Elton John reveals himself as a surprise grime fan in his list of favourite 2022 tracks.
Elton John has revealed his favourite music of 2022, with songs by the likes of Burna Boy, Stormzy and Wet Leg cracking the pop star’s year-end list. John shouted out a slew of musicians on a recent episode of his Rocket Hour podcast, which he shared as a way to cap off the year. Burna Boy and Stormzy emerged as key takeaways from John’s list, with their 2022 tracks Last Last and Firebabe earning a place on his playlist.
Speaking of Stormzy during the podcast, John said the UK grime artist’s latest album This Is What I Mean was “incredible.” He continued: “It’s an album that I think shocked a lot of people because it wasn’t usual Stormzy, but I knew that Stormzy had a great voice.” Elsewhere, John name-dropped fellow musicians Oliver Sim, Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons and LA rock band The Linda Lindas.
Alongside the bigger names on his list, John shouted out a slew of rising artists, recalling his shows with the likes of Rina Sawayama and Thomas Headon. The pop legend also mentioned British band Wet Leg and rock duo Nova Twins, saying the two acts are proof that “women were making fantastic music” in 2022. Other artists featured on the playlist include Cat Burns, Yard Act, Jean Dawson and Let’s Eat Grandma, among others. See Elton John’s full 2022 playlist below.
Speaking of the playlist, and in particular its upstart entrants, John said the cohort “inspires me.” He continued: “The new music makes me feel fantastic. I have to thank all the new artists, and all the old artists that we play on the show, because we don’t just play new artists. But every week that I do the show is such a pleasure for me, so thank you.” John concluded the episode by mentioning his affinity for African music.
John’s 2022 playlist follows that of Jay-Z, who last week revealed his favourite songs of the year, which featured tracks by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Beyoncé, Drake and more. Last week, John was named as one of Donald Trump’s pen pals, as part of a prospective book the ex-president plans on releasing. Before that, Trump made a bizarre cameo during one of John’s recent shows, when his name appeared in the captions of the singer’s Disney+ concert live stream.
