Sir Elton John is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. He is one of the few performers to have won the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT), having won two Academy Awards, an Emmy Award, six Grammy Awards, and a Tony Award. He has also received two Golden Globe Awards and an Laurence Olivier Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him 49th on its list of 100 influential musicians of the rock and roll era. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2004. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) in 2020 and made a Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Emmanuel Macron.
John has sold over 300 million records worldwide during his six-decade career in music, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number ones in the UK and US, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US. His 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and his 1974 Greatest Hits compilation album are among the best-selling albums worldwide. His tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997", a rewritten version of his 1974 single in dedication to Princess Diana, sold over 33million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time. See also: Guinness World Records, 2009 Edition, pages 14, 15 & 169 In 2019, John was ranked by Billboard as the top solo artist in US chart history (third overall), and the top Adult Contemporary Artist of all time. In 2021, John became the first solo artist with UK Top 10 singles across six decades.
John is also known for his work on the stage and film; he wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals The Lion King (1998), Aida (2000), and Billy Elliot the Musical (2009), and also wrote the songs for the Disney animated film The Lion King (1994). Over his six decade career in music, John has received 35 Grammy Award nominations receiving five wins and a Grammy Legend Award in 1999. He also received the three Tony Award nominations winning for Best Original Score for his work on Broadway for The Lion King in 1998, Aida in 2000, and Billy Elliot the Musical in 2009. For his work on film he received four Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King (1994), and "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" for Rocketman (2019). John won an Emmy award in 2024 for his program Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium, completing the set of television (Emmy), music (Grammy), movie (Oscar) and stage (Tony) awards known as an EGOT.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1994 Best Original Song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", The Lion King "Circle of Life", The Lion King "Hakuna Matata", The Lion King 2019 "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again", Rocketman 2024 "Never Too Late", Elton John: Never Too Late
Emmy Awards Primetime Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2023 Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Elton John: Farewell from Dodger Stadium
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1994 Best Original Song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (from The Lion King) 2003 "The Heart of Every Girl" (from Mona Lisa Smile) 2011 "Hello, Hello" (from Gnomeo & Juliet) 2019 "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" (from Rocketman)
Grammy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1971 Best New Artist Himself Album of the Year Elton John Best Contemporary Male Vocalist1972 Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture "Friends" Original Soundtrack Recording 1974 Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "Daniel" 1975 "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" Record of the Year Album of the Year Caribou 1976 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Best Male Pop Vocal Performance 1977 Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Kiki Dee 1980 Best R&B Vocal Performance – Male "Mama Can't Buy You Love" 1983 Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "Blue Eyes" Video of the Year Elton John: Visions 1985 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance "Restless" 1987 Record of the Year "That's What Friends Are For" Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal 1988 Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "Candle in the Wind" (live) 1992 Best Instrumental Composition "Basque" 1993 Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with George Michael Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "The One" 1995 Song of the Year "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Best Song Written for Visual Media Song of the Year "Circle of Life" Best Song Written for Visual Media 1996 Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "Believe" 1998 "Candle in the Wind 1997" 1999 Grammy Legend Award 2001 Best Musical Show Album Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida 2002 Best Pop Vocal Album Songs from the West Coast Best Male Pop Vocal Performance "I Want Love" 2003 "Original Sin" 2005 Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" with Ray Charles 2011 "If It Wasn't for Bad" with Leon Russell 2022 Album of the Year Montero by Lil Nas X (as a featured artist) 2026 Best Song Written For Visual Media "Never Too Late" (from Elton John: Never Too Late) Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Who Believes in Angels? (with Brandi Carlile)
