Despite his legendary status, Elton John keeps his pulse on current artists, and in his opinion, women are “making the best music” right now.
The Rocket Man made the proclamation in a new interview with Music Week while name-dropping a variety of acts, including Consequence Artist of the Month alums Nova Twins and Wet Leg. However, he did take a moment to praise fellow UK musician Sam Fender.
“It’s so great to see Nova Twins, Wet Leg, Let’s Eat Grandma, The Linda Lindas, Haim, and all these girls rocking out and making the best music,” John said. “Apart from Sam Fender, none of the boys are doing it, the girls are. It’s a breath of fresh air, because it comes from innocence and pure joy and that, for me, is what music is about.”
Elsewhere in the interview, John said the UK charts are stale and too full of legacy artists like himself, ABBA, and Queen instead of more deserving acts like Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen — though he did praise Harry Styles.
“It’s lovely to see Kate Bush at No.1, but there’s not many good records in the Top 20,” he said. “And the albums chart is full of things like me, ABBA, and Queen. The odd thing comes through, like Sam Fender or Harry Styles, or you get a new artist coming in at No. 3 and then disappearing to 80-something.”
John continued, “It’s depressing — there are a lot of good albums that deserve to be in the albums chart, like Juanita Euka, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen. What I want to know is why aren’t they there? Because of people like me!”
Over the past few years, John has made a priority of collaborating with newer artists. Lil Nas X, Rina Sawayama, and Dua Lipa were featured on his 2021 album The Lockdown Sessions, and more recently, he teamed with rising UK indie rock act Yard Act for a new version of their single “100% Endurance.”
Up next, the songs John co-wrote with Shaina Taub for the Broadway musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada will debut during its premiere run in Chicago. Tickets are available now via Ticketmaster. He’s currently on the North American leg of his farewell tour; grab your seats here.
