Elton John has called 2020 “the worst year I’ve ever known” and expressed optimism for the year ahead.
In a message he recorded for the new Archewell Audio podcast, the music icon reflected on having to hit pause on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has remained isolated with Canadian husband David Furnish and their sons Zachary and Elijah.
“I’m 73 years old and I’m a semi-diabetic so I’m in a risky area there. I have an underlying condition, as they say,” John explained. “I’ve seen my immediate family - Zachary, Elijah and David – all the time but my relatives, who I love, I haven’t been able to see much of them at all and I’ve only stayed connected with them by phone, of course, and by Zoom.”
John credited Zoom with allowing him to continue his weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. “I don’t know what we would have done,” he said. “It’s been a life-saver.”
In 2020, John won the Oscar for Best Original Song – his first in 24 years, his second ever, and his first with longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman also won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
The singer, who has rescheduled the Canadian dates on his tour to February 2022, said his hope for the new year is “that we have become better people.”
John said 2021 is also a time for healing. "It’s been an awful time for people. People have lost loved ones, their businesses, they’ve lost work,” he said. “It’s been an awful time to people so I hope that we can heal in 2021.
“Mazel tov to 2021! 2020 couldn’t have been worse. It’s the worst year I’ve ever known and I’m 73. So let’s just go onwards and upwards and have the best year in 2021.”