Def Leppard have released a new single, “Rejoice,” arriving just ahead of the band’s return to Las Vegas for Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency, which kicks off February 3. The track is out now via UMe on streaming platforms, and it’s being positioned as part of the build-up to a new run of shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
The band says the song started with a lyrical idea and quickly found the right musical match. Singer Joe Elliott described how the initial concept came together when he brought it to guitarist Phil Collen.
“This song’s been an amazing journey from concept to conclusion. I said to Phil [Collen, Def Leppard guitarist] 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 that? And he said, ‘As it happens, yes I do.'”
From Collen’s side, he had the core riff sitting around, and the timing lined up. He built the track’s foundation with a loop designed to push a more primal, percussive feel, then sent it over for Elliott to write on top of.
“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 on a tribal sound, and it fit perfectly with this other arrangement I had. 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], 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.”
The timing makes sense: “Rejoice” is set to get its live moment in Vegas, where fans can expect the new track alongside staples from Def Leppard’s catalog. Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency runs through February 28, 2026, and follows the band’s previous sold-out Vegas residency runs in 2013 and 2019.
