Travis Kelce records Christmas song with brother Jason. Is duet with Taylor Swift next?
Travis Kelce is more than a Pro Bowl tight end and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs.
And he’s more than the boyfriend of pop superstar Taylor Swift.
He is now a recording artist in his own right.
Kelce has just released a duet in which he trades verses and harmonizes with a very special person in his life.
Sorry, Swifties, it’s not his girlfriend.
It’s his not-quite-as-famous brother Jason Kelce, the Pro Bowl center for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The brothers’ collaboration — “Fairytale of Philadelphia,” a rewritten version of the 1987 holiday classic “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl — was released Wednesday to streaming platforms.
“I can’t wait for everybody to absolutely chop me down and make fun of me for how I sing,” Travis Kelce said on Wednesday’s episode of the brothers’ ”New Heights” podcast. “This will be fantastic.”
Travis Kelce’s coach, the Chiefs’ Andy Reid, is still getting those Taylor Swift questions: He’s ‘just glad’ Kelce has ‘found somebody he likes.’ Ditto Taylor.
The song appears on the upcoming album “A Philly Special Christmas Special,” by the Philly Specials, a trio that consists of Jason Kelce and fellow Eagles offensive linemen Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. Like the group’s first release last year, the new album will benefit local charities.
The brotherly collaboration was pitched to Kelce this summer during the recording of the new album. The idea was to take the original song — a duet between a man and woman who seem to be in a loving, but definitely imperfect relationship — and switch it up just enough to be a fit for the famous siblings.
“I think it could be a look at the relationship of two brothers and how much you’re wrapped up in your family’s lives and how much that affects where you end up in life,” Jason Kelce said in a video posted on Instagram.
While a lot of the original lyrics remain intact, certain changes were made to reflect the new setting (“Queen of New York City” becomes “King of South Philly”) and the switch from the protagonists being lovers to family members (“babe” becomes “brother,” and “we kissed on a corner” becomes “we fought on a corner”).
Travis Kelce addresses the CBS graphic that suggests the presence of apparent girlfriend Taylor Swift at Chiefs games has had a positive effect on his performance.
Even the family’s now-famous matriarch, Donna Kelce, kind of gets a mention, when Jason Kelce switches the line “You took my dreams from me when I first found you” to “You took my dreams from me when Mom first had you.”
As far as the vocals are concerned, they actually sound pretty nice for a couple of guys who play football for a living. Kelce already proved his chops on the first “Philly Special” album and his gruff baritone fits the song well.
As for Travis Kelce, even though he predicted on the podcast that he will “get just absolutely butchered” for his singing, he stays in key and definitely doesn’t embarrass himself. The duo even nails some harmonies.
All of which leads to the most obvious question of all time: Is there a Tayvis duet in our future? Alas, Kelce didn’t mention it on the podcast and a representative for Swift did not immediately respond to The Times.
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce discussed the NFL’s over-the-top coverage of Taylor Swift on his podcast with brother Jason. The NFL defended it, calling it ‘a pop cultural moment.’
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