Elton John has praised actor Taron Egerton’s singing on the soundtrack of the Rocketman soundtrack, calling it “extraordinary”.
The actor plays the musician in the biopic, which is out now and follows John on his journey to becoming a world-renowned pop star.
Speaking during a special edition of Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 show on Apple Music, John explained why Egerton was the ideal candidate to play him in the movie. “I’d heard him sing ‘I’m Still Standing’ on the Sing soundtrack,” he said. “I knew he could sing and I definitely wanted in this movie people to know that it wasn’t me singing. I didn’t want lip syncing. So he was given the brief of ‘you’re going to sing everything’.”
The musical icon continued to say that it wouldn’t an easy task. “My songs aren’t easy to sing,” he said. “I know because loads of musicians have told me that they’re hard to sing.”
All things #Rocketman.@eltonofficial, @TaronEgerton, @mashupmartin, and @zanelowe have a roundtable chat about the film, music and more. https://t.co/jxcMj34eir pic.twitter.com/T7hOqFYRK4
— Beats 1 (@Beats1) May 23, 2019
Explaining that he stayed away from the recording sessions for the soundtrack, John said Egerton’s work “blew his mind” when he heard the results. “What he’s done is quite extraordinary because he sounds like me, but he also sounds like Taron,” he said. “And that’s down to Giles [Martin, producer] giving him the confidence in the studio as well.
“That relationship is so important – between Giles and Taron – so I left them completely alone and they formed a wonderful friendship, relationship and the trust between them is apparent when you hear the music.”
As well as featuring Egerton singing some of John’s classic tracks, the Rocketman soundtrack also boasts a brand new song performed by the actor and the musician. ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’ was written by John’s long-time songwriting partner Bernie Taupin and plays out over the film’s credits.
In a five-star review, NME said of Egerton’s performance in Rocketman: “He’s a powerful singer and can swell to match John’s huge personality, while also quietening everything for some really moving scenes of despair and hurt. Watching him bounce on stage covered in a rainbow of feathers, you see an actor who knows he’s found his moment.”