Rami Malek had himself a pretty great Oscars, taking home Best Actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. However, it was another actor playing a musical legend in a biopic who may have had the real best moment of the night. That honor could go to Taron Egerton, who’ll be playing Elton John in the upcoming Rocketman. Because while Malek was being honored for bringing Queen’s frontman to life, Egerton was singing one of Elton John’s greatest songs with the real Rocketman himself.
Egerton joined Elton John at the rock star’s AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party (which we came across at Mashable), where the two sang John’s beloved classic “Tiny Dancer.” Egerton, who does all of his own singing in Rocketman, was on lead vocals with John on the piano, for what was a pretty great performance.
Is it weird we’re nervous for Taron Egerton while watching that? We can’t even imagine how challenging it must be to not only play a musical legend, but to also sing his songs in a movie. But even then you get to do as many takes as you want, and then your performance can be pieced together from the best parts. Plus, we imagine Elton John wasn’t on set at all times, so Egerton didn’t have to worry about his reactions. But singing one of his best songs live in front of him, while he plays the freaking piano, feels like it’s almost too much.
And yet, here’s the craziest part: according to Elton John’s YouTube account, it was Egerton who “suggested an off-the-cuff performance.” Now that is either a little fib that was designed to make the moment feel more special for those in attendance (which clearly worked since the auction took in a whopping $6 million during the event), or Taron Egerton is a total badass.
As Almost Famous proved, not singing along to “Tiny Dancer” is impossible, but we’re not sure we could sing it to Elton John. You really have to be a Rocketman to do that.
Featured Image: Elton John
