--- title: Elton John Dedicates Song to George Michael description: Elton John paid tribute to his friend George Michael during his concert at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas this week. canonical: https://time.com/4619850/george-michael-elton-john/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-30T16:16:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:36.608Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Elton John Dedicated a Song to George Michael og:description: He teared up while performing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" og:url: https://time.com/4619850/george-michael-elton-john/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1559ba6decebf5a/6988b431524fc0f13cdfa9a4/elton-john-concert-george-michael.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Elton John in concert in Meo Arena og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elton John Dedicated a Song to George Michael twitter:description: He teared up while performing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1559ba6decebf5a/6988b431524fc0f13cdfa9a4/elton-john-concert-george-michael.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elton John Dedicated a Song to George Michael > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: In Memoriam: George Michael [Watch (HLS stream): In Memoriam: George Michael](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XaA4TtlV.m3u8) (0:59)  _Published 2016-12-26. George Michael, who rocketed to stardom with WHAM! and went on to enjoy a long and celebrated solo career lined with controversies, has died, his publicist said Sunday. He was 53._ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 30, 2016 4:16 PM UTC  Elton John in concert in Meo Arena in Lisbon, Portugal on Dec. 11, 2016. Elton John in concert in Meo Arena in Lisbon, Portugal on Dec. 11, 2016.Paul Alexandrian—Global Media Group/Sipa USA/AP by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 30, 2016 4:16 PM UTC [Elton John](http://time.com/4211891/elton-john-carpool-karaoke-james-corden/?iid=sr-link7) paid tribute to his friend [George Michael](http://time.com/4618010/10-essential-songs-george-michael/?iid=sr-link2) during his concert at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas this week. In the wake of the news that Michael had passed away on Christmas Day, [John tweeted](http://time.com/4617893/george-michael-dead-celebrities-mourn/?iid=sr-link1) a photo of the two, writing: “I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend — the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family, friends and all of his fans.” John has continued to grieve over the loss of his longtime friend and collaborator, but the show, a series of concerts called _The Million Dollar Piano,_ must go on. On Wednesday evening, he had more words for Michael, calling his death “one of the saddest moments” and describing Michael as “one of the kindest, sweetest, most generous people he’s ever met.” As a large projection of Michael was shown on the stage, John played [his song](http://time.com/4208338/elton-john-surprise-concert/?iid=sr-link8), “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” which he and Michael performed together at the Live Aid concert in 1985\. [_The Daily Mail_](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4072582/I-wish-sing-Sir-Elton-John-pays-emotional-tribute-friend-George-Michael-sings-hit-Don-t-Let-Sun-Me.html)reports that John told the audience through tears, “I only wish George was here to sing it with me.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4619850/george-michael-elton-john/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4619850/george-michael-elton-john/"},"headline":"Elton John Dedicated a Song to George Michael","datePublished":"2016-12-30T16:16:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:36.608Z","description":"He teared up while performing \"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me\"","url":"https://time.com/4619850/george-michael-elton-john/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music","elton john","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1559ba6decebf5a/6988b431524fc0f13cdfa9a4/elton-john-concert-george-michael.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb1559ba6decebf5a/6988b431524fc0f13cdfa9a4/elton-john-concert-george-michael.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Elton John in concert in Meo Arena","caption":"Elton John in concert in Meo Arena in Lisbon, Portugal on Dec. 11, 2016.","creditText":"Paul Alexandrian—Global Media Group/Sipa USA/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4619850/george-michael-elton-john/","name":"Elton John Dedicated a Song to George Michael"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"In Memoriam: George Michael","description":"George Michael, who rocketed to stardom with WHAM! and went on to enjoy a long and celebrated solo career lined with controversies, has died, his publicist said Sunday. 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