Across the episode, Elton celebrates the emerging sounds and his favourite hits from across the world this year, including Merseyside rapper of the moment EsDeeKid and soul talents Elmiene and Olivia Dean, as well as Little Simz, Lola Young, Chappell Roan and Turnstile, to name a few.
Elton explains: “For me…the greatest reward I can think of in music is seeing a young artist persevere and then blossom into the big star that they become and just go with it. It's fantastic. It keeps me alive and it inspires me. I'm 78 years old and I'm still a working musician…I'm still making records and I'm still involved in music. Seeing people like Olivia Dean and Channel Tres and Blood Orange and seeing how they're doing and how far they've come and how brilliant and how their music has made me so happy. That's fantastic.
Please see the full list of Elton’s favourite tracks of 2025 here -
Sombr – 12 to 12
Royel Otis – Say Something
Nectar Woode – Ama
Little Simz – Lion (feat. Obongjayar)
Olivia Dean – Man I Need
Turnstile – SEEIN’ STARS
Blood Orange – The Field (feat. Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, Caroline Polachek & Daniel Caesar)
Chappell Roan – The Subway
Lola Young – d£aler
SIENNO SPIRO – Die On This Hill
Ledisi – This Bitter Earth
RAYE – WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!
The Womack Sisters – I Just Don’t Want You (To Say Goodbye)
Rex Orange County – Take a Drive
Elmiene – Useless (Without You)
EsDeeKid – Century
