Sir Elton John has slated The X Factor during an appearance on Capital Breakfast as he opened up about his dislike of singing competition shows live on the radio

Elton John is one to speak his mind
Elton John is one to speak his mind(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Sir Elton John has hit out at TV singing competitions like ‘The X Factor ‘ in a radio rant. The 78-year-old Your Song musician, who previously discussed his hatred for those kind of shows, highlighted the importance of supporting emerging young artists during the conversation.

In his previous rant, he said rising to fame from TV contests is ‘the worst thing that can happen to you in the music industry’. And on Thursday, Sir Elton sat down with Capital Breakfast and shared his thoughts on The X Factor – a show he believes pushes people into the limelight before they’re completely ready.

Sir Elton John
Sir Elton has been open about his hatred for the TV shows(Image: Getty Images for EJAF)

He told hosts Chris Stark, Sian Welby and Jordan North how happy he was when Lola Young had her ‘Messy’ hit last year – which went viral on TikTok.

Reminiscing about his and former bandmate Bernie Taupin’s fame, he said they ‘struggled’ for a long time before they made it in the music industry.

“Bernie and I struggled a long time before we made it, we had four years of disappointments, near hits and a lot of near misses,” the iconic musician explained.

Sharon was a judge on The X Factor
He said the shows push people into the spotlight before they’re ready(Image: Summers/Thames/Syco/REX/Shutterstock)

“But when we happened, we were ready for it. So, all those years of being disappointed gave you the backbone to be successful.” Chris then said: “It’s okay to be disappointed, it doesn’t need to be perfect the first time.”

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Elton went on to say: “That’s why I don’t like X Factor shows and everything like that because people like that just aren’t ready for the career. You know, they get on television, and when it comes to actually performing live, it’s difficult.

“I’d rather people did gigs and then did it that way where they are playing to twenty or thirty people. I mean Ed Sheeran playing in living rooms and James Blunt and people like that.”

Sir Elton John previously talked about how performing in front of small audiences helped him with experience as when he became ‘Elton John’, he had ‘backbone’.

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“And backbone is so important, because the worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television where you have no experience of playing live,” he said to Rolling Stone.

“You get put on stage, you go, and you can’t do it. That’s the worst thing. American Idol – just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub.”

In 2010, he also discussed his hatred to TV competitions, telling Radio Times: “I’m not a fan of talent shows. I probably wouldn’t have lasted if I’d gone on one. I was asked to judge American Idol. I couldn’t do it because I won’t s*** anyone off.”