Sir Elton John teams up with Lil Nas X, Dua Lipa, Stevie Nicks and more on new album ‘The Lockdown Sessions’
The 'Your Song' singer has spent his lockdown collaborating with artists such as Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, and Rina Sawayama.
Words: Alastair James; picture: Twitter/@eltonofficial
Sir Elton John has had a busy lockdown and created an entirely new album of collaborations with some of our favourite artists, including Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, and Rina Sawayama.
The star-studded 16-track album also features collaborations with Dua Lipa, as well as legends such as Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder.
The album, Lockdown Sessions, will be available on 22 October and is available to pre-order now.
“I’d come full circle”
Posting the tracklist on social media Sir Elton said: “The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up and I’ve ended with a selection of really interesting and diverse stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory.
“And I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”
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Some of the songs, such as ‘Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)’ with Dua Lipa and ‘Chosen Family’ with Rina Sawayama has already been released, as has Sir Elton’s cover of The Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s a Sin’, which the ‘Rocketman’ singer performed at the BRIT awards with Olly Alexander. ‘Cold Heart’ recently peaked at number 8 on Billboard’s charts.
In a video on his Instagram account, the musical legend explains that the album began with a collaboration in Los Angeles with Charlie Puth. Back in England, he collaborated on The Gorillaz’s record and then with Rina Sawayama and others before realising he had half a record.
He then came up with a list of names (we’ve mentioned just about all of them by now) “You couldn’t get a better bucket list than that,” Sir Elton says, which we’d agree with.
“There’s rap, there’s country, there’s rock and roll, there’s soul, there’s dance. It’s just a dream come true,” Sir Elton continues. He also mentions a future record coming out in the future with long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin.
So, there’s lots to look forward to!
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