Elton John and Brandi Carlile Premiere 'Who Believes In Angels?' Video
(ICLG) Elton John and Brandi Carlile unveil the music video for their brand new single "Who Believes In Angels?." Directed by visionary photographer and director David LaChapelle, the video follows Wednesday's announcement of Elton and Brandi's collaborative studio album Who Believes In Angels?, set for release on April 4th via Interscope Records.
David LaChapelle and Elton are regular collaborators, having first met when David photographed Elton for Interview Magazine in 1998. They've worked together many times since then, with David directing the music videos for Elton's tracks "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" with Justin Timberlake, and "Original Sin" with Elizabeth Taylor and Mandy Moore, as well as shooting the poster for Elton's Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour and directing his Red Piano residency in Las Vegas. David's celebrated "Egg on You Face" photo is one of the crown jewels in Elton and David Furnish's photography collection, which was recently on show at London's V&A Museum for their Fragile Beauty exhibition.
The new video is a kaleidoscopic tribute to the rock & roll angels who continue to inspire successive generations. It finds Elton and Brandi performing on a giant pinball machine, playing a winged piano and guitar respectively, while Tina Turner and Little Richard shimmy amongst pink clouds and neon lights.
Speaking on the music video, David LaChapelle says: "It's been a wonderful continuation of this journey with Elton over the last 20+ years - projects, videos, stage productions, photo shoots... I love these creative challenges we've explored and working on this duet with Brandi was really good fun and hard work, but a joyful experience on set. We created a gigantic pinball machine and made a magical world that reminds us of where we've been as kids - that dreams do come true - and creating together with your heroes can be a sublime experience."
Fans can pre-order Who Believes In Angels? to gain exclusive access for the chance to buy tickets to 'An Evening With Elton John & Brandi Carlile' at The London Palladium on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. This one night only event will see Elton and Brandi grace the stage of one of London's most iconic venues for a unique evening of performance and storytelling.
The concept for Who Believes In Angels? was devised by close friends and regular collaborators Elton John, eleven time GRAMMY winning US superstar Brandi Carlile and multiple GRAMMY Award winning producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. They set out to create a genuinely collaborative studio album between Elton and Brandi. The album would mix Elton-led songs and Brandi-led songs, with long term collaborator Bernie Taupin and Brandi both contributing lyrics, and producer and co-writer Andrew Watt acting as the producer, mediator and creative conduit. Entering Los Angeles' Sunset Sound Studios in October 2023 with a completely blank slate, they pushed each other out of their comfort zones to write and record an album completely from scratch in just 20 days. They would be backed by a world class band of musicians comprising of Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan and David Gilmour) and Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, Beck).
Elton says: "This record was one of the toughest I've ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I'm pushing the door open to come into the future. I have everything I've done behind me and it's been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I'm concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2."
Brandi says: "I'm still reeling from the fact that I got to do it. I think all ships rise with Elton John's standards for songwriting, and it was an incredibly challenging and inspiring environment to work in, everybody throwing in ideas, everybody listening to everybody else's ideas. It felt like a family. The world is a wild place to live in right now. It's hard to find peace and triumph. It's a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. And that is what this album represents to me."
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