What better place to transform to a Pink Pony Club than Elton John‘s annual Oscars viewing party? On Sunday night, Chappell Roan took the stage for a full concert that included a historic duet with John of his classic “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and her hit “Pink Pony Club.”
”Thank you so much for believing in me. You made it so I could be the artist I could be,” Roan told John onstage after placing a sparkly pink cowboy hat on the legend’s head. Roan sang the track’s gorgeous lyrics while John sat in the middle of the stage before joining her for the chorus.
Roan performed “Naked in Manhattan,” “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” and “Femininomenon” before a stunning cover of John’s “Your Song” in front of a packed crowd of men in tuxedos and women in incredibly sparkly dresses.
“It’s kind of scary singing that in front of the person who wrote it,” she told the crowd, which raised millions for John’s AIDS foundation.
The singer welcomed the crowd to “free the nipple” during “Hot to Go,” and shouted out to the closeted married women in the crowd after “Good Luck, Babe.”
“I dedicate this song to all the future ex-husbands in this room,” Roan said. “The second I walked on this stage they said ‘Wait a second, I like girls.’”
Before she took the stage for her set, John introduced her with a sweet speech. “I just freaked out when I heard her… I interviewed her and fell in love with her and the album,” he said. “She’s so kind to do this. She’s one of the biggest stars in the world right now. Not only does she speak with her voice on stage but off it.”
Prior to the performance, event hosts Sheryl Lee Ralph and Neil Patrick Harris focused their presentations on raising funds for the continuing AIDS issues affecting the world, especially during the Trump administration. Harris emphasized the rollbacks on support for people living with AIDS in Africa and other parts of the world.
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Every year, the Elton John Aids Foundation’s Oscars Viewing Party hosts myriad A-list guests, including Megan Thee Stallion, Hozier, Sharon Stone, Mick Jagger, and Sean Penn, who were in attendance this year. Ralph, Harris, Jean Smart, and David Burtka hosted the dinner party earlier in the evening.
“David and I are thrilled to gather with friends and supporters once again, and we’re honored to welcome the bold and authentic Chappell Roan as this year’s performer, whose artistry embodies the power of music to inspire change,” John said in a statement when she was announced as the event’s performer.
John has been certified Chappell Roan stan for months, and told The Ankler in December that he gave her advice about walking “at your own speed” following her blowup. “Do not listen to the record company saying, “We want another album, we want another album.” Do it when you’re ready to do it,’” John told the outlet. “I’ve got that experience. I’ve been through everything in my life as far as knowing what to do in music, seeing people come, seeing people go. Sometimes they disappear much too quickly.”
John also shared a photo with Roan and said they met for an “evening of pizza and outrageous laughter” after she appeared on his Apple Music show, Rocket Hour. “I rang you the other night and said, ‘Listen, I’m not stalking you, but I’m as excited about your album’s success as you are,’” he told her on the show. “It’s wonderful to see true talent being recognized.”
