There was a time when musicians and other performers who were considered “past their prime” would be relegated to the retirement home of the stars — the city of Las Vegas, Nevada — for their careers to fade away into obscurity slowly. In the past, Vegas appealed mainly to older crowds who loved residency acts like Frank Sinatra, The Rat Pack, Barry Manilow, Elvis, Liberace, and many other entertainers whose careers were coming to a close. However, the venue that was once thought to be a sad obituary for once brilliant careers has turned into a millennial hotspot with acts such as Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and other music superstars who are still making hit albums.
One of the reasons why residencies have become so appealing to these current superstars is because they can put on high-quality shows in more intimate venues while reaping huge profits from each show. Plus, they don’t have the expense of lugging around tons of equipment all over the country while sleeping on tour buses and hotels. One man who has had one of the most successful Vegas residencies is Elton John. He had a show from 2011 to 2018 called The Million Dollar Piano. In this video, we see Elton John performing “Circle of Life” from Disney’s “The Lion King” during one of his 2014 shows.
Some might think “The Million Dollar Piano” was just a clever name. However, the piano he played on is really worth a million dollars. It’s a Yamaha grand piano, which took four years to build. The piano streams live or recorded video. Plus, it has animations and colors following the music being played while using 68 LED video panels. Elton nicknamed this piano “Blossom” after the legendary jazz pianist, singer, and cabaret performer Blossom Dearie.
Image via YouTube
You can see Elton’s live performance of “Circle of Life” from the Lion King in the video below.