Elton John Performs With Taron Egerton in Concert, and the Crowd Grows Angry

Elton John recently performed songs from his musical biopic Rocketman with actor Taron Egerton — [...]

By Stephen Andrew

Elton John recently performed songs from his musical biopic Rocketman with actor Taron Egerton — who starred as the iconic singer in the film — but things were not quite as they seemed and the crowd grew very angry. According to TMZ, John and Egerton turned up at famed Los Angeles venue The Greek, for the Rocketman In Concert event.

The pair were advertised as being part of the show, along with the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, but there was a catch. It turns out that the two were only contracted to perform two songs live — "I'm Gonna Love Me Again," and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" — and then the rest of the soundtrack was performed by the orchestra.

This did not sit well with fans who believed they were paying to see John and Egerton perform the entire soundtrack.

Notably, John has also ruffled some feathers recently by making some very bold comments about the recent Lion King remake. The legendary singer was heavily involved with the soundtrack of the original 1994 animated film, but was not as involved this time around.

While speaking to GQ this month, John said, "Music was so much a part of the original and the music in the current film didn't have the same impact. The magic and joy were lost."

"The soundtrack hasn't had nearly the same impact on the charts that it had 25 years ago, when it was the best-selling album of the year," he went on to say. "The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success."

"I wish I'd been invited to the party more, but the creative vision for the film and its music was different this time around and I wasn't really welcomed or treated with the same level of respect," John also said. "That makes me extremely sad. I'm so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the Lion King stage musical."

Along with lyricist Tim Rice, John wrote five original songs for the original Lion King soundtrack: "Circle of Life," "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," "Be Prepared," "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."

The album was a massive success, becoming the highest-selling soundtrack of the year, and the fourth best-selling album overall.

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