Elton John has revealed his 15 favourite songs released this year in a new post shared on his official social media channels. Publishing the list on Instagram, Elton doffs his cap to the likes of boygenius, David Kushner, Stormzy, RAYE, Tom Odell and many more.
"2023 has been a fantastic year for new artists and great songs," says the man himself. "There’s been a lot of upcoming artists like David Kushner, Chappell Roan, HotWax, The Last Dinner Party and Elmiene. All fantastic artists and all artists to watch out for next year.
"We’ve had soulful sounds from artists like Jalen Ngonda, ANOHNI and Gabriels," he continues. "There’s been a lot of great women this year like Baby Queen, Mitski, LOONY and boygenius. They’re ruling the roost at the moment. You go, girls. And of course there’s been some great dance tracks from artists like CamelPhat and Ali Love, Romy, and The Chemical Brothers. We always like to dance around the room at the end of the show, and these people are making us move!"
Elton signs off by saying: "Thank you to all of you for the music and I can’t wait to hear more in 2024."
See Elton's full list of his favourite tracks from 2023 below.
Elton John's favourite songs of 2023
CamelPhat & Ali Love - Compute
Jalen Ngonda - Come Around and Love Me
Baby Queen - We Can Be Anything
Chappell Roan - Red Wine Supernova
David Kushner - Daylight
ANOHNI - It Must Change
Romy - She’s On My Mind
Mitski - My Love Is Mine All Mine
Gabriels - Offering
James Blake - Loading
Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (Live at the Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, 7/24/2022)
Stormzy & RAYE - The Weekend
BERWYN - Bulletproof
Tom Odell - Black Friday
boygenius - Not Strong Enough
2023 also marked the year where Elton John called time on his career as a touring artist. His history-making Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour began in 2018 and continued all the way through to this year, taking in 330 shows and raking in over $930 million, making it the second highest-grossing tour of all time. This year's leg included a memorable, emotional headline set at Glastonbury in June, where Elton delighted the Pyramid crowd with a hits-stacked set and special guest appearances from the likes of Rina Sawayama and The Killers' Brandon Flowers.
“Nothing I’ve played before comes close to Glastonbury in terms of size and scale," Elton told Mojo in August. "Playing Paris Arena two nights later was like playing in a nightclub by comparison. The Pyramid Stage was a career highlight and amazing to go out with a bang. I feel so privileged to have experienced it at this stage. So few people are lucky enough to get the opportunity to bow out on a high like that. It will stay with me forever.”
