Elton John and Brandi Carlile announce details of their collaborative studio album Who Believes In Angels?, set for release on April 4th via Interscope Records. Pre-order here. Also unveiled today is the new single from the album, the eponymous song “Who Believes In Angels?.” Listen here.
Fans can pre-order ‘Who Believes In Angels?’ to gain exclusive access for the chance to buy tickets to ‘An Evening With Elton John & Brandi Carlile’ at The London Palladium on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. This one night only event will see Elton and Brandi grace the stage of one of London’s most iconic venues for a unique evening of performance and storytelling.
The concept for Who Believes In Angels? was devised by close friends and regular collaborators Elton John, eleven time GRAMMY winning US superstar Brandi Carlile and multiple GRAMMY Award winning producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. They set out to create a genuinely collaborative studio album between Elton and Brandi. The album would mix Elton-led songs and Brandi-led songs, with long term collaborator Bernie Taupin and Brandi both contributing lyrics, and producer and co-writer Andrew Watt acting as the producer, mediator and creative conduit. Entering Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios in October 2023 with a completely blank slate, they pushed each other out of their comfort zones to write and record an album completely from scratch in just 20 days. They would be backed by a world class band of musicians comprising of Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan and David Gilmour) and Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, Beck).
Watch a short film about the process of making Who Believes In Angels? here. This is the first time that Elton has allowed cameras to film his writing and recording sessions. Static cameras positioned around the studio captured thousands of hours of raw footage, and ultimately documented the entire creative process – breakdowns, breakthroughs, tears, torn up lyric sheets and all. The candid footage offers fans an unprecedented, searingly honest insight into the emotionally turbulent creative process for Elton, Brandi and the rest of the team.
The results of this creative friction are stunning, and the kaleidoscopic scope of Who Believes In Angels? draws comparisons with some of Elton’s very finest works. Ballads co-exist with raw rock and roll, pop songs and country-hued Americana rub shoulders with synth-heavy psychedelia. It’s an album as unexpected as it is triumphant. Elton sounds utterly revitalized. Brandi sounds like a singer-songwriter at the absolute top of her game, her voice melding with Elton’s like a hand in a glove. The resulting songs somehow manage to be unequivocally the work of Elton John and Brandi Carlile, while sounding unlike any album either have made before.
Elton says: “This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future. I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2.”
Brandi says: “I’m still reeling from the fact that I got to do it. I think all ships rise with Elton John’s standards for songwriting, and it was an incredibly challenging and inspiring environment to work in, everybody throwing in ideas, everybody listening to everybody else’s ideas. It felt like a family. The world is a wild place to live in right now. It’s hard to find peace and triumph. It’s a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. And that is what this album represents to me.”
The eponymous single “Who Believes In Angels?” is also unveiled today. Listen here. In keeping with the album it gives its name to, it is a true collaboration; Brandi penned the lyrics and Elton the theme, before Andrew joined them to bring it all together. From the opening piano chords, it’s unmistakably a slice of classic Elton John, that at once manages to nod to past glories whilst sounding thoroughly modern and forward looking. Brandi’s soaring vocals meld exquisitely with Elton’s on a towering synth charged chorus, as hard hitting as many of his best-loved classics.
Who Believes In Angels? also features 2025 Oscar nominated song “Never Too Late,” created especially for the Disney+ documentary of the same name and unveiled last year to widespread critical acclaim. Listen here. A beautiful, reflective and ultimately uplifting story of finding happiness and redemption in love and family, “Never Too Late” is the truly fitting finale to the documentary that plays out over the credits of the documentary of the same name. The documentary follows Elton as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in an emotionally charged, intimate and inspiring full-circle journey. Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish the documentary is available to watch on Disney+ now.
Who Believes In Angels? tracklisting:
- The Rose Of Laura Nyro
- Little Richard’s Bible
- Swing For The Fences
- Never Too Late
- You Without Me
- Who Believes In Angels?
- The River Man
- A Little Light
- Someone To Belong To
- When This Old World Is Done With Me
