How did Andrew Watt draw comparisons between Elton John and Beethoven?

Elton John AIDS Foundation
Elton John AIDS Foundation's 33rd Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party - Press Conference - Source: Getty

Grammy-winning producer, Andrew Watt opens up on his experience working with the icon, Sir Elton John.

Smith & Watt Steakhouse In Concert - Source: Getty
Smith & Watt Steakhouse In Concert - Source: Getty

In an exclusive with People magazine, Andrew Watt shed some light on what it was like to work with the Tiny Dancer on his collaborative album with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes in Angels?

Andre boldly compared him to Beethoven, at the same time also mentioning the singer's temper, saying,

"[He's] a little more like Beethoven, I would say, and when he's writing, he's extremely volatile."
"My job is to read the room, and if you're in Elton's eye line as he's writing, you're in the f---ing lion's den. So I would try and be around him to make sure I was close enough to when he would call for me or needs something, or I could hear what he was doing, what he was coming up with."

So much so that he would often avoid John's direct eye line. However, the genius of Elton John can't really be ignored.

"He takes [a lyric], puts it up on the piano, reads it, sees a movie scene in his head, and then scores the movie. And then as he's scoring the movie, he starts singing the words, fitting them into the chords and coming up with melodies based on the words and the phonetics of the words."

Moreover, Andrew Watt described the experience as magical. He spoke about how, no matter how legendary the pop icon is, at the end of the day, he is just a human.

"He was exhausted. He was doubting himself. He was very self-conscious, very insecure at times, and we helped lift him up."

While speaking to Variety about the new album, John talked about how the album is a remembrance of the past, a compilation of music he and Brandi wanted to create and the next album would be more commercial and modern.

“The album with Brandi, it’s a timeless record, but it’s not of its time. We just wanted to make a record that we loved, with great songs. That was a yesterday record, and it was fantastic. But there is a part of me that wants to do a much more commercial record and do more Bernie Taupin songs that are more of today than yesterday.”

The 10-track album was produced by Andrew Watt and came out in April. Watt is currently engaged to a singer, Charlotte Lawrence, after being together for 4 years.

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Edited by Sohini Biswas