Sir Elton John has said that Lady Gaga is the “only real star at the moment”.
He said that Gaga, who has gone from a singer-songwriter and performer to an Oscar-nominated actress in the space of a decade, could have a career to match Barbra Streisand in the future.
The Rocket Man singer told GQ Hype magazine: “To be a star, you have to be a star for a long time and you have to do that by being a live performer.
“You can’t be a star just by making records. That’s not going to happen. To be a star, you have to last for 50 years.
“You have to be a Barbra Streisand. You have to be a Paul McCartney. You have to be Sting. You have to be Fleetwood Mac. You have to be The Who.”
Of French singer-songwriter Heloise Letissier, who goes by the stage name Christine And The Queens, Sir Elton said: “Christine And The Queens, in my opinion, is a huge star, but she hasn’t cracked it yet commercially.
“The only real star at the moment is Lady Gaga. She could have a career like Barbra Streisand if she wanted to.
“She’s got the ambition, she’s got the talent coming out of every pore of her body, so it’s up to her whether she wants it and I think she does want it.”
Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, had her musical breakthrough in 2008 with debut album The Fame, and in recent years she has found success as an actress.
She was nominated for best actress at this year’s Oscars for her role in A Star Is Born opposite Bradley Cooper, and she won an Oscar for co-writing its song Shallow.
Singer-songwriter, actress and filmmaker Streisand, 77, has won dozens of awards across her career, which has spanned six decades, including two Oscars and 10 Grammy Awards.
Sir Elton, 72, also talked about his tempestuous relationship with singer Tina Turner, which he has written about in his new autobiography, Me.
He said: “I wanted to settle a few scores and I did with Tina Turner. I have nothing but love for Tina, but when she roasted me on The Oprah Winfrey Show – she roasted me uphill and down – it wasn’t fair, although I never said anything at the time.
“I thought when all this has settled down, I would say exactly what happened and set the record straight. I didn’t want to write a book where I was horrible about people. I wanted to write a joyful, honest, funny book.
“The older you get, you start to put things into perspective.”