Elton John Introduces Dua Lipa on Stage at Dodger Stadium For ‘Cold Heart’ Performance

Elton John pitched a major surprise when he brought out Dua Lipa to help wrap things up for his final performance at Dodger Stadium.

The Rocket Man is winding down his touring career with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road trek, the U.S. leg for which came to an end Sunday night (Nov. 20) with the third of three shows in Los Angeles.

Elton made it a night to remember when, during the encore, he invited Lipa onstage for their hit 2021 single “Cold Heart,” which had just won the best collaboration category at the 2022 American Music Awards.

Remixed by Australian electronic trio PNAU, “Cold Heart” interpoles Elton’s hits “Sacrifice” with “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s My Shoorah,” and smashed records around the globe.

It topped Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, was nominated for song of the year at the Brit Awards, collected an APRA AMCOS Billion Award for cruising past one billion streams, and hit No. 1 in the U.K. and Australia.

Also, The Lockdown Sessions, the parent album for “Cold Heart,” gave Elton his first U.K. No. 1 LP in almost a decade.

Sunday night’s concert event was captured for the special, Elton John Live From Dodger Stadium, which streams exclusively on Disney+, and produced by Fulwell 73 Productions and Rocket Entertainment. 

Lipa wasn’t the only starry guest on stage. Elton was joined by Kiki Dee for a performance of their upbeat ‘70s gem “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and Brandi Carlile for a rendition of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

Billed as his final trek, Elton began his tour in 2018 before illness and the pandemic intervened in 2020. Based on figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, his goodbye run is just the third tour in history to pass the $600 million threshold, following U2’s 360 Tour ($736.4 million), and Ed Sheeran’s The Divide Tour ($776.4 million).

The end proper is scheduled for July 8, 2023 when Elton performs at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

Watch below.

Lars Brandle

Billboard