Lola Young: who is singing John Lewis Christmas advert song 2021 - and lyrics of Together In Electric Dreams

This year’s highly-anticipated John Lewis Christmas advert is finally here and customers have been introduced to a new voice in the ‘Unexpected Guest’ promo.

Lola Young has been chosen as the voice to carry the advert that marks the start of the festive season for many with a cover of Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder’s 1984 hit Together in Electric Dreams - but who exactly is the young singer?

Who is Lola Young?

Lola Young is a 20-year-old artist from South London. The talented singer has struck gold with her cover after beginning to write songs from the age of 11.

During her teen years, Young went on to compete in and win singing competitions before gaining a place at the prestigious Brit School, which includes Adele and Amy Winehouse in its alumni.

She then gained a record deal from Island Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group. She follows in the footsteps of artists such as Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj in working with the record company and has so far released the single Woman and EPs such as 2019’s Intro and 2020’s Renaissance.

Young says that her early influences included Joni Mitchell and Prince.

Over the past year, she has worked with producer Paul Epworth, who has previously worked with superstars such as Florence + The Machine and Rihanna, on songs which are due to be released this year.

She is also set to perform a series of live dates during November and December which will see her visit UK cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London, while also visiting Europe.

What song does she sing in the John Lewis Christmas advert and what are the lyrics?

Young performs a cover of the 1984 hit Together in Electric Dreams by Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder to soundtrack the ‘Unexpected Guest’ advert.

The song was a big hit for the musicians in 1984, with it reaching number three in the UK Charts.

The lyrics to the song are:

I only knew you for a while

I never saw your smile

‘Til it was time to go

Time to go away (time to go away)

Sometimes it’s hard to recognise

Love comes as a surprise

And it’s too late

It’s just too late to stay

Too late to stay

We’ll always be together

However far it seems (love never ends)

We’ll always be together

Together in electric dreams

Because the friendship that you gave

Has taught me to be brave

No matter where I go I’ll never find a better prize

(Find a better prize)

Though you’re miles and miles away

I see you every day

I don’t have to try, I just close my eyes

I close my eyes

We’ll always be together

However far it seems (love never ends)

We’ll always be together

Together in electric dreams

We’ll always be together

However far it seems (love never ends)

We’ll always be together

Together in electric dreams

We’ll always be together

However far it seems (love never ends)

We’ll always be together

Together in electric dreams

We’ll always be together

However far it seems (love never ends)

We’ll always be together

Together in electric dreams

(We’ll always be together)

What happens in the 2021 John Lewis ‘Unexpected Guest’ Christmas advert?

The advert, created by agency adam&eveDDB, depicts a young alien named Skye celebrating her first ever Christmas after crash landing near 14-year-old Nathan’s home.

It then goes onto show Nathan showing Skye Christmas traditions such as decorating a Christmas tree, eating mince pies and wearing Christmas jumpers to her confusion.

Young’s cover of Together in Electric Dreams soundtracks the two-minute promo.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our email newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.