Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce are kicking off the holiday season with something to celebrate. The brothers and NFL pros recently made it to the top of the iTunes chart with their Christmas song, “Fairytale of Philadelphia,” thanks to the help of Taylor Swift‘s legion of Swifties.
“We are officially rock stars,” Jason quipped during Wednesday’s episode of the siblings’ New Heights podcast.
“We owe a big thanks to one group in particular, besides the 92 percenters,” Jason said, referencing the nickname of their New Heights fanbase. “And that’s the Swifties.”
Travis echoed the sentiment, adding, “One thousand percent.”
Jason said that he unintentionally called Swift’s followers into action when he first tweeted about the song hitting No. 8 on the cart.
“I got like 85 tweets from Swifties across the world being like, ‘You think eight is good? We’re taking this to No. 1,” he explained, laughing. “It’s a powerful group of people.”
Travis also offered up his gratitude to the “Karma” singer.
“Thanks, Taylor, appreciate you,” he said. “And thank you to the Swifties. Thank you.”
The sweet track — off the Philadelphia Eagles’ A Philly Special Christmas Special album — is a remake of “Fairytale of New York” from Celtic punk band The Pogues’ 1987 tale of an Irish immigrant spending Christmas Eve sleeping off a bender in the drunk tank. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the track was worked on and recorded before the Travis-Taylor dating rumors began. The outlet reports the album’s producers headed to Kansas City in August to record with Travis.
The remake features lyrics rewritten by Travis — a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs — and Jason — a center for the Philadelphia Eagles — who tell the “tale of two brothers whose love for each other withstands the test of time.”
On an earlier episode of New Heights, Travis joked that he was looking forward to receiving a heaping helping of vicious comments about his singing skills from listeners. But he was surprised this week to hear what the fans were actually saying.
“We asked to keep the comments on the YouTube in the comments video so we could see what you guys are saying, and you guys did not disappoint,” Jason said, quoting one fan as saying, “I know Travis was expecting a roasting in the comments, but trust me when I say this is anything but buns.”
Some fans suggested that Travis was “giving Disney Prince vibes,” while one noted that “somebody’s been taking singing lessons.”
“You guys are too kind,” Travis replied, with Jason adding: “I think it’s a good song!”
Travis cracked, “It is a good song if you’re into that kind of s**t.”
The team’s full album is available to pre-order on vinyl, with proceeds set to be donated to various Philadelphia charities including the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“We’re just trying to make people’s holidays a little bit brighter, a little bit more joyful,” Jason said. “We’re having fun so far.”
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