Elton John announces ‘The Lockdown Sessions’: Will his all-star collabs pay off like they did for Santana and Ray Charles?
Elton John has announced a new album titled “The Lockdown Sessions,” which is scheduled for release on October 22 from Interscope Records. He has spent the last 18 months recording it — hence the COVID-19 pandemic-themed title — and it features a wide variety of collaborations with young artists. Sound familiar? A beloved veteran teaming up with other music superstars worked like gangbusters for Santana (“Supernatural”), Ray Charles (“Genius Loves Company”), and Tony Bennett (“Duets” and “Duets II”).
Rock legend Santana teamed with the likes of Rob Thomas, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, and many more for 1999’s “Supernatural,” which went on to set a record for the most awarded album in Grammy history with nine total trophies, including Album of the Year. It was also a remarkable commercial success, certified an extraordinary 15-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Soul music pioneer Charles was the subject of much adoration in 2004, the year of “Genius Loves Company.” He finished recording it in March of that year, but he died in June before its August release. It featured guest appearances by Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt, and Diana Krall, among others — Elton John too as a matter of fact. It won eight Grammys including Album of the Year, and it was certified triple-platinum. 2004 also happened to be the year of the biopic “Ray,” for which Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for his portrayal of Charles.
Bennett’s 2006 “Duets” wasn’t nominated for Album of the Year for its collaborations with John Legend, Sting, Bono, Juanes, The Chicks, and others — Elton John showed up here too — but it was one of his most commercially successful releases, certified double platinum. And, well, the Grammys still couldn’t resist giving him Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for it. He won that award again in 2012 for the platinum sequel album featuring Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, Amy Winehouse, etc.
John has already released some of the collaborations that will be featured on “The Lockdown Sessions,” including songs with Dua Lipa (“Cold Heart”), Rina Sawayama (“Chosen Family”), and Years and Years (“It’s a Sin”). The album will also include “One of Me” with Lil Nas X, which we’ll hear first when it’s released on Nas’s upcoming album “Montero.”
Will “Lockdown” be a major commercial and awards success? Perhaps surprisingly, John has only ever won five Grammys over the course of his career; he has never won Album of the Year despite nominations for his self-titled album in 1971, “Caribou” in 1975, and “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” in 1976. He hasn’t won a Grammy in any category since “Aida” won Best Musical Theater Album in 2001, and he hasn’t been nominated since 2011. So there’s potential for him to be the latest artist to enjoy a late-career coronation.
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