Elton John fans are all saying the same thing about his piano playing following his performance on SNL amid his ‘distressing’ blindness battle.
The Rocket Man hitmaker, 78 – who recently revealed he ‘can’t read, watch TV or see his boys play sports’ – was the musical guest with Brandi Carlile during the latest episode alongside host Jack Black.
John and Carlile took to the stage twice to perform songs from their collaborative album Who Believes In Angels? – which dropped earlier this week on Friday.
After the music artists performed Little Richard’s Bible as well as the тιтle track from the LP, social media users quickly jumped to X to share their thoughts.
One penned, ‘Sir Elton John still rocking on that piano. So glad I had the opportunity to see him perform live in college. Legend undersells it. #SNL.’
Another typed, ’78 Years Old and Still Rockin’ Those Keys Elton John!’ and a fan also commented, ‘Elton John he still got it!’
Elton John fans are all saying the same thing about his piano playing following his performance on SNL amid his ‘distressing’ blindness battle
The Rocket Man hitmaker, 78, was the musical guest with Brandi Carlile during the latest episode alongside host Jack Black
‘Elton John currently doing an amazing job ticking the ivories on #SNL,’ one wrote, and another shared, ‘Elton John was cooking Geesh!’
An X user added, ‘Elton John just slayed so hard on SNL that I gave him a standing ovation in my living room!’
Read More Sir Elton John ‘makes outrageous admission’ about having to make another solo album
‘WOW. Elton John at 78 can still rock. And I mean rock. He and Brandi Carlile are a good couple,’ one commented, and one fan typed, ‘D**n – Elton John and Brandi Carlile tore that UP!’
Another wrote, ‘Elton’s magic fingers,’ while one shared, ‘Elton and Brandi on SNL. Wow. That sounded like Elton of old…as in crocodile rock old. Well done!’
‘Elton John is CRUSHING IT on saturday night live right now,’ a social media user added, and one penned, ‘Loved Elton John and Brandi Carlile tonight they sound so incredible together!’
The British performer – who has garnered six Grammys throughout his career thus far – released the collaborative album Who Believes In Angels? with Carlile on Friday.
The LP contains a total of 10 tracks and includes other songs such as Swing For The Fences and Never Too Late.
During a recent interview Variety, Elton opened up about the new album and expressed that he ‘wanted to make a fresh, really exciting, vibrant record…’
John and Carlile took to the stage twice to perform songs from their collaborative album Who Believes In Angels? – which dropped earlier this week on Friday
After the music artists performed Little Richard’s Bible as well as the тιтle track from the LP, social media users quickly jumped to X to share their thoughts
One penned, ‘Sir Elton John still rocking on that piano. So glad I had the opportunity to see him perform live in college. Legend undersells it. #SNL’
Another typed, ’78 Years Old and Still Rockin’ Those Keys Elton John!’ and a fan also commented, ‘Elton John he still got it!’
‘Elton John currently doing an amazing job ticking the ivories on #SNL,’ one wrote, and another shared, ‘Elton John was cooking Geesh!’
An X user added, ‘Elton John just slayed so hard on SNL that I gave him a standing ovation in my living room!’
‘WOW. Elton John at 78 can still rock. And I mean rock. He and Brandi Carlile are a good couple,’ one commented, and one fan typed, ‘D**n – Elton John and Brandi Carlile tore that UP!’
When asked if taking on such a big music project had caused him to worry that it would hurt his friendship with Brandi, the British star said, ‘It never occurred to me that it would ruin our friendship.
‘I love her so much. It brought us closer together, if anything, because we found our sensitive spots.’
He added, ‘We found out when we needed help. We found out when we needed each other. And so the difficult things brought us closer together.’
Carlile also stated, ‘I wasn’t worried it would ruin our friendship, either, because I was under no illusions about who Elton is and just how he lives his life, which is, I think, really beautiful.
‘As much as we talk about it in kind of a tongue-in-cheek way, I actually think it was really beautiful, the way Elton acted on impulse and behaved the way he was feeling. In fact, I can’t think of anything more musical.’
