Elton John and Brandi Carlile are the stars of the latest Rolling Stone UK cover, and in their feature, the music icons offer valuable advice for up-and-coming artists. Alongside discussing their highly anticipated collaborative album, ‘Who Believes In Angels?’, set to drop later this month, they reflect on the experiences that have shaped their careers. With heartfelt reflections and practical wisdom, John and Carlile’s insights offer invaluable guidance for artists hoping to carve their own paths in the music industry.

For John, the key to musical growth lies in live performance. Drawing from his own journey, he emphasized how playing live gave him the resilience needed for long-term success.

“That experience stood me in great stead for when I became Elton John because I had backbone. And backbone is so important,” he said. “The worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television where you have no experience of playing live. You get put on stage, you go, and you can’t do it. That’s the worst thing. American Idol — just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub.”

Carlile, meanwhile, believes building a supportive network is essential, saying: “Honestly, make friends,” she advised, “Get a community around you.”

Elton also reflected on the transformative power of music in his life: “I can’t live without music. It nearly killed me, but it also kept me alive, and it keeps me alive today. But not the music of the past so much. Although I do listen to jazz and stuff like that, it’s the music of the future that keeps me alive,” he said.

When it comes to his relationship with Carlile, John’s admiration is evident: “I love her so much and not just as a person, but I love what’s inside of her musically and creatively,” he said. “It hasn’t really touched the surface. I think it’s beginning to, but it’s got so much further to go. She’s like an embryo at the moment, and she’s done a hell of a lot to be an embryo, but she’s going to just burst.”

For aspiring musicians, John reiterated the importance of perseverance: “Just keep trying to play live. That’s the way you improve as a musician and songwriter. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing to 40 people. The more experience you get playing to nobody, the better. Because when I played in Musicology, we played to hardly anybody sometimes,” he said.

John and Carlile’s new collaboration album will arrive later this month.