Elton John Gets Candid About Studio ‘Outbursts’ Making New Album: ‘I Was A Nightmare’

Posted on 07/02/2025 by Boris Clair

Sir Elton John has admitted he was a “nightmare” to deal with while putting together his latest album.

For his next release, the British music icon teamed up with fellow Grammy winner Brandi Carlile for a full-length collaborative album recorded in under three weeks.

On Thursday, a short film detailing the recording of the project was shared online, showing Sir Elton and Brandi in the studio together.

In the footage, Sir Elton was seen having a fair few of his infamous tantrums, slamming down his headphones, snapping at his collaborators, tearing up song lyrics and threatening to walk out of the session entirely.

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="4417" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":6,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"EltonJohnVEVO","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI8Ry7NdFNLel-S8dWU7mDA","cache_age":86400,"description":"When Elton John and Brandi Carlile entered Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios for 20 days to write and record their collaborative album ‘Who Believes In Angels?’, hidden cameras dotted around the studio captured hundreds of hours of raw footage. This candid short film offers fans an unprecedented, searingly honest insight into the entire emotionally turbulent creative process – breakdowns, breakthroughs, tears, torn up lyric sheets and all. This is the first time that Elton has ever allowed cameras to film his entire album recording process.\n \nPre-Order ‘Who Believes In Angels?’ out 4th April: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/OfficialShopID\n\nWatch more Elton videos: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/WatchMore\n \nSubscribe to Elton channel: http://bit.ly/EltonYTSubscribe\n \nAbout Elton John: Welcome to the official Elton John channel. Subscribe today for a vast video collection of music videos, iconic live performances, exclusive interviews, behind the scenes content and playlists to explore Elton’s musical legacy in-depth. Follow Elton John on…\n \nFacebook: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/facebookYT\nTwitter: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/twitterYT\nInstagram: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/instaYT\nOfficial Website: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/WebsiteOfficial\nJoin the Rocket Club newsletter: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/RocketClub\n \nConnect with Brandi: \nhttps://linktr.ee/brandicarlile \n \nElton John performs at Glastonbury 2023 courtesy of BBC/Glastonbury Festivals Limited.\n \nOBB Production Credits\nExecutive Producers \nMichael D. Ratner\nScott Ratner\nArlen Konopaki \nMiranda Sherman \nDavid Furnish \nCatherine Carlile\nRachael Paley \n \nCo-Executive Producers\nKfir Goldberg\nRaquel Dominguez\n \nSupervising Producer\nRafael Britto \n \nProduction Manager\nBryce Hurless\n \nPost-Production Supervisor \nSharon Mastropietro Malone \n \nEditors \nNolan Thomas \n \nAssistant Editors \nAilin Mo\nMark Alcasid\n \nSenior Manager Of Post-Production, OBB Pictures \nCaroline Rood \n \nPost-Production Sound Mix \nIan Dalton \n \nColorist \nRobert Crosby \n \nGraphics \nJason Stewart\n \nAlbum Playback Crew\nDirector of Photography\nArlen Konopaki\n \nB Camera Operator\nAdam Brant\n \nProduction Sound Mixer \nAlex Goens\n\nMusic video by Elton John, Brandi Carlile performing Who Believes In Angels? Stories On The Edge Of Creation (Official Trailer).© 2024 WAB Recording Limited, under exclusive licence to Mercury Records Limited","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VfgNr9qaHd0/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Who Believes In Angels? Stories On The Edge Of Creation (Official Trailer)","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfgNr9qaHd0","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"67a5e8b0e4b0e94f7d13299a","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/elton-john-outbursts-brandi-carlile-album_uk_67a5e8b0e4b0e94f7d13299a","entryTagsList":"ukmusic,elton-john,brandi-carlile","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"67a5e8b0e4b0e94f7d13299a","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"ukmusic","slug":"ukmusic","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ukmusic","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukmusic","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukmusic"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukmusic/"},{"name":"elton john","slug":"elton-john","links":{"relativeLink":"news/elton-john","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/elton-john","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/elton-john"},"relegenceId":1030540,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/elton-john/"},{"name":"Brandi Carlile","slug":"brandi-carlile","links":{"relativeLink":"news/brandi-carlile","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/brandi-carlile","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/brandi-carlile"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/brandi-carlile/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

[embedded content]

The following day, The Guardian published a joint interview with the musical pair, in which they spoke candidly about what went on in the studio.

