14 December 2011

Stacey Solomon meets children at Little Havens Children's Hospice to launch the single

Former Queen of the Jungle and X Factor finalist, Stacey Solomon launches her bid for Christmas No.1 with charity single Driving Home For Christmas, as seen in the Iceland Christmas 2011 advert.

Following the success of Iceland's iconic Christmas advert back in 1998 featuring Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas, there has been a call for it to be re-produced. Producer of the original Chris Rea track, Jon Kelly, has worked closely with current face of Iceland Stacey Solomon to re-create the iconic ad with a modern twist. The Christmas advert for 2011 features Stacey Solomon and her son Zachary sharing special Christmas moments with a beautiful version of Driving Home for Christmas sung by Stacey Solomon.

Due to a positive response and influx in requests from the public to have Stacey release this as a Christmas track, the producers rushed her into the studio to work with Jon Kelly to record the full version to release it in time for Christmas as a charity single. Stacey Solomon, made famous for reaching the X Factor final in 2009 will go head to head with the X Factor winner for the top spot this Christmas, as well as other big contenders. Proceeds from the sale of the single will be split between Iceland's official charity for 2011, Alzheimer's Research UK and Stacey's chosen charity Together For Short Lives (the merger of Children's Hospices UK and ACT). The single will be released on Monday 19th December, and available for pre-order on iTunes from 5 December.

Stacey Solomon said of the release: "I can't believe the amazing response from the advert! I am such a big kid at Christmas and so I just loved recording the track and it was amazing working with Jon Kelly on such a prolific song that has carried me through my childhood. And even better if it means we can help two wonderful charities this Christmas, when donations matter more than ever."

Barbara Gelb, Chief Executive of Together for Short Lives said: "We are thrilled that half of the proceeds from this fantastic single will go to Together for Short Lives. Stacey really connects with the nation and we are delighted to have her support. We will be doing all we can to promote the single so that it raises as much money as possible to fund our work to help children who aren't expected to live to reach adulthood - and their families - across the UK."

Driving Home For Christmas & Driving Home For Christmas (Alternative Acoustic Version) will be available to pre-order from 5 December on iTunes, Amazon and all other leading music sites. Stacey's much awaited debut single will be released early in 2012.