Superstar singer Justin Bieber has joined forces with the renowned Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir for a new Christmas recording of his hit song ‘Holy’, with the proceeds going to NHS charities.
A few weeks ago, Bieber approached the choir over email to propose a new collaborative version of ‘Holy,’ which he had a hit with Chance the Rapper earlier this year. Profit will go NHS Charities Together, which represents over 230 NHS charities, and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Charity, in recognition of frontline medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They recorded the new song at the famous Abbey Road studios in London. Soprano Belinda Champion said: “As a kid growing up in Aldershot, if you’d have told me I’d be recording vocals at Abbey Road for a superstar like Justin I’d have never believed you! I’m so grateful for this opportunity to celebrate the NHS.”
The single is something of a reunion between the choir and Beiber. The choirwas formed in 2012 for choirmarster Gareth Malone’s BBC2 show, ‘Sing While You Work’ being narrowly beaten in the final. The following year they released a Christmas charity single, Bridge Over You. The track beat Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’ to the Christmas number one spot after he encouraged his millions of Twitter followers to support the NHS song.
Bieber tweeted in 2015: “So for 1 week it’s ok not to be #1. Let’s do the right thing & help them win. It’s Christmas. @Choir_NHS good luck.”
The tweet went viral with over 50K retweets, meaning the NHS claimed the top spot and the friendship was formed. He met the choir in person shortly after, and said: “I was honoured to meet everyone from the choir and I’m really happy that they got their number one.”
Bieber said: “It’s great to be reunited with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir, as we share a fun bit of UK chart history together. Especially in these difficult times, I’m humbled to team up with them for a charity single that will benefit NHS workers on the frontlines of this pandemic and pay tribute to their unbelievable dedication.”
Caroline Smith, Children’s Community Physiotherapist and leader of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, said: “Justin Bieber helped make our dreams come true in 2015 and he’s doing the same this year; we really can’t thank him enough for the chance to work with him on this wonderful, uplifting song. We’re so proud to represent Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and all the heroes in the NHS.”
Listen to Bieber and the choir’s rendition of ‘Holy’ here: https://justinbieber.lnk.to/Holy-NHSChoir
