Songfacts®:

• Jax Jones and Ella Henderson go back a long way - Jones' wife used to babysit the young Ella. The pair penned this song in 2014, just when Henderson was blowing up with "Ghost," and her record label, Syco, wouldn't let her release it.
  
  Jones took "This is Real" and his 2015 single "Yeah Yeah Yeah" to Polydor and got himself signed. The label recruited Selena Gomez for the vocals, but things got complicated and it never got released.
  
  After Henderson left Syco and signed a new deal with Asylum Records' imprint Major Toms, Jones decided it was now time for the world to hear their collaboration. It was released on October 21, 2019 as the second single from the producer's debut studio album, Snacks (Supersize).
• The song is a house-pop track about finding a love that is real. It has a huge chorus that Jones is especially proud of. He told Apple Music: "It just sounds like England, and I love it for that."
• The song's music video was directed by Favourite Colour: Black (aka Chris Turner), whose resumé also includes work for Birdy, Hurts, The Kooks and Jay-Z.
  
  The clip shows an artificial robot who establishes an almost human connection with a cheerleader once the music starts playing. Turner said: "The brief was very open - to do something with choreography, as neither of the artists were available, and the song title 'This is Real' seemed fitting with the idea of someone dancing with a robot."