Yahoo Finance Elton John Says He Needs 'to Be with' His Family After Farewell Tour: 'I've Had Enough Applause'
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Elton John is getting ready to hit the Yellow Brick Road one last time, and then go home to be with his family.
The music icon, 74, spoke to Today on Friday about the upcoming final legs of his ongoing Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour, and what he's most looking forward to when it concludes.
"They're going to be teenagers soon," John told Today host Carson Daly of his two sons –– Zachary, 10, and Elijah, 8 –– whom he shares with husband David Furnish. "I need to be with them."
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"I'll be 76 [when the tour is over]," the "Tiny Dancer" singer added, referencing the final European leg of his tour, postponed to spring 2023 due to the pandemic as well as a hip injury.
"I don't know how much time I have left on this earth after that. You know, I've had enough applause. I don't want to keep traveling. I don't want to be away from my family."
John is enjoying a wave of new success thanks to his latest album The Lockdown Sessions, featuring collaborations with younger artists like Lil Nas X, Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus, to name a few.
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"Everything excites me, just, you know the life I've had, the career I've had, the family I've got," John said of his current moment. "Every day is a bonus. I'm sober, I'm clean, and I can appreciate life on life's terms."
He admitted to Daly that he's "so excited to go and play again in front of people" amid the waning pandemic, and that "the reaction from fans" makes his "soul jump."
"I mean, you can't make life up sometimes," the five-time Grammy winner said of his new hit collab album The Lockdown Sessions. "It was just going to be me playing on other people's records, and it's spiraled into an album."
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"New music is where the future is," he said of the record, which also includes a song with Charlie Puth.
"There's a lot of nonsense, but there's a lot of great stuff as well, which doesn't sometimes see the light of day. So I try and give it the biggest boost as I can, and I love it."
John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour picks back up in January 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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The artist announced the final dates for the world tour in June.
The "Circle of Life" crooner shared the news in a video on social media, saying: "I'm going to go out in the biggest possible way, performing at my very best, with the most spectacular production I've ever had, playing in places that have meant so much to me throughout my career."
He continued, "Whether it's next summer in Frankfurt or at the legendary Dodger Stadium for the grand finale in the United States, I can't wait to see you all on the road one last time. This has been an incredible tour so far, full of the most amazing highs, and I look forward to making more wonderful memories with you at these final shows."
In all, there are 30 stops at major stadiums across North America and Europe, with shows scheduled in New Zealand as well.
