'Hearing my song on John Lewis advert was surreal'

A singer-songwriter who featured in a John Lewis Christmas advert has said her life had been "crazy" since she was thrown into the spotlight.

Mel Raeburn won a competition in 2024 to have her cover of Richard Ashcroft's hit Sonnet as the soundtrack of the Christmas Day version of the advert that year.

She has since left her full-time job and dedicated herself to writing or performing music. Her debut single, Table For Two, is due to be released on Friday.

The singer, from Crewe, Cheshire, told BBC Radio Stoke: "My marker for when Christmas begins is when the John Lewis advert comes on. So it just felt really surreal."

The 22-year-old said she soon forgot about entering the contest after submitting her song via TikTok in the run-up to Christmas two years ago.

It was one of 10 covers presented to Ashcroft and Raeburn said he was "adamant" that hers was used in the advert.

"When I entered the competition I genuinely did just forget about it and I didn't think there would be any chance at all," she added.

"When I found out I was shortlisted, I was like 'oh, hang on, this is crazy'."

In December, Raeburn was invited to Angel Studios in London where she recorded her version of Sonnet.

"I'm glad it all happened so quickly – it was recorded, mixed, mastered and out within less than two weeks so I didn't really have time to fathom it," she said.

"Then before I knew it, it was on, on Christmas Day."

Since leaving her nine-to-five job not long afterwards, Raeburn said she had been busy writing and performing at hotels, bars and weddings, mostly in the Manchester area.

"It has been great to help me have a good presence when I'm singing live," she added.

Of her debut single Table For Two, which she described as having a "soul-pop vibe", Raeburn said she was excited to release her own music after 18 months of crafting her sound.

"Doing the John Lewis ad was such a great stepping stone for me," she said.

"It meant I could get in rooms with people and could write music that I really loved. If it wasn't for that then I wouldn't be able to release this song. This is all I ever wanted to do."

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