Almost every millennial is familiar with that situation where our parents play ABBA or The Beatles, claiming this is “real” music and how modern music is trash today because they heard one bad rap song. But to some extent, they’re right. Music nowadays is half bad and half good. The fact is that bad music is allowed to exist now while if the same thing happened in the 70s, you would be sent into oblivion. 

And if we are talking about classic pop icons, then Elton John’s name sits quite high up on that list. We can’t really blame millennials for not knowing who he is, because he hasn’t really released any new music and doesn’t feature on any new songs. But his influence is still as strong as ever. A lot of musicians today credit Elton John for being an inspiration in creating their sound. His musical influence can be seen in a majority of famous artists today, especially British musicians like Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.  

The man is more than a pop icon, he is a musical legend. Being part of the LGBTQ himself, he raises awareness on the community and its problems, especially AIDS. Apart from his music, his fashion sense is legendary in its own way. To put it simply, there is no one like Elton John. His whacky and outlandish taste is unmatched. From his shoes and right down to his sunglasses, almost everything is colourful and shiny. He believes in matching his clothes to suit his personality. 

If you thought Elton John is just another musician who is stuck in his old ways, you’d be wrong. He actually is extremely invested in today’s music. It’s almost become a habit for John to call up his favourite new/upcoming artist and congratulate them on their success and art. American rapper Logic released a song called ‘Yuck’ and included a voice note Elton John left him after watching his Grammy performance. 

Elton John is far from the other artists your parents rant about. He’s still multi-talented, he’s still relevant, he’ll always be iconic, he’ll always be legendary and he’ll always be the OG rockstar.