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Brianna Williams, ESPN
The Philadelphia Eagles on Friday will release their second studio album, titled “A Philly Christmas Special” and headlined by Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata.
Last year, their debut “A Philly Special Christmas” showed off the vocal ranges of their offensive linemen and included features from quarterback Jalen Hurts, receiver A.J. Brown, defensive end Brandon Graham and linebacker Haason Reddick.
“What Jordan did, you could call singing, and what Lane did you could call singing. I don’t know if you could call what I did singing,” Kelce said last year. “I’m very much just like a yeller in certain tones. There are some songs on there that I think are going to shock people, especially people who haven’t heard Jordan Mailata sing.”
This time around, the Eagles received a feature from a famous Philadelphia-born songstress with six decades of musical experience.
On Wednesday, the team shared footage of Grammy Award-winning singer Patti LaBelle sharing a studio with Mailata.
“Honestly, I’ve got stage fright,” said Mailata, who is heralded as the Eagles’ best singer.
LaBelle’s career began in the early 1960s as the lead singer of the group “Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles.” Referred to as the “Godmother of Soul,” she became a soloist in 1976 and has released 19 studio albums, including two holiday albums.
Mailata and LeBelle’s cover of the holiday classic “This Christmas” is the second single of the 10-song project.
Like last year, the album is produced by drummer Charlie Hall of Philadelphia-based rock band The War On Drugs and executive produced by former Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin.
Proceeds from vinyl sales will benefit local charities as the team hopes to exceed the $1.25 million raised by its debut album.
