Sir Elton John considers Charlie Puth one of the family after they collaborated on his new album.
The music icon, 74, teamed up with the How Long hitmaker for the ballad After All, which features on his upcoming album The Lockdown Sessions
Elton has now said he and the former YouTube sensation immediately bonded - and he's grown close to the whole clan.
"Charlie is an amazing musician, we just hit it off. He's become a friend and a friend of the family. Our children love him and he loves them," he said in a statement.
The Tiny Dancer hitmaker is married to David Furnish, and the couple share sons Zachary, eight, and six-year-old Elijah.
Elton loved working with Charlie, and he was impressed by the 29-year-old star’s dedication to his craft.
“Charlie and I were in the studio, just the two of us. He's got a little home set-up with his keyboards, synths and Pro Tools,” he explained.
"I played electric piano and actually wrote the song all the way through and then Charlie wrote the lyrics pretty quickly,” he added, noting that he and the Attention singer had “an amazing chemistry” in the studio.
The ballad has been produced by Charlie, and he’s also credited as a songwriter along with Elton and Jacob Kasher Hindlin.
Charlie was also full of admiration for his childhood hero, and said he has “admired and looked up to” Elton all his life.
“It is truly incredible how the melodies and chords seem to come to him instantly whenever he sits down at the piano,” he said, revealing that he was overjoyed to be able to see the magic happen in the studio firsthand.
“He is world-class and the true definition of a musical genius. Being a part of his musical journey is a dream come true,” he added.
The Lockdown Sessions is set to be released on 22 October, and features his cover of the Pet Shop Boys' track It's a Sin with Years & Years.
It also includes songs with Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder.
The 74-year-old singer said making an album was the “last thing” he expected to do during the Covid-19 lockdown, but he was prompted to keep going with the project after it reminded him of studio sessions in the early days of his music career.
“In the late '60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast,” Elton shared.
