World-renowned global superstar Elton John joined Hollywood’s elite group of EGOT winners after securing the EMMY Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for his 2022 Disney+ special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.
Elton John made the following statement on reaching EGOT status
“I am incredibly humbled to be joining the unbelievably talented group of EGOT winners tonight. The journey to this moment has been filled with passion, dedication, and the unwavering support of my fans all around the world. Tonight is a testament to the power of the arts and the joy that it brings to all our lives. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, I am incredibly grateful.”
The three-hour, historic, live-streamed concert event from Disney Branded Television and produced by Fulwell 73 and Rocket Entertainment gave Disney+ audiences a front-row seat to his electrifying and legendary performance as he bid farewell to North America.
Heralded as one of the greatest send-offs of all time, artists, entertainers, and special guests, along with a packed stadium of fans and admirers worldwide, celebrated the music legend’s epic full-circle moment at Dodger Stadium, paying tribute to his 1975 performance that cemented his global success.
Having previously won two Academy Awards for Best Original Song for Rocketman’s [“I’m Gonna] Love Me Again” and The Lion King’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” a Tony Award for Best Original Score for Aida and six GRAMMY Awards throughout his career, including the GRAMMY Legend Award, Elton John tonight joined the exclusive circle of only 24 stars who have achieved Hollywood’s highest honor.
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Elton John’s career achievements to date are unsurpassed in their breadth and longevity. Elton is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time. In the UK and US charts alone he has 1 diamond, 33 platinum or multi-platinum, and 22 gold albums as well as over 85 Top 40 hits. He has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.
He holds the record for the biggest-selling physical single of all time, “Candle in the Wind 1997”, which sold over 33 million copies. Released in 2017 ‘Diamonds’ the Ultimate Greatest Hits album, became Elton’s 43rd UK Top 40 album and has spent over 300 consecutive weeks in the top 75 of the UK album charts, over 190 of these in the top 20.
This release celebrated 50 years of his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. It reached a UK peak position of No. 2 in July 2023, achieving 4 times platinum status in the process and is the longest charting album of Elton’s career 62-deep catalogue.
August 2018 saw Elton John named as the most successful male solo artist in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart history, having logged 67 entries, including nine No. 1s and 29 Top 10s.
‘The Lockdown Sessions’, an album of collaborations recorded during the COVID-19 Pandemic, was released in October 2021 and went straight to No. 1 in the UK album Charts, becoming Elton John’s 8th UK No. 1 album in the process. Its lead single “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) with Dua Lipa” became a bona fide global hit, reaching No. 1 in over 20 charts world-wide, including the UK and Australia.
Its success meant that Elton became the first ever solo artist to score a UK Top 10 hit single in six consecutive decades. In America, he holds the record for longest span between Billboard top 40 hits at 50 years. He currently has logged 71 entries, including nine No. 1s and 29 Top 10s.
Elton John also holds the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart record with 18 No. 1s and 76 total songs. Summer of 2022 saw another global smash single, as Elton and Britney Spears released ‘Hold Me Closer’, a Top 5 hit in the UK and a No. 1 hit in the Australian single charts.
Elton John announced the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour at New York’s Gotham Hall in January 2018. The tour kicked off on 10th September 2018 in North America and subsequently saw Elton play 330 shows to over 6.25 million fans across the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia.
The shows marked his retirement from touring after more than 50 years on the road. In 2019 it was named Billboard’s Top Rock Tour and Pollstar’s Major Tour Of The Year. The U.S. leg of the tour concluded with 3 sell out shows at Dodger Stadium.
The concert was live streamed on Disney + in every single territory the channel broadcasts in, a global first. Elton headlined Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in June 2023, the final UK show before the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour concludes.
The Sunday night closer was widely heralded as one of the greatest performances in the festival’s rich history, attracting one of the largest crowds ever witnessed at the festival. It also received the biggest ever televised audience for a Glastonbury set, reaching 7.6m overnight on BBC1. Elton has delivered more than 4,600 performances in more than 80 countries since launching his first tour in 1970.
2019 also saw the release of ‘Rocketman’ and global bestselling autobiography, ‘ME’. An epic fantasy musical motion picture of Elton’s life, ‘Rocketman’ has been a commercial and critical hit, taking close to $200m at the box office. It has won an Oscar, two Golden Globe Awards and a Critics’ Choice Award and garnered four BAFTA nominations. The soundtrack was also nominated for a GRAMMY Award.
Among the many awards and honours bestowed upon him are six GRAMMYs, including a GRAMMY Legend award, a Tony and two Oscars, a Best British Male Artist BRIT Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center Honor, Legend of Live Award, 13 Ivor Novello Awards and a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services”.
In 1992, Elton John established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which today is a leader in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. So far the Foundation has raised more than $565 million for HIV/AIDS grants, funding more than 3,000 projects in over 90 countries.
In June 2019 President Emmanuel Macron presented Elton the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest award, for his lifetime contribution to the arts and the fight against HIV/AIDS. Elton was awarded the Companion of Honour in the 2021 New Year Honours list in the UK.
The highest acknowledgement in the list, Elton John became one of only 64 people to hold the Honour. September 2022 saw President Biden awarding him the National Humanities Medal in recognition of his storied career and advocacy work to end AIDS.
Always a tireless champion of new artists, Elton John has been a leading industry voice in lobbying the government for young artists visa-free touring rights in Europe post Brexit.
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