"It's hard rock for us. It's got a bit more of an 'oomph' than stuff we've been doing for a while": Def Leppard launch new single Rejoice ahead of Las Vegas residency
Def Leppard say they've returned to a rockier sound
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Sheffield's very own Def Leppard have released a new single, Rejoice. The release comes ahead of the band's upcoming Las Vegas residency, which kicks off at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on February 3 and runs until the end of the month.
Based around a drum loop and featuring a typically Leppard-sized chorus, Rejoice harks back to the late-90s sound of albums like Slang and Euphoria.
"This song’s been an amazing journey from concept to conclusion," says frontman Joe Elliott. "I said to Phil [Collen] one day, ‘I’ve got this idea for a lyric where the narrator is at absolute rock bottom and wants to rise up to a higher level. Do you have a musical piece that might match with that?’ And he said, ‘As it happens, yes I do.’”
“I had this riff, this idea for a song a while ago actually, so when Joe came to me I created this drum loop based with a tribal sound and it fit perfectly with this other arrangement I had," adds Collen. "I sent it to Joe and it was like magic – he sang straight over the top of it. And that’s how the song was formed.
"Then we gave it to Ronan [McHugh, Leppard's long-serving sound engineer] who’d done a proper drum loop with different sounds. It all started gelling and just sounded like a powerful chant. We love it. It’s hard rock for us. It’s got a bit more of an ‘oomph’ than stuff we’ve been doing for a while. It’s kind of magical."
Def Leppard's stint in Las Vegas is followed by a run of European shows in the summer. Full dates below.
Def Leppard, Las Vegas residency, 2026
Feb 03: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 05: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 07: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 10: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 12: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 14: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 17: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 19: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 21: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 24: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 26: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Feb 28: Las Vegas The Colosseum, Caesars Palace, NY
Jun 13: Rättvik Dalhalla, Sweden
Jun 16: Helsinki Veikkaus Arena, Finland
Jun 19: Zurich allenstadion, Switzerland
Jun 21: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 23: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Jun 26: Belfast Belsonic, UK
Jun 28: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Jun 30: Sheffield Utilita Arena, UK
Jul 02: London The O2, UK
Jul 04: Birmingham BP Pulse Live, UK
Jul 06: Manchester Co-op Live, UK
Jul 30: Feb Wacken Open Air, Germany
Aug 02: Dubai Coca-Cola Arena, UAE

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.
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