Masked singer
With Rocketman in theaters this weekend, the comparisons are inevitable between the Elton John biopic and last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Both musical biopics, which share a director, tell the stories of legendary British singers who have struggles with substance abuse and their own sexuality, but one thing that sets Rocketman apart is that star Taron Egerton does his own singing in the film, unlike Rami Malek, who mostly lip-synced during his Oscar-winning portrayal Freddie Mercury.
Egerton has said that John, who executive produced the movie, insisted that he not worry about trying to sound just like the singer he was portraying. “He wanted me to make the songs my own,” Egerton told the New York Post. “He wanted me to be creative with them rather than just copying him.”
Still, Egerton sounds enough like John in Rocketman that some viewers have come out of the theater wondering if he was the one singing in the film. So how much does Egerton actually sound like the real John? What better way to compare than by listening to the actor and the musician sing a surprise duet of the song “Rocket Man” after the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Watch the performance here:
The pair also performed together earlier this year at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Academy Awards viewing party, singing the classic “Tiny Dancer.”
Related content:
- Taron Egerton reveals the one Elton John song he wishes were in Rocketman
- Fact-checking Rocketman: Elton John’s real life versus movie fiction
- Elton John biopic offers razzle-dazzle filmmaking with heart: EW review
Elton John biopic ‘Rocketman’ stars Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, and Bryce Dallas Howard.
