Sir Elton John amazed the audience at the Mercedes Benz Stadium with his outstanding and unforgettable farewell performance on Sept. 22.
In January 2018, the 75-year-old British singer announced he would be retiring to pursue his family after decades of performing. Though his fans were generally supportive of his decision to spend retirement with loved ones, millions of supporters were still devastated by the news. Lucky for his fans, he did not disappoint. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour is a formal goodbye to his adoring fans in which they can join him as he celebrates closing a major chapter in his life through his art.
His setlist contained 24 songs in total. He started off his show strong with the hit song “Bennie and the Jets,” which immediately got the audience to stand up and sing along. He finished the night off with his blockbuster, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as a final farewell to his devoted fans before exiting the stage. Other songs played include “Rocketman (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time),” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and many other hits.
His performance consisted of virtual visuals of former concerts, old photos of him and his friends, random backstage footage from the 70s, clips from his biopic starring Taron Edgerton “Rocketman” and a pre-recorded video of Dua Lipa singing along to her part of their duet “Cold Heart.”
He was truly a phenomenal performer that knew how to get the crowd engaged and sing along. One of my favorite parts of the night was whenever he began to sing one of my favorites “Crocodile Rock” since he allowed the audience to sing the iconic “la, la, la” portion after the chorus for him. While I enjoyed every song, “I’m Still Standing” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” were my absolute favorite performances because they are my favorite songs of his.
I adored the energy of the crowd since they were all hardcore fans, some of whom dressed up in Elton’s most archetypal outfits. The loyal Elton fans made the experience much more enjoyable and memorable.
Long-time Elton John fans are saddened by the news of him retiring for good. We can still appreciate his legacy by listening to all of our favorites by him and I hope he flourishes alongside his family.