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Accompanying the release of the single is the performance video which premieres today, December 4, 2020, on YouTube. Filmed during the height of the pandemic, Engelbert filmed from the studio in Los Angeles while Janet did the same from London, UK. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS1o5Kp6-IU
A fan favorite and finalist on UK’s X Factor (2011), Janet sang this song during the competition as a tribute to her grandfather (it was his favorite song) who had passed away the week of her performance. Engelbert, who was friends with Elvis, caught the TV performance and was blown away. Before they’d ever met, the unlikely pair had an invisible bond. Three years ago, Janet attended Engelbert’s show at the Royal Court Theatre and, backstage, the two were finally introduced. Discussing their shared love of the song led to a plan this year to perform it together, in May, at Engelbert’s planned show at London’s Palladium.
Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the concert was canceled and the two vowed to record their version of the classic remotely. The result is a striking version beautifully blending Janet’s spectral, soulful vocals with Engelbert’s rich baritone. For the King of Love Ballads, as his fans have dubbed him for decades, the song is an affirmation of his feelings for the love of his life, his wife Patricia, and the sense of loss of communication he deals with every day as a result of her affliction with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I have always adored ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by my good friend Elvis when he recorded it almost 60 years ago,” says Engelbert. “This year when the opportunity arrived to record it as a duet with the incredible Janet Devlin I was intrigued as there is about the same age difference between us as to when it was first performed by Elvis and his leading lady in Blue Hawaii.
“Janet and I have performed it not as a love song, but as a loving tribute to people very near and dear to our hearts. I am dedicating it to my wife of 54 years, Patricia. Janet is dedicating it to her grandfather Michael. Together, we have created a new version which we believe packs an emotional punch with its hopeful message of love… especially in these difficult times.”
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