come with falling off repeatedly. By the end of the advert, we see him and his wife taking in a young girl clutching a skateboard at Christmas time. The advert also reveals the company have pledged to support the "futures of young people from care". The song is a cover by Mike Geier of 'All The Small Things', originally by blink-182.
2023: Snapper, The Perfect Tree
The 2023 advert sees young boy finding a grow-your-own Christmas tree, which turns out to be a mischievous Venus flytrap. The advert follows the boy as he lovingly nurtures the seed he bought from a local market, thinking he's growing a Christmas tree. The ad features Andrea Bocelli's new song 'Festa'.
2024: The Gifting Hour
The 2024 advert features Richard Ashcroft's 'Sonnet' and it makes history as a John Lewis store appears for the first in a Christmas ad! Falling through a rack of dresses, she steps into the attic of her childhood home, and begins a journey through her memories of growing up with her sister as she searches for a thoughtful present. Returning to reality, Sally meets her sister outside the store with her wrapped gift, and as they walk away her sister is reflected in the John Lewis window as the child from her memories.
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