Like us, Elton John is very much here for the girly-pop renaissance the music industry is currently in. And as a seasoned pro he has many nuggets of wisdom to impart, revealing the recent advice he shared with newcomer Chappell Roan about coping with fame.
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Captivating us all with her individuality, catchy tunes, and record-breaking performances, (her Lollapalooza set was one of the festival’s most-attended in history) 2024 saw Chappell Roan gain astronomical levels of fame, essentially becoming an overnight success, after nearly a decade of hustling. And that’s with only one studio album to her name — her 2023 debut, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess.
Despite being a dream come true, Roan’s quick rise to fame hasn’t been an entirely positive experience for the singer, who’s been vocal about the stresses of sudden fame and extreme fan behavior.
That being said, since entering the upper echelons of fame, Chappell has received advice from the likes of Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Charli XCX, Lorde and more. And of course, she’s also been offered words of wisdom from none other than Elton John, with whom she has apparently FaceTimed with on several occasions.
While speaking to The Ankler in December, Elton revealed some of the advice he shared with Roan about managing fame, during their chats. “Chappell was a little overwhelmed with her sudden success — although she’d been writing for a long time, it really kind of ballooned very quickly. I just try and calm her down and say, ‘Listen, it’s fine. It’s fine. Do what you want. Don’t listen to anybody. Walk at your own speed. Do not listen to the record company saying, ‘We want another album, we want another album.’ Do it when you’re ready to do it.’”
He continued, “I’ve got that experience. I’ve been through everything in my life as far as knowing what to do in music, seeing people come, seeing people go. Sometimes they disappear much too quickly.”
Pointing out his own longevity in the business, Elton also made note of other artists with fast-rising success like RAYE and Billie Eilish. “I’m kind of a survivor; one of the people still around at 77. I’m probably as popular as I was when I was younger, and that’s been a miracle. But it’s nice to be able to pass that stuff on and see the results in people. There’s this English singer RAYE, who’s a wonderful artist. She left her record company on principle and did what she wanted to do. And it just completely was successful. I admire her so much for doing that. She took a stand and her result was her own vision of what she should be doing. It just exploded.”
“Billie Eilish is another one. I remember seeing her first album just crawl up the Billboard charts every week: Word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth, and it just suddenly got there and she’s become one of the greatest female artists I can think of. I mean with the new album, it is just extraordinary how good it is, and you can say that of all her albums. Every single one is different and every single one is an improvement. How great is that? I get so much energy from that.”
A fan of Roan, long before it was cool, Elton even included “Red Wine Supernova” on his 15 favorite songs of 2023 list. Since then, he’s had nothing but praise, and of course sage advice, for the superstar.
Hosting the starlet on his Rocket Hour show in May 2024 to discuss her success in the music industry and how much he admires her. “…I’m as excited about your album’s success as you are,” John told Roan at the time. “It’s wonderful to see true talent being recognized.”