Music Legend Sir Elton John, has finally achieved EGOT status at the 2024/23 Emmys for his Disney+ special “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium” in the outstanding variety special category. He has now won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Elton Could not attend the Awards but released this statement after his win.
“I am incredibly humbled to be joining the unbelievably talented group of EGOT winners tonight. The journey to this moment has been filled with passion, dedication, and the unwavering support of my fans all around the world. Tonight is a testament to the power of the arts and the joy that it brings to all our lives. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, I am incredibly grateful.”
The team behind his now Emmy winning special accepted the award on his behalf. “He’s absolutely fine, but he wanted to send his love and thanks to the Television Academy for this incredible award,” said producer Ben Winston. “We did know this was going to be historic because it was going to win a man who has created the soundtrack to all of our lives. He’s done so much great for society, who is all of our heroes. We didn’t know that it was going to win him an EGOT.”
Elton started his journey to his EGOT status when he won his first Grammy for his part in Dionne & Friends’ “That’s What Friends Are For,” which won best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. He has since won four more Grammys. He then won his first Oscar in March 1995 when the widely known “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from Disney’s “The Lion King” (which he co-wrote with Tim Rice) won best original song. In 2020 he won his second Oscar in that category for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from the film Rocketman (the biopic based on his life), which he co-wrote with his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin. He won his first and only Tony to date (best original score) in June 2000 for “Aida”. He and Rice co-wrote the score.
This year “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium” was nominated in a highly competitive category which included 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). Elton won his Emmy as both an executive producer and performer on the special, which took him back to the site of his 1975 concert triumph. Other exec producers on the special were 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 were co-executive producers. Saj Patel and Penny LeVesconte were line producers. All won Primetime Emmys.
Elton’s EGOT win is his latest awards victory in a career packed with milestones. He is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time, and he holds the record for biggest-selling physical single of all time thanks to the 33 million copies sold for “Candle in the Wind 1997.” John’s greatest hits album “Diamonds” was released in 2017 and spent a staggering 300 consecutive weeks in the top 75 of the UK album charts.
This is no easy feat to achieve. As of now only 19 people have achieved competitive EGOT status and six others have done so with honorary or special awards. This includes talents such as Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more recently John Legend (2018), Alan Menken (2020), Jennifer Hudson (2022), and Viola Davis (2023).
Fangirl and Writer with a huge passion for entertainment.
