Sir Elton John’s fans had been tipped off that there would be four musical guests during his headline slot at Glastonbury.
Speculation had been rampant that these could include huge names such as Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and even Britney Spears.
But instead Sir Elton opted for close friends and musicians he respects, rather than headline-grabbing stars.
So who were the special guests?
– Jacob Lusk
US singer Lusk, 36, competed on the tenth season of American Idol, finishing in fifth place.
He is one third of Gabriels, alongside Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope.
He was Sir Elton’s first musical guest, appearing in a hot pink suit to perform alongside The London Community Gospel Choir on Are You Ready For Love?
– Stephen Sanchez
The super talented Stephen Sanchez singing “Until I Found You” with Elton was pretty special. AS pic.twitter.com/kF0cVoHYS6
— Glastonbury Live (@GlastoLive) June 25, 2023
The only song in Sir Elton’s two-hour set that was not from his own songbook was by Sanchez, 20.
The music superstar told the crowd: “I wanted to have newer artists, save for one person, and this boy I heard last year on the radio… I’ve asked him to come to Glastonbury to do his song and he’s an amazing young talent.”
He was then joined by the US singer for a performance of Sanchez’s 2022 song Until I Found You.
– Brandon Flowers
The biggest star to join Sir Elton on stage was The Killers frontman, who appeared for Tiny Dancer.
Introducing him, Sir Elton said: “My next guest I first met in 2005 when I first started playing Las Vegas, and he came to my hotel suite to play me his band’s first album Hot Fuss – we’ve been friends ever since.”
He added that Flowers was “the first person I thought of” to be a guest during his set.
– Rina Sawayama
The Japanese-British singer was hailed by Sir Elton as “an extraordinary talent and amazing recording artist”.
The fourth surprise guest of the night joined him to perform Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