“I was very grumpy, I was tired, I didn’t feel well and I was extremely nervous, and that nervousness caused quite a few sparks to fly,” the Candle In The Wind singer recalled.

Brandi later disclosed that during the recording process, Sir Elton smashed his iPad and a pair of headphones in what she described as “really amazing, classic Elton John outbursts”.

“My lyrics got torn up and thrown on the ground,” she recalled. “He goes: ‘Fuck off, Brandi.’ He would yell: ‘Predictable! Cliché!’”

Sir Elton added that while he eventually settled into the process once three songs were completed, he “was a bit of a nightmare” prior to that.

A short film about the making of Who Believes In Angels? shows Sir Elton John losing his temper on more than one occasion

Elsewhere in the interview, Brandi said that while she never told her collaborator that he’d crossed a line, “there were definitely points that I felt that”.

In a voiceover for the short film released this week, Sir Elton could be heard saying: “The reality is, I was exhausted. I had a lot of doubt, and I was a nightmare. [I was] angry, I was tired, I was irritable. There was tension in the studio.

“And I thought, ‘I don’t want to do it’. And then I thought, ‘there’s other people involved, I can’t abandon it’. And once we got going, Jesus!”

In the archive footage, Brandi also admitted that she was “having a hard time connecting to Elton”, revealing in voiceover: “There were times I thought, ’why does he want to do this? Why is he going from Glastonbury to making an album with me?’.”

Sir Elton’s temper was previously a major theme in the 1997 documentary Tantrums And Tiaras, directed by his future husband David Furnish.

His and Brandi’s album Who Believes In Angels? is released on Friday 4 April. Watch the music video for the title song, directed by David LaChappelle, in the video below:

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="8546" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":24,"contentIndexByType":2,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"EltonJohnVEVO","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI8Ry7NdFNLel-S8dWU7mDA","cache_age":86400,"description":"‘Who Believes In Angels?’ directed by visionary photographer and director David LaChapelle.\n \nThe 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\n \nElton’s and Brandi’s collaborative studio album ‘Who Believes In Angels?’ out 4th April via Island EMI Records. \n \nPre-order https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/OfficialShop\n \nDavid 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 directinghis 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.\n \nWatch more Elton videos: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/WatchMore\n \nSubscribe to Elton channel: http://bit.ly/EltonYTSubscribe\n \nAbout Elton John: Welcome to the official Elton John channel. Subscribe today for a vast video collection of music videos, iconic live performances, exclusive interviews, behind the scenes content and playlists to explore Elton’s musical legacy in-depth. Follow Elton John on…\n \nFacebook: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/facebookYT\nTwitter: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/twitterYT\nInstagram: https://eltonjohn.lnk.to/instaYT\nOfficial Website: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/WebsiteOfficial\nJoin the Rocket Club newsletter: https://EltonJohn.lnk.to/RocketClub\n \nConnect with Brandi: \nhttps://linktr.ee/brandicarlile \n\nMusic video by Elton John, Brandi Carlile performing Who Believes In Angels?.© 2024 WAB Recording Limited, under exclusive licence to Mercury Records Limited","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/i69w56ulpLA/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Elton John, Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i69w56ulpLA","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"67a5e8b0e4b0e94f7d13299a","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/elton-john-outbursts-brandi-carlile-album_uk_67a5e8b0e4b0e94f7d13299a","entryTagsList":"ukmusic,elton-john,brandi-carlile","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"67a5e8b0e4b0e94f7d13299a","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"ukmusic","slug":"ukmusic","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ukmusic","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukmusic","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukmusic"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukmusic/"},{"name":"elton john","slug":"elton-john","links":{"relativeLink":"news/elton-john","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/elton-john","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/elton-john"},"relegenceId":1030540,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/elton-john/"},{"name":"Brandi Carlile","slug":"brandi-carlile","links":{"relativeLink":"news/brandi-carlile","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/brandi-carlile","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/brandi-carlile"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/brandi-carlile/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

[embedded content]