Elton John picks four new artists to look out for at Glastonbury Festival 2023
Ahead of his headline set at Glastonbury Festival this Sunday, Elton John has picked out four new artists to look out for at the event.
The ‘Tiny Dancer’ singer sat down in his record room with BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo on Future Sounds and picked out four new acts for listeners to look out for at this year’s edition of Glastonbury. The first act he mentioned was London soul singer Olivia Dean, whom he labelled “a big star”.
Playing Dean’s song ‘Dive’, John said: “I’ve been playing Olivia Dean’s music for two years. And every track I’ve played is brilliant, and I’m thinking, ‘When’s this girl gonna start to break, when’s this girl gonna start to break?’ because she’s so brilliant. And now, she has an album out, and I’ll show you it; it’s called Messy, and I think she’s a big star, I really do think she’s a big star. She’s a fabulous singer, she’s so beautiful, she’s got that personality that really shines through, so I’m gonna play a track from her called ‘Dive’.”
His second pick was the Nigerian artist Obongjayar. Before playing the track ‘Message in a Hammer’, Elton John explained: “Obongjayar is someone that I’ve played on my show, I haven’t spoken to him. He has an album out called Some Nights I Dream of Doors, he’s from Nigeria, and he’s one of the plethora of brilliant Nigerian artists. Talking of that, I saw Burna Boy played the London Stadium, and how brilliant is that? For him to sell out the London Stadium. It’s brilliant for African music, for Nigeria and for him. He’s just adorable. This guy is really special, I think.”
Continuing, John added: “This is a very special artist, and this is an album that you have to listen to all the way through because it’s full of different sorts of music. I’m gonna play a track called ‘Message in a Hammer’, which is fabulous, so let’s enjoy it.”
Amfo then asked Elton John how he feels about the male voice in 2023, with acts singing more gently, as she thinks there’s a “softness” in the voice of his next choice Joesef. Prior to playing the Scottish musician’s track, he replied: “It’s true, and the same with Saint Harrison as well, who’s got a beautiful soul voice. This boy has got one of the great voices. There’s a new guy in America called Ryan Beatty, who’s got the same thing, and the boy, David Kushner, who’s been at number two in the charts with a beautiful baritone. There are some great boys… the girls have been having their own field day – and about time, too – but some boys are now coming along and making some really beautiful records, and using their voice soulfully, and it’s lovely to hear.”
John explained: “And Joesef is so special, I think, obviously a Scottish boy… There’s always been a lot of soulful singers from Scotland. Anyway, he’s just been in America touring, and I missed him by a millisecond at The Troubadour, but he’s someone I think has got a great future. This album, for me, is a killer album, I play it all the time, but Joesef is very special.”
John’s final selection was London duo Nova Twins and their song ‘K.M.B.’. When discussing their work, the Rocketman said: “These girls rock my world. I’ve had them on the show, I’ve played their music ’till you know… It’s so wonderful what they’re doing, and there are so many girls out there rocking it. I mean, you’ve got The Linda Lindas, and you’ve got Wet Leg, and you’ve got the Nova Twins, who are just unbelievable. I’m so looking forward to seeing them live, because you can feel what it will be. They are just, for me, phenomenal.”
After playing the song, John concluded: “Nova Twins, I love you to death, and they’re going to storm Glastonbury; they certainly are. I mean, if it’s a sunny day, and they come on stage, they could steal the whole thing.”
Listen to Radio 1’s Future Sounds with Clara Amfo tonight at 7pm.
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