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Elton John says The Weeknd 'marches to his own beat' like Prince, fans agree and say he's 'truly special'

TIME magazine published a column penned by Elton John, where he praised The Weeknd, who is one of the names on this year's '100 Most Influential People' list

When a renowned music legend praises the skills and abilities of another legend in the making, the news is bound to make headlines. The same happened when Sir Elton John praised R&B star Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd.

The Weeknd has made it to the TIME’s magazine list of '100 Most Influential People' of 2020 and to make the occasion more memorable for the Grammy-winning artist, the magazine also published a piece by Sir Elton John, where he praised The Weeknd and even compared him to the late pop legend Prince.

This is what Elton wrote in the column: "This year, I met Abel Tesfaye, who performs as the Weeknd, at an Oscars party. He said I would be excited when I heard his new album, After Hours, but didn’t tell me why. That seemed to sum him up. He’s a mysterious figure in an era when mystery is rare in pop. And you never know what to expect next. He plays with personae in his music and presentation: on the After Hours cover, he’s dripping in blood; you’re never sure if he’s singing about himself, or if he’s in character. He’s got an incredible imagination."

He continued, "It turned out he’d used the chorus of ‘Your Song' on a track called 'Scared to Live' — he was right, I was excited — but he’ll also sample the Smiths and Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke. 'Blinding Lights' is 2020’s best pop single, very '80s-influenced, but it’s from an album that’s otherwise very introspective. He has so many different types of music tucked up his sleeve that he incorporates into his vision. He’s not interested in commerciality for commerciality’s sake, but he’s one of the biggest-streaming artists on Spotify. Like Prince, he marches to his own beat. That’s an exemplary way for an artist to be."

The ‘Blinding Lights’ hitmaker shared his own photo along with this piece on his official Instagram and captioned it: "Thank you Elton." The news spread like wildfire on Twitter as well and his well-wishers expressed their joy with their love-filled tweets. One said, "Well done @theweeknd #Abel_Tesfaye. Thank you for putting #Ethiopia's name on the global music map. A nice tribute by @eltonofficial #Ethiopian_Music #Aster_Aweke. @Tseday The Weeknd is on @TIME's list of the 100 most influential people of 2020 #TIME100." One user said, “You have to be amazing if ELTON JOHN says he likes you. @theweeknd just has that drip."

Continuing with their praises, one user stated, "@theweeknd i’m so proud of you! i love you so much. what elton john said about you is just amazing. you’re truly special.” One user did not agree with the comparison of The Weeknd with Prince and said, “He didn’t really compare them though in terms of music, he compared their work ethic... He said he marches to his own beat like Prince did, as in he does what he wants musically and how he wants to. He didnt say Prince = The Weeknd.” Sharing a funny GIF, another fan added, “This is what I imagine @theweeknd was like when @eltonofficial compared him to Prince."

Well, Elton surely made The Weeknd’s day. If we talk about the TIME magazine's ‘100 Most Influential People' list, apart from The Weeknd, female rapper Meghan Thee Stallion also made it to the coveted list this year.

On the work front, The Weeknd had dropped his mega-hit fourth album titled ‘After Hours’ in March 2020. The record producer has also hinted towards his new project. Speaking to Rolling Stone, the Canadian pop star recently shared, "I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over. I’m guilty of wanting to outdo my last album but it’s never like, ‘I’ve got to do the same type of song.’ I’m so happy I’m not like that. My palette is so wide."

We really hope, he drops his new album soon. We will keep you posted on the same.