Watch Elton John Resume Farewell Tour With Live Debut Of “Cold Heart,” His First Top 10 Hit In 24 Years
Way back in 2018, Elton John announced plans for a planet-spanning three-year farewell tour. The pandemic got in the way of all of that, and until last night, John and his band hadn’t played a full show since March of 2020. Last night, though, John resumed his farewell tour at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center, and his setlist had changed slightly. John had to make room for “Cold Heart,” a song that extends his remarkable run of top-10 smashes.
Elton John did not sit idle during the pandemic. Last year, he released his collab-heavy album The Lockdown Sessions. John teamed up with Dua Lipa for “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” a thumping club track that quotes liberally from John’s long catalog of classics. When “Cold Heart” reached the top 40 back in October, it arrived 50 years after John first reached the top 40 with “Our Song.” This broke a Michael Jackson record and gave Elton John the longest span of top-40 hits in history. Later, “Cold Heart” peaked at #7, giving Elton John his first top-10 hit since his chart-topper “Candle In The Wind 1997.” At the moment, “Cold Heart” still sits in the top 10.
In New Orleans last night, Elton John’ setlist was jammed with ’70s classics, just as you’d expect. But it’s extremely rare for a legend, on a farewell tour, to have a brand-new current hit to play. Even if that new hit is essentially a medley of old hits, that’s still a hell of an achievement. Below, watch a fan-made video of Elton John singing “Cold Heart” last night.
