The single is a gentle track with a melodic vocal line and harmonies, with an instrumental which revolves around the drums. Co-written and performed by the two artists, it follows a number of duets which are likely to be included on the album with the likes of Melody Gardot and Shaggy.

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‘Little Something’ featuring American jazz singer Melody Gardot premiered in September 2020 with a beautiful latin feel to the rhythm and some stunning jazz chords. From what’s been shared so far from the album, it’s clear that there will be a versatile range of songs.

Sting has worked with ‘It Wasn’t Me’ creator Shaggy numerous times in the past, working on their collaboration album ’44/876′ together in 2018 and continuing to share more tracks since then. Most recently, the pair released a song together which samples the ’80s track ‘Angel Of The Morning’ by Juice Newton.

Confirmed to feature on the album are Gashi, Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, and more, so fans have a lot to look forward to. Initially, the release date for ‘Duets’ was today, but it was postponed last week due to unforeseen delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic interfering with manufacturing. Sting took to Instagram to explain this, but confirmed that ‘September’ would still be available early.

On making the album, Shaggy explained, “Since I was a child, I can remember seeing tourists flock to Jamaica during Christmastime for some sun, fun, rum, and great parties! Our island is all about family, friends, food, great beaches, warm, welcoming people, and a strong culture, which is the perfect recipe for a joyous Christmas, so we decided to embody all of that into one album.” – NME

Shaggy added in speaking about his Christmas extravaganza, “We enlisted some of Jamaica’s leading, iconic artists to participate, and with guests like Ne-Yo and Joss Stone, who frequent Jamaica during the holiday season, we hope to transport listeners and share how we celebrate Christmas in the Islands!”- NME

Shaggy (real name Orville Richard Burrell) was nicknamed after the scooby-doo character and grew up  in Jamaica and was born on 22nd October in 1968. After taking up singing lessons, Shaggy was discovered while singing on the streets with his friends.

His first mega hit was in 1993 with ‘O Carolina‘ a dancehall version of a ska song by the Folkes Brothers. Signed to Virgin records, the theme tune of the Levi’s commercial ‘Bombastic’ saw him shoot to fame in 1995. He then signed to Dreamworks to release his album, ‘Hot shot‘ which featured chart topping tunes, ‘It Was’nt Me’ and ‘Angel.’ In April 2020, Shaggy celebrated the 20th anniversary of his popular album, by releasing an updated version of his album, which he named ‘Hot Shot 2020.’ 

There is no doubt Shaggy will be bringing us some Jamaican warmth over the festive period with his Caribbean themed album. When reminiscing on his childhood memories of Christmas he said, “Since I was a child, I can remember seeing tourists flock to Jamaica during Christmas time for some sun, fun, rum, and great parties!” – Metro  It is certain that the Reggae legend will be lifting many spirits over Christmas with this fun album, bringing ‘Christmas In The Islands.’

Track List

1. ‘No Icy Christmas’ feat. Sanchez
2. ‘We Got Us’ feat. Shenseea and OMI
3. ‘Take You to the Cool’ feat. Richie Stephens & Conkarah
4. ‘Christmas In the Islands’ feat Rayvon
5. ‘Holiday in Jamaica’ feat. Ne-Yo & Ding Dong
6. ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’
7. ‘Open Presents’ feat. Romain Virgo
8. ‘Raggamuffin Christmas’ feat. Junior Reid and Bounty Killer
9. ‘Christmas Time’ feat. Jamila Falak
10. ’12 Days of Christmas’ feat. Beenie Man and Craigy T
11. ‘Warm & Easy
12. ‘Sunny Celebration’ feat. Joss Stone
13. ‘Catch Myself Some Rays’feat. CARYS
14. ‘Love When It’s Christmas’
15. ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’

A series of intimate and exclusive shows will begin at London’s Camden Roundhouse in May with additional dates in Newcastle, Birmingham and Manchester.Tickets are on sale from Friday, February 15th at 9 am at livenation.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk.

Last year the dynamic duo brought The 44/876 Tour to North America, South America and Eastern Europe. Critics hailed it as “one of the most anticipated concerts of the year” and “a reggae rock dance party that never lets up.”The show sees the pair collaborating on each other’s most celebrated hits such as “Every Breath You Take,” “Englishman In New York,” “Message In A Bottle,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Mr Boombastic” and “Angel”. Alongside new favourites, they will also perform an array of new hits from album 44/876.

In spring of 2018, Sting & Shaggy made UK headlines with a memorable performance of ‘Don’t Make Me Wait’ at the Queen’s 92nd birthday celebration at the Royal Albert Hall. The track also featured on their collaborative Top Ten album release, which the pair also performed live on BBC’s The One Show and in the latest series of Mrs Browns Boys.

Last year also saw the release of “Skank Up (Oh Lawd)”, a further collaboration from Sting & Shaggy that featured dancehall music sensation, Ding Dong. The pair’s latest music video, “Gotta Get Back My Baby” is available to watch here. For this year, the couple will soon see the release their next single, ‘Just One Lifetime’.

Sting and Shaggy will be joined on The 44/876 Tour by Sting’s longtime collaborators Dominic Miller (guitar), Josh Freese (drums) and Rufus Miller (guitar), as well as Shaggy’s band members Melissa Musique (backing vocals), Gene Noble (backing vocals) and Kevon Webster (keyboards).

Tickets are on sale this Friday, February 15th at 9 am. Members of the artists’ fan clubs will have the opportunity to access tickets starting February 12th at 9 am until February 13th at 5 pm by visiting www.sting.com. The tour is produced by Cherrytree Management and RZO Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation Global Touring in association with Solo.

STING & SHAGGY’S 44/876 2019 U.K. TOUR DATES:

19/05/2019 – Roundhouse – London

22/05 – O2 Academy – Newcastle

24/05 – O2 Academy – Birmingham

25/05 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

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