Elton John and Eminem perform 'Stan' at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California on Feb. 21, 2001. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter)
Elton John just turned 70 years old on March 25, Saturday. He was on Zane Lowe's show on Beats 1 recently to talk about his birthday, the memorable moments of his career and his friendship with Eminem and Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose.
Both Eminem and Rose are accused of being homophobic. However, John, an openly gay musician, is friends with the two and has performed with them.
"I'll fight for anyone who is misunderstood and misrepresented by the idiots out there," John said. For the "Candle in the Wind" singer, neither Eminem nor Rose is homophobic.
In 1992, John performed "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Rose and Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium and in 1994, Rose inducted John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2001, John performed "Stan" with Eminem at the Grammy Awards.
John said he became very big friends with Eminem after their "Stan" performance. The latter also emphasized never in a million years did he think Rose was homophobic.
Upon listening to Eminem's third studio album "The Marshall Mathers LP" album, John wondered how anyone could think the lyrics were homophobic. The Detroit rapper was just writing about the way things are and not how he thinks, according to John.
"The Marshall Mathers LP" was released by Interscope Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records, the label founded by the Detroit rapper and his manager Paul Rosenberg on May 23, 2000. There are 19 tracks in the album including "Kim," a song about his hatred and anger towards his then-wife Kim Mathers.
Eminem released a sequel to the album more than 13 years later. His eighth studio album titled "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" had 16 tracks including "Headlights" featuring Nate Ruess, "Love Game" featuring Kendrick Lamar, "The Monster" featuring Rihanna, "A-----e" featuring Skylar Grey, "Rap God" and "Berzerk."
Fans of Eminem have been waiting for his next studio album since 2013. Watch the music video of a shorter version of "Stan" here:
