Sir Elton John has said recording a song with Nicki Minaj for his new album was on his “bucket list”.
Stars including Stevie Wonder, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X and Olly Alexander reunited on a video call with the veteran singer after collaborating on his UK number one album, The Lockdown Sessions.
Superstar rapper Minaj appeared on the call to say she was “really, really excited and proud” to feature on the song Always Love You with Young Thug.
Sir Elton said: “Nicki, I’m so glad you’re on it, thank you, you’re on my bucket list.”
The 74-year-old topped the UK album chart for the first time since 2012’s Good Morning To The Night.
The 16 songs, featuring collaborations with other leading artists such as Ed Sheeran, Charlie Puth and Brandi Carlile, were recorded remotely over the last 18 months.
On the video call, singer Eddie Vedder held up a ticket to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, saying: “Recording with you, my friend, was the greatest ride anybody could offer.”
Referring to the name of the song they collaborated on, Sir Elton quipped: “The true E-ticket, am I right, Eddie?”
Vedder later turned the camera to show a drawing of Sir Elton wearing a red superhero outfit and multi-coloured platform rocket heels, drawn by John Entwistle from The Who.
He said: “This here is a picture of you… anatomically correct, maybe you posed live for this one, it is you dominating the world as you still are.”
Sir Elton also thanked soul superstar Stevie Wonder, adding that their song Finish Line was “one of my favourite things ever”.
Wonder said: “If there’s anything that is going to make a difference in the world, connected with love, it’s music.
“We do it from our hearts, we do it from our experiences, and we share those emotions with you, the people.”
Concluding the call, Sir Elton added: “I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time and for working with me on this album, it’s really been a dream come true.”