Elton John’s 70th birthday party was always going to be a star-studded affair no doubt. There’s not a musician or performer working right now who can’t thank the icon for at least part of their career success or musical inspiration. But the fete on Saturday night in Los Angeles was not only star-studded but included some stellar moments that cold only come together at a party like this one. Case in point,Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder pairing up to perform “Happy Birthday” for the guest of honor in all of their talent and glory. As anyone could see, this duo is the perfect combination of an Elton John contemporary and an artist that could only exist if Elton John had come before.
In the above video, via Rolling Stone, this “Happy Birthday” performance wasn’t the standard, slow-paced song of a normal birthday party, but Wonder’s upbeat and celebratory romp of a song. Both performers were clearly happy to be there and took the opportunity to spice things up a bit for Elton’s big day, even changing the lyrics from “Happy Birthday to you” to “Happy Birthday Elton”. Which shouldn’t be any surprise, really, since if there two people got up on a stage together put on a boring performance neither Gaga or Wonder would be one of them.
Katy Perry, Jon Hamm, James Corden, Rob Lowe, Roseanne Cash, and others were all in the room to take in the performance but that wasn’t the only time Gaga took the stage. She also performed some of her own hits, including “Bad Romance,” in Elton’s honor.
(via Rolling Stone)
