{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Elton John accuses American Idol vote of being racist' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bd95d8eafeecae13531b' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bd95d8eafeecae13531b' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nElton John accuses American Idol vote of being racist\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Wide shot Elton John walking in2. Cutaway photographer3. SOUNDBITE (English) James L. Dolan: \"All of us are extremely proud that Elton John will be bringing his unparalleled talent and presence to the great stage at Radio City and we...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Wide shot Elton John walking in\u003cbr/\u003e2. Cutaway photographer\u003cbr/\u003e3. SOUNDBITE (English) James L. Dolan: \u003cbr/\u003e\"All of us are extremely proud that Elton John will be bringing his unparalleled talent and presence to the great stage at Radio City and we hope that this is the first of many visits in fact we think he should play here more than Vegas.\"\u003cbr/\u003e4. SOUNDBITE (English) Elton John (off camera): \u003cbr/\u003e\"Make me an offer\"\u003cbr/\u003eJames L. Dolan: \u003cbr/\u003e\"We'll talk right after this. You may know that I have a great love and passion for music so it is truly and honour to introduce this musical icon, a world-renowned Academy and Golden Globe winner and five time Grammy Award winner artist, Elton John.\"\u003cbr/\u003e5. Wide shot press conference\u003cbr/\u003e6. SOUNDBITE (English) Elton John: \u003cbr/\u003e\"Than you very much. Thank you all for coming to this press conference. It does seem ridiculous that I have never played in this great building and I have always wanted to but I suppose fate takes a part in that because I think this is the ideal concert for me to play here, with the Royal Academy of Music students and the Juilliard students. I did a concert for the Royal Academy of Music at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in London, with my band and the orchestra and the choir and I have to say it was one of the most thrilling and chilling moments of my career and the thrill of being able to play with these young musicians, who are so incredibly attentive, so on the ball, It was so much fun. It was even better to raise a lot of money so that other students would be able to go there and have tuition in the future that couldn't normally afford to go\"\u003cbr/\u003e7. Cutaway notebook\u003cbr/\u003e8. SOUNDBITE (English) Elton John: \u003cbr/\u003e\"This concert at Radio City will be a mixture of The Royal of Academy Music orchestra and Juilliard, which is great because the two academies are intertwined anyway so it will be a meeting of our two great nations which have always been enmeshed. Anyway on stage here for five nights and we will be doing a gala concert on the first evening where the proceeds will go to Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music and I am very pleased and very touched that that will happen. It was one of the imperative things that if I came here we would have to do the same sort of thing here that we did at Covent Garden and that was enable people to have scholarships to go and have a wonderful time at Juilliard and prove their musical abilities.\"\u003cbr/\u003e9. Cutaