Elton John: Brandi Carlile is 'probably the best vocalist in America'

Elton John, the subject of the new documentary filmElton John: Never Too Late, has praise for another out artist who collaborated with him on a song for the film.

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John and Brandi Carlile wrote “Never Too Late,” which they perform in the documentary. When Carlile saw a rough cut of the film, she “was so moved by it that she started to write this song,” John recently told Deadline. “Originally, the documentary was going to be called Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which was the title of the final tour, which I thought was OK, but it was fairly boring. Then, when she came up with this song, we recorded it because it was about my journey of never giving up. … The song fit so well, and the title of the song fit the documentary so well we changed everything to call the documentary Never Too Late.”

“She is, for me, probably the best vocalist in America,” John said of Carlile. “I mean, she could sing anything. She had the guts to do Joni Mitchell’s Blue in front of her at Disney Hall. And having sung with her on The Lockdown Sessions and then doing this, I just want to do some more work with her because she’s just so inspiring. We’ve been friends for 20-something years, so it feels natural to do something with her.”

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Carlile wrote for John’s voice, he added. “Because otherwise, I wouldn’t have recorded it,” he said. “It’s something that Bernie [Taupin, John’s longtime collaborator] would’ve been proud of, and he’s been part of it because he added his bits here and there, and it got to me straight away. I think she’s a fantastic writer as well as a fantastic vocalist.”

John and Carlile appeared together Sunday at the Golden Globe Awards, where they presented the award for Best Film Score. John, who has been losing his eyesight, gave an update on his health there, saying the situation is not as bad as it’s been reported but joking that his cohost was Rihanna.

Elton John: Never Too Late, directed by John's husband, David Furnish, and R.J. Cutler, is available on Disney+ now. "I think David, of course, he’s my husband, he knows me back to front and with R.J., who’s an expert documentarian, they did a wonderful job," John told Deadline. "I’m so happy with it."