Laurence Olivier Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2000Best New Musical The Lion King 2006 Billy Elliot
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1998Best Original Score The Lion King 2000 Aida 2009 Billy Elliot the Musical 2010Best Play Next Fall
Miscellaneous awards Organizations Year Category Work Result ASCAP Pop Music Awards 1987Most Performed Songs "Nikita" 1989 "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" 1991 "Sacrifice" 1994 Songwriter of the Year Himself Most Performed Songs "The One" "The Last Song" "Simple Life" 1996 "Believe" 1999 "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" American Music Awards1974Favorite Pop/Rock Male ArtistHimself 1975 Favorite Pop/Rock Album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 1976 Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Himself Favorite Pop/Rock Album Greatest Hits Favorite Pop/Rock Single "Philadelphia Freedom" 1977 Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Himself Favorite Pop/Rock Single "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee) 1996 Favorite Pop/Rock Male ArtistHimself 1998 Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist 2019 Tour of the Year Farewell Yellow Brick Road 2022 Favorite Touring Artist Himself Berlin Music Video Awards 2022 Best Animation Cold Heart BMI Pop Awards 1996Award-Winning Song "Circle of Life" "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" 1999 "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" "Candle in the Wind 1997" Brit Awards 1977 Best British Male Himself Best British Album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 1984 Best British Male Himself 1986 Outstanding Contribution to Music 1991 Best British Male Best British Album Sleeping with the Past 1993 The One Best British Male Himself 1995 Outstanding Contribution to Music 1998 Freddie Mercury Award Best British Male Best British Single "Candle in the Wind 1997" 2002 Best British Video "I Want Love" Best British Male Himself 2013 Brits Icon 2023 Song of the Year "Merry Christmas" British LGBT Awards 2015 Global IconHimself 2017 Music Artist 2020 Global Impact Elton John AIDS Foundation Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards 2016 Album of the Year Wonderful Crazy Night Ivor Novello Awards 1974 Best Song Musically and Lyrically "Daniel" 1977 The Best Pop Song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" International Hit of the Year Most Performed Work 1979 Best Instrumental or Popular Orchestral Work "Song for Guy" 1986 Outstanding Contribution to British Music Himself International Hit of the Year "Nikita" Best Song Musically and Lyrically 1991 "Sacrifice" Best Selling A-Side 1995 Best Song Included in Film "Circle of Life" 1998 Best Selling UK Single "Candle in the Wind 1997" 2000 International Achievement in Musical Theater Himself 2007 Most Performed Work "I Don't Feel Like Dancin" International Hit of the Year Juno Awards 1986 International Single of the Year "Nikita" MTV Video Music Awards 1984 Best Choreography in a Video "I'm Still Standing" Best Editing in a Video 1985 Best Choreography in a Video "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" 1987 Special Recognition Award Himself 1995 Best Male Video "Believe" 2002 Best Male Video "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" Best Direction in a Video Best Art Direction in a Video 2022 Song of the Year"Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" Best Collaboration MVPA Awards 2002 Best Hair "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" 2003 Best Adult Contemporary Video "Original Sin" Music Week Awards2026 Artist Marketing CampaignHimself and Brandi Carlile PR Campaign Catalogue Marketing Campaign Himself Radio Show Rocket Hour, Apple Music 1 My VH1 Music Awards 2000 Legend in Action Himself NRJ Music Awards 2003 International Song of the Year "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" with Blue Žebřík Music Awards 2005 Best International Personality Himself
Honorary awards, degrees, and titles
Organizations Year Notes Result Hollywood Walk of Fame 1975 Recording Star at 6915 Hollywood Blvd. Songwriters Hall of Fame 1992 Inductee Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1994 Inductee Queen Elizabeth II 1996 Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) Queen Elizabeth II 1998 Knight Bachelor The Recording Academy 1999 MusiCares Person of the Year The Recording Academy 2000 Grammy Legend Award Royal Academy of Music, London 2002 Honorary Doctorate of Music Society of Singers 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2004 Kennedy Center Honor Disney Legends 2006 Hall of Fame Award PRS for Music 2010 Heritage Award The Royal Mail 2019 Sir Elton was featured on a series of UK postage stamps French President Emmanuel Macron 2019 Knight of the Legion of Honour King Charles III 2020 Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) United States President Joe Biden 2022 National Humanities Medal Rolling Stone 2023 Sir John at #100 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Time Magazine 2024 Icon of the Year
References