In honor of the 50th anniversary of his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin, the legendary artist Elton John has partnered with YouTube on an international music video competition.
Titled Elton John: The Cut and launching today (with entries officially opening on Jan. 9), fans and aspiring filmmakers will be tasked with submitting official music video treatments for three of John’s classic tunes: Bennie And The Jets, Rocket Man, and Tiny Dancer — all of which were released in an era before the rise of the music video medium. Each song will invite different kinds of entries, with Bennie And The Jets showcasing choreographed dance, Rocket Man being an animation contest, and Tiny Dancer being live-action.
YouTube creators and music and film industry execs will serve as judges, with John and Taupin ultimately selecting the three winners, who will then go on to create and premiere their final videos on YouTube next summer. Winners will be invited to use YouTube Spaces to help realize the finished product, and production will be supported by Pulse Films, the studio behind Beyoncé’s Lemonade. The three winners will receive $10,000 each from YouTube to pursue future filmmaking endeavors.
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“This is a dream project that puts iconic music from a legendary artist in the hands of new creative talent, to reinvent these classic hits,” said Vivien Lewit, YouTube’s global head of artist content and services, in a statement.
YouTube creators Kurt Hugo Schneider, PES, and Parris Goebel will be in charge of shortlisting entries in the live-action, animation, and choreography categories, respectively, with the final panel of judges to be revealed on Jan. 9 and the contest closing on Jan. 23. For additional information, visit www.eltonjohn.com/thecut. Aspiring auteurs should give it their all, and know they have a high bar set by William Shatner’s “Rocket Man” music video from the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards.