Their performance on SNL comes shortly after John revealed he ‘can’t read, watch TV or see his boys play sports’ as he opened up on his ‘distressing’ battle with blindness on Friday.
The legendary musician contracted a severe eye infection in July which left him blind in his right eye, with ‘limited vision’ in his left.
Remaining positive despite his health woes, Elton told The Times: ‘I can see you, but I can’t see TV, I can’t read. I can’t see my boys playing rugby and soccer, and it has been a very stressful time because I’m used to soaking it all up.
‘Elton John is CRUSHING IT on saturday night live right now,’ a social media user added, and one penned, ‘Loved Elton John and Brandi Carlile tonight they sound so incredible together!’
During a recent interview Variety , Elton opened up about the new album and expressed that he ‘wanted to make a fresh, really exciting, vibrant record…’
‘It’s distressing. You get emotional, but you have to get used to it because I’m lucky to have the life I have.’
He added: ‘I still have my wonderful family, and I can still see something out of here [left eye] So you say to yourself, just get on with it.’
Elton lives with his husband David Furnish, 62, and their sons, Zachary, 14, and Elijah, 12, who he joked in the interview have now swapped Eego and Star Wars toys for an ‘all-consuming love of rap.’
Despite being unable to experience some of his most glitzy events over the last few months, including the gala performance of the musical The Devil Wears Prada, the star has remained positive.
In an interview with The Guardian in February, Sir Elton confessed that he now has a newfound respect for sight-impaired people and understands how lucky he is.
He told the publication: ‘I’m an optimist permanently, I’ve got bad eyesight at the moment.
‘There have been days I’ve been miserable, but then I think about how lucky I am, I’ve got a new respect for sight-impaired people, but I’ve got a great life and hopefully my sight will improve.
‘I’ve beaten addiction, health issues and can pick myself up, dust myself off.’
Elton appeared Good Morning America alongside his husband David in December of last year to chat with Robin Roberts about his life, career and the personal challenges featured in his new documentary.
Their performance on SNL comes shortly after John revealed he ‘can’t read, watch TV or see his boys play sports’ as he opened up on his ‘distressing’ battle with blindness on Friday; seen with David Furnish and sons Zachary and Elijah in March in West Hollywood
He added: ‘I still have my wonderful family, and I can still see something out of here [left eye] So you say to yourself, just get on with it’; seen in 2023 in England
Speaking in the interview, the music legend explained: ‘I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France and it’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see.
‘And my left eye is not the greatest, so. There’s hope and encouragement that it will be okay and we’re taking an initiative to try and get it better. At the moment that’s really what we’re concentrating on.’
When asked to elaborate on his current health to put fans worried at ease, Sir Elton quipped: ‘David and I always have our blood tests every six months in Los Angeles. Our health has never been better.
‘It’s never fortunate for anything like this to happen. I can’t see anything, I can’t read anything, I can’t watch anything.’
The hitmaker, who played his final shows last summer, revealed his eyesight issues in September of last year.
He took to his Instagram with a lengthy post, explaining how he spent the past few months ‘recuperating at home.’
The hitmaker, who played his final shows last summer, revealed his eyesight issues in September of last year
Elton wrote: ‘Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye.
‘I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.
‘I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks.’
Elton concluded: ‘I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far.’
It comes just after Elton made an outrageous admission about the prospect of making another solo album as the singer insisted he ‘needed Brandi Carlile to keep going.’
It comes just after Elton made an outrageous admission about the prospect of making another solo album as the singer insisted he ‘needed Brandi Carlile to keep going’; seen earlier this month in NYC
Speaking with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the Tiny Dancer singer said: ‘I knew that I didn’t want to make the same album again… I wanted the album to move forward because I’m always trying to look forward.
‘If I had just made another Elton John record, I would’ve killed myself. I needed her, I needed her talent, her energy, her humor, and her brilliant lyrics. I’ve got two of the greatest lyric writers in the world: Bernie Taupin and Brandi Carlile.’
He added that he enjoyed the process so much that he said it would be a ‘privilege’ to make a record with her again.
To fans delight, he also teased that his voice on the album is ‘the best it’s ever been.’