Elton John announces retirement from touring: 'My priorities have changed'
WATCH Elton John announces retirement from touring
After almost a half of century of performing for packed audiences, Sir Elton John has announced his plans to retire from global touring.
The icon held a press conference today, which was streamed to his official website and YouTube.
"I’m not gonna be touring anymore," he said, aside from his last "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" that will kick off in September. This global farewell tour will last a few years and be 300 shows.
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"My priorities have changed," he cited, adding that he wants to focus on family, his children and his husband, David Furnish. "In 2015, David and I sat down with a school schedule … I don’t want to miss too much of this."
He said of his children, Elijah, 5, and Zachary, 7: "I love them so much, I don't want to miss them and I don't want them to miss me."
John, who has sold over 200 million albums, has five Grammy wins, a Tony Award and an Oscar win for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." He has been performing since the early 1960s and had a lucrative Las Vegas residency for the past six years.
Andrew Chin/Getty Images, FILEThe announcement opened with a special VR performance of John throughout the years, including hit songs like “Rocket Man” and “Your Song.” John then performed "Tiny Dancer" and "I'm Still Standing" live in person from New York.
This final tour is a way for John to say "thank you and goodbye" to his fans.
"I want to go out with a bang," he added.
The 70-year-old teased the news on social media Tuesday.
"A wrinkle in time. Past meets present. A taste of things to come at the #EltonEvent today. Watch the special announcement live," he wrote, linking back to his site.
You'll finally see where the future lies…
Watch the #EltonEvent special announcement live tomorrow – 9.30 PT / 12.30 ET / 17.30 GMT on https://t.co/fEQsOiAsbm. pic.twitter.com/UstEL9Hu4k
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) January 23, 2018
He also posted a short clip to YouTube of his past tours and promoted an event at London's Kings Cross Station, where an augmented reality version of the star plays at a grand piano.
This news comes months after his manager and husband, Furnish, told Music Week that "Elton must never stop performing," adding, "I think he feels he needs to take a breather, he needs to step back and take a pause. He’s also working on his memoirs and then we have a few surprises up our sleeve,"
John is set to perform a duet with Miley Cyrus at this weekend's Grammy Awards.
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