Elton John achieves EGOT status thanks to Emmy victory

Elton John has become the newest member of the prestigious EGOT club by winning his first Emmy Award for Best Variety Special (Live) during the 2023 Emmys. This accomplishment adds to his existing Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.

The Emmy was awarded for his special titled ‘Farewell From Dodger Stadium,’ which is available on Disney+. The special documents Elton John's final North American performance as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

Unfortunately, John was unable to attend the Emmy Awards ceremony as he was recovering from a knee operation. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which commenced in 2018, was originally scheduled to conclude in 2021 but, like many other tours, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

John now joins the exclusive ranks of EGOT winners as the 19th individual to achieve this distinction. Viola Davis became the 18th EGOT recipient the previous year when she secured a Grammy. John's impressive journey to EGOT status includes five Grammy wins, with his first one dating back to 1987 for ‘That's What Friends Are For.’ He also claimed an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1994 for ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight,’ and in 2000, he earned a Tony Award for his work on the Aida score.

Elton John holds the distinction of being the first EGOT winner to have achieved the feat of topping the Billboard 200 as a credited artist. He achieved an impressive seven consecutive No. 1 albums between 1972 and 1975. While several previous EGOT recipients have been creative contributors to No. 1 albums, they were not credited as the primary artists.

Elton's journey towards EGOT status began in February 1987 when he received his first Grammy award for his involvement in Dionne & Friends' ‘That's What Friends Are For,’ which won in the category of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Subsequently, he went on to win four more Grammy Awards in his illustrious career.

Elton John secured his first Oscar win in March 1995 for the song ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ from The Lion King, which he co-wrote with Tim Rice. He clinched another Oscar in the same category in February 2020 for ‘I'm Gonna Love Me Again’ from Rocketman, co-written with his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin.

In June 2000, he earned his sole Tony Award to date for Best Original Score for Aida, a production for which he and Tim Rice co-wrote the score.

Elton John's special, ‘Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium’ (available on Disney+), triumphed in a fiercely competitive category that included noteworthy contenders such as ‘The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna’ (Fox), ‘Chris Rock: Selective Outrage’ (Netflix), ‘The Oscars’ (ABC), and the ‘75th Annual Tony Awards’ (CBS).

For his Emmy win, Elton John served as both an executive producer and performer on the special, which marked his return to the venue where he achieved a concert triumph in 1975. Other executive producers of the special included Elton's husband and frequent collaborator David Furnish, Luke Lloyd Davies, Ben Winston, Gabe Turner, Sally Wood, Emma Conway, Lou Fox, Sean Alvarez, and R. J. Cutler. John Foy and Paul Dugdale held co-executive producer roles, while Saj Patel and Penny LeVesconte were line producers. All of them received Primetime Emmy Awards for their contributions to the project.

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