A few days into December and some people will already be gorging on their Christmas song playlists, while others will be doing their utmost to avoid one particular tune entirely.
Yep, it’s Whamageddon season: the challenge, for those brave enough to take it on, is to go as long as possible into December without hearing Wham!’s Last Christmas.
Why you’d want to avoid it is beyond us - it remains a festive classic - but if you want to have your fill of the song while staying in the Whamageddon game, Rosé has just provided you with a solution.
The Blackpink star has made a hugely successful start to her solo career with APT, a song that’s recently been topping global streaming charts. During her visit to Radio 1’s Live Lounge, not only did Rosé perform this song, but she also gave us her version of Last Christmas, which remains pretty faithful to the original, pulsing synth included.
Does hearing it mean Whamageddon for you, though? Not according to Radio 1, which says: “Don't worry, this doesn't count as Whamageddon. We checked”.
The release of Rosé’s cover was timely; yesterday marked 40 years since the release of Last Christmas, and a new anniversary EP that features the original song, the 12-inch version, George Michael’s live performance from 2006 and the instrumental will be available from 13 December.
“It dawned on me, ‘Wow! I think that we’re learning how to do this just how Bob learned how to play’”: How Timothée Chalamet went from a complete guitar novice to become Bob Dylan onscreen
“I thought it was too pop. I rebelled against it”: How Ozzy Osbourne learned to love a song that was written and recorded in one hour and ended up becoming Black Sabbath’s biggest hit
