This year’s annual gift from the John Lewis partnership to the recording industry will be of particular benefit to Noel Gallagher and a little-known Norwegian singer. Although the John Lewis Christmas TV advert – soundtracking which has become as sure a guarantee of a hit as it is possible to get – is not unveiled until Friday 6 November, the Sun reports that it will feature Aurora performing the Oasis song Half the World Away.
The Sun quotes a “music insider” as saying that “even though Aurora is a complete unknown, they felt her quirky voice is perfect for the song”. Said insider also claims John Lewis had considered a cover version of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love.
The battle to provide John Lewis Christmas ad song is keenly contested among the major record labels, and is cloaked in secrecy, with entrants forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. The process begins in the summer, when the retailer and its advertising agency ask publishers to provide a selection of songs. The winner is decided in September. Then an artist is selected to sing it, with labels each nominating several acts.
The final singer will usually be singing to an ad that has already been shot, often following a demo that has already been recorded by someone else. They have to provide versions that run for 30, 60, 90 and 120 seconds for the different edits.
The resulting song has been released as a single for the past six Christmases. In 2009, Taken by Trees’ version of Sweet Child o’ Mine reached No 23; in 2010, Ellie Goulding’s Your Song reached No 2; Slow Moving Millie’s cover of Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want managed No 31 in 2011; in 2012 and 2013, the John Lewis single topped the charts, first in the form of Gabrielle Aplin’s The Power of Love, then Lily Allen’s Somewhere Only We Know. Last year, Tom Odell’s version of the Beatles’ Real Love reached No 7.
Aurora, who is 19, released her debut EP Running with the Wolves on Decca earlier this year.
Whether the Sun is correct in its prediction will be determined on Friday.
