Elton John, Brandi Carlile Play ‘Who Believes in Angels’ on SNL

Elton John and Brandi Carlile teamed up on Saturday Night Live to perform a pair of tracks from their collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels, which came out Friday.

For the ’50s rock and roll-inspired “Little Richard’s Bible” and for the title track from their latest collaboration, John was at the piano and Carlile on guitar.

The duo, each making their third musical guest appearance on SNL, previously worked together on 2021’s “Simple Things,” from John’s The Lockdown Sessions, and “Never Too Late,” the theme for last year’s documentary about John.

“This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life,” John said in a press release when announcing the album. “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,” he added. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career mark two.”

Carlile said at the time that the process was tough but rewarding.

“I’m still reeling from the fact that I got to do it,” she said. “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.”

While John has no plans to tour–his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour wrapped up in the summer of 2023–Carlile has her Mothership Weekend festival next month in Florida before heading to Europe.