Elton John is stepping into this Christmas season with a whole new look. On Wednesday (Dec. 18), the indefatigable 78-year-old pop superstar unwrapped a brand new video for his holiday classic, “Step Into Christmas” in which actress/model Cara Delevingne takes on the lead role as 1970s Elton.
In the Dan French-directed clip, the 1973 song is given new life when Delevingne slips on a pair of John’s signature flashy shades and colorful, quilted bell-bottom suit with high-heeled boots to lip synch along to the jaunty ditty that has long been an upbeat antidote to the melancholy, wistful sounds of other Christmas standards.
Ostensibly a behind-the-scenes look at the troubled production of the original video, the new clip finds two producers fretting over the scene not looking “Christmassy” enough, complaining that the balloons and red feather boa draped on John’s piano don’t hit the right festive tone.
But once Delevingne slips into place and starts mouthing along to the the triple-platinum hit originally released on Nov. 23, 1973 — which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christmas singles chart in the U.S. at the time — their tune begins to change. As side-by-side video of the new clip and the original play on monitors, a fan busts in with a sign expressing adoration for the singer only to be told, “she’s not Elton,” adding another layer of confusion to the shoot as an engineer tells “Elton” to smile.
All along, the crew tries to Christmas-up the scene by adding festive elements, but when reindeer and mules aren’t available they settle for a turkey instead.
In a statement, lifelong John fan Delevingne said, “Elton has always been an idol of mine, to say his music has had a deeply profound effect on me is an understatement. To be asked by him to PLAY him in this recreation was a dream that I didn’t know I had until it happened. Honestly, I wish I could pretend to be Elton every day. I hope that Elton may one day return the favor and agree to play me in my not-yet-developed, written, pitched, or funded biopic. Fingers crossed.”
The admiration is mutual, with John adding, “I saw Cara at Glastonbury last summer, and we talked about how much we’d love to work together if the right idea came up. She’s hilarious to spend time with; we both have quite a self-deprecating sense of humor. When someone suggested the idea of her playing me in a riff on the 1973 ‘Step Into Christmas’ video, I just thought it was the perfect opportunity. Thank God Cara thought the same because it came out great.”
It’s not the first time John has tapped someone else to play him in one of his videos. Back in 2001, he cast Justin Timberlake to play a 1970s version of him in the video for the song “This Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore.” You can also see John now in the new Disney+ doc Elton John: Never Too Late, which features the eponymous song he recorded with friend Brandi Carlile for the film exploring his 50-year music career.
Watch the new (and old) “Step Into Christmas” videos below.
