Not many Gen Z kids are bumping their heads to Bruce Springsteen or The Rolling Stones. But they sure love Elton John.
His recent hit "Hold Me Closer" is a collaboration with Britney Spears that samples his 1971 single "Tiny Dancer."
The song debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, bringing Spears back on top after six years of not releasing music.
John revealed in an interview with "Heart Breakfast" that he hoped this success would push Spears to make more music.
"She's had such a horrible time in the last 20 odd years with various things that have gone off with her and she's been treated so badly. I thought this will give her a bit of a fillip, as it were. . Hopefully it will be the momentum that's necessary to get her to record again."
"Tiny Dancer" is now a classic but it peaked at No. 41 on the Hot 100 when it was originally released, according to Forbes.
The 75-year-old singer may have discovered the key to staying relevant forever in his line of work.
It began when he released a song called "Cold Heart" with Dua Lipa. The track sampled John's 1989 single "Sacrifice" and blended it with his all-time hit "Rocket Man" from 1972.
The song blew up, producing John's first hit single in 21 years.
"No one in his organisation had really ever uttered the word digital. Artists of Elton's generation are maybe hanging on to the old glory days of CDs and even downloads," David Furnish, John's husband and manager, told iNews.
"Elton is like a shark," he continued. "He has to keep moving to stay alive. We've had a whole new generation discovering his songs after 'Cold Cold Heart' (his 2021 No. 1 with Dua Lipa) and 'Hold Me Closer.'"
Sampling is pretty common and by far the most effective - and legal - way of incorporating someone else's music. Take Beyoncé's newest album "Renaissance," for example, which blends in at least 30 other songs.
But self-sampling is much lesser-known, and maybe exclusively available to the legends of the industry, like John.
The singer is known for his inability to say goodbye. He thought he was ready to leave it all behind in 1977 but he was back on the road two years later, Lottie Elizabeth Johnson reported for the Deseret News.
Now, John's on his final tour, called the "Farewell Yellow Brick Road," with 300 shows booked across five continents. The tour ends in 2023.
Only time will tell whether it really is his last tour, but for now, another generation is falling in love with the Rocket Man.