Elton John set to release lockdown album featuring Stevie Wonder, Miley Cyrus

 Elton John collaborated with a diverse group of celebrated musicians on his forthcoming album, which he made during the coronavirus lockdowns. Titled "The Lockdown Sessions", the album is expected to be released on October 22. It features Dua Lipa, Stevie Wonder, Lil Nas X, Stevie Nicks, Gorillaz, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, rappers Young Thug and Nicki Minaj, country singer Brandi Carlile, among others.

 "Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I'd obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens," John shared in a statement.

"But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I'm known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realised there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I'd come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast."

The album also features a rendition of the Pet Shop Boys hit "It's a Sin" with Years & Years as well as Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" with vocals by Miley Cyrus and contributions from Yo-Yo Ma and others. The latter will also be released as part of a Metallica cover album this month.

John's collaboration with Lipa – "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)" – a blend of four of his previous songs– was released last month.

He is preparing to restart his final world tour, "Farewell Yellow Brick Road", on September 28 this year in Copenhagen. It began in 2018, but came to a pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He added 31 extra dates at stadiums across the US, UK and Europe in 2022, while rescheduled concerts will prolong the tour to May 2023.