New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The iHeartMedia and the
Empire State Building (ESB) announced the "iHeartRadio Holiday Pop Up Party With Ed Sheeran," an intimate live event to feature a five-song performance and exclusive interview, hosted by iHeartRadio on-air personalities Elvis Duran and
Maxwell & Crystal at the world-famous
Empire State Building on Dec. 8. In addition to songs from his recently released album and other fan favorites,
Ed Sheeran will perform "Merry Christmas," his new holiday song with Elton John, coupled with a special music-to-light show to premiere simultaneously atop the iconic building's tower at 8 p.m.
Fans can tune into iHeartMedia New York's Z100, 106.7 Lite FM and 103.5 KTU, also available on the iHeartRadio App, to listen to the song while they watch the festive light display. In addition, the entire "iHeartRadio Holiday Pop Up Party With Ed Sheeran" special will exclusively stream on The CW App and CWTV.com, and broadcast on iHeartMedia's CHR and HOT AC radio stations nationwide on December 20 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
"I'm thrilled to participate in this annual holiday tradition with Elton's and my new song 'Merry Christmas," said Sheeran. "I'm looking forward to celebrating the start of this holiday season from atop the
Empire State Building, wishing a happy Christmas to everyone in New York City and around the world."
Fans can listen to iHeartMedia's Z100, 106.7 Lite FM and 103.5 KTU or visit the stations' websites for a chance to win a ticket to this very intimate show.
"Holidays in New York are always very special, but this year, even more so. Ed and Elton's new song is destined to become a Christmas classic. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the season than partnering with Ed Sheeran,
Empire State Building and The CW for a one-of-a-kind holiday pop up concert," said Tom Poleman, President and Chief Programming Officer of Programming for iHeartMedia.
The festive music-to-light spectacular will feature thousands of LED lights at the top of the famous tower, choreographed by world-renowned lighting designer Marc Brickman and his Tactical Manouvre team. The light show set to "
Merry Christmas" by
Ed Sheeran featuring
Elton John will debut on Dec. 8 and replay nightly from Dec. 20 through Dec. 25 timed to the 7 p.m. ET broadcast on iHeartMedia New York's Z100, 106.7 Lite FM, and 103.5 KTU and the station's Facebook pages. Viewers outside of the New York City area can tune in to watch the show live via Earthcam at https://www.esbnyc.com/earthcam-empire-state-building, and a video of the entire show will be posted on the
Empire State Building's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/esbnyc) immediately following its debut on Dec. 20. The
Empire State Building, which celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2021, is the New York City broadcasting home of iHeartMedia.
"The
Empire State Building's and iHeart's annual gift to New York City are a holiday staple of New York City, a tradition accessible to all who live in and visit the greatest city in the world and available around the world on YouTube," said Anthony E. Malkin, chairman, president, and CEO of ESRT. "This year, our annual Holiday Light show celebrates this fantastic duet by
Ed Sheeran and Elton John."
"Merry Christmas," a new original track from
Ed Sheeran and Elton John, was released on Dec. 3 and is available everywhere now. The British super-duo joined forces to release the latest holiday hit, which was written by
Ed Sheeran and
Elton John and produced by Steve Mac. During the 2021 Christmas period,
Ed Sheeran and Elton John's global record and publishing royalties from the single and profits from sales of the single will be donated equally between the
Ed Sheeran Suffolk
Music Foundation and the
Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Over-the-top holiday decorations adorn the
Empire State Building, from the festive window dressings and a towering Christmas tree in the
Fifth Avenue Lobby to the holiday photo corner and menorah within the Observatory Experience. Visitors who pass through the
Fifth Avenue Lobby from Monday through Friday will also be greeted by holiday tunes performed by professional pianists from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
To add to the holiday excitement, follow @EmpireStateBldg and @iHeartRadio on social media and use the hashtag #ESBUnwrapped.
Ed Sheeran is an era-defining artist. From record-breaking sales across his recorded music and live performances, and a plethora of award wins to his name, the British singer-songwriter is the boundless talent behind some of the biggest songs in history. The 4x GRAMMY award winner has consistently resonated with fans across the world with his peerless songcraft and exceptional music palate. With four multiplatinum, critically acclaimed albums under his belt - '+' (2011), 'x' (2014), '÷' (2017) and 'No.6 Collaborations Project' (2019) - Sheeran has amassed more than 60 billion streams and sold over 50 million albums, globally to date; he is also one of only six artists to have three songs - "Thinking Out Loud," "Perfect," and "
Shape Of You" - earn RIAA Diamond-certification, for sales equivalents exceeding 10 million in the US alone. An unparalleled live performer, Sheeran's most recent, two-year ÷ world tour made history becoming the most-attended and highest-grossing tour of all time. This fall, Sheeran released '=', the fourth installment of his symbol album series, highlighted by the hit singles "
Shivers" and "Bad Habits," which recently received a GRAMMY nomination for "Song of the Year." Debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200, '=' is Sheeran's fourth consecutive full length release to top the chart after its first week. A global phenomenon, '=' has also gone to #1 in 19 countries around the world.
