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Disney Christmas advert: who is singer Griff, and what’s the song?
9 November 2020, 17:14 | Updated: 10 November 2020, 14:42
All you need to know about the music soundtracking Disney’s new Christmas advert, which has been praised for its celebration of Filipino culture and tradition.
Disney has just released its new Christmas advert, a strong contender alongside Amazon’s – which features a young ballerina whose performance is cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis – to rival John Lewis’ annual festive offering.
As families across the world hope to all be together this December, Disney’s short film From Our Family to Yours centres on a grandmother’s relationship with her granddaughter.
The story opens in 1940 when a young Filipina girl, Lola, is given a Mickey Mouse toy by her father.
Cut to 60-plus years later, when Lola becomes a grandmother and decides to share her cherished toy with her granddaughter during an afternoon spent making paper chains.
FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS | Disney Christmas Advert 2020 | Official Disney UK
But over the years, the granddaughter loses interest in having arts-and-crafts time with her grandmother, much to Lola’s disappointment. She comes home one day to find Mickey’s ear has dropped off; the toy discarded on the floor.
Eventually, the girl grows out of her teenage funk and decides to do something special for her grandmother. She fills Lola’s living room with Christmas decorations, like the ones they used to make together. Then comes the pièce de resistance, as the girl presents her grandmother with a box, containing the original Mickey with his broken ear sewn back on.
It’s a heartwarming tale with a warm, fuzzy soundtrack to match – but who’s singing in the ad? Here’s all you need to know.
Read more: Amazon Christmas ad stars ballerina whose show is cancelled by COVID-19 crisis >
What’s the song in Disney’s Christmas advert?
The pop ballad creating the soundscape for Disney’s Christmas ad is ‘Love is a Compass’, sung by 19-year-old star Griff, and written by songwriting and production team Parkwild.
While times are hard for many this winter, Disney is releasing the song as a charity single, with 100 percent of proceeds donated to Make-A-Wish, a charity helping bring small gifts of joy to children with life-threatening illnesses.
It’s available to buy and download from today, 9 November, and proceeds will be donated for every download made before 31 December 2020.
Who is Griff, the singer in Disney’s Christmas advert?
Griff, born Sarah Griffiths, is an English singer-songwriter who has been nominated for an Ivor Novello Rising Star award.
According to Metro, some of Griff’s earliest memories of music are from singing as a young girl in church, where she “fell in love with music”.
The young star said she was “excited” to sing the song in the Disney Christmas advert, describing the lyrics and story of the advert as “powerful”.
“The theme of family and loved ones are so front of mind for many of us – especially this Christmas,” she said.
