Elton John Launches Contest to Create Videos for Classic Songs
Elton John has teamed with YouTube to give creative talent from around the world the opportunity to craft official videos for three of his most iconic songs: “Bennie and the Jets,” “Rocket Man” and “Tiny Dancer.”
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of John and Bernie Taupin’s partnership, the singer launched “Elton John: The Cut” to give a visual accompaniment to those three classic singles released before the music video era.
Each song seeks submissions for a specific genre of filmmaking: “Rocket Man” will feature animation, “Tiny Dancer” will be live-action and “Bennie and the Jets” will feature choreography. The competition will close on January 23rd.
“We’re excited to partner with YouTube to bring together generations of artists and music lovers around a shared passion for storytelling,” Elton John said in a statement. “YouTube is a rich tapestry of creativity, and I can’t wait to see how the breadth of talent from the dance, live-action and animation communities apply their vision to these cherished songs.”
Three established YouTube creators with experience in live-action, animation or choreography will shortlist submissions and provide a panel of final judges with their choices.
From there, John and Taupin will select the three winners, who then team with Pulse Films, the production team behind Beyoncé’s Lemonade, to produce the final versions of the winning films, which debut in Summer 2017. The winning filmmakers also receive $10,000 to put toward their own creative projects.
“We’re excited to see creative ideas that push boundaries, tell compelling stories and give viewers something they have never seen before,” John added in the promotional video accompanying the contest.