It’s been over half a century since Elton John was a “new artist,” but that hasn’t kept him from keeping a finger on the pulse of things. In a new interview, the legendary musician has offered advice to the up-and-coming generation of performers, advising them to skip reality competitions like American Idol and The X Factor, and “go and play in a pub” instead.
The comments were made in John’s recent interview alongside Brandi Carlile for a Rolling Stone UK cover story, ahead of their upcoming collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels?. Sharing their “key tips for making it” as a new act, each artist spoke about ways to find success, with John asserting that “the way you improve as a musician and songwriter” is playing live.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re playing to 40 people,” he said. “The more experience you get playing to nobody, the better. Because when I played in Musicology (sic), we played to hardly anybody sometimes.”
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Now, it might be easy to write off John’s comments as out-of-touch, considering how much the entertainment industry has changed since he first emerged in the 1960s (especially insofar as the popularity of pub gigs goes), but there’s an extra layer of nuance to what he’s saying.
Continuing, John explained that he recommends gigging not because it will necessarily be a ticket for success, but because it’s a valuable training exercise that can help develop your sensibilities as an artist, before accidentally getting too famous too fast without being prepared.
“That experience stood me in great stead for when I became Elton John because I had backbone,” he said. “And backbone is so important, because the worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television, where you have no experience of playing live. You get put on stage, you go, and you can’t do it. That’s the worst thing. American Idol — just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub.”
To that end, John also expressed his admiration for newer artists, saying that “it’s the music of the future that keeps me alive.”
For her part, Carlile advised artists to make friends and foster a sense of community around them.
The duo’s album, Who Believes in Angels?, is due in full on April 4th, 2025, and was preceded by the release of the title track in February. Earlier this month, the second single, “Swing for the Fences,” arrived. in April, they’ll serve as musical guests on Saturday Night Live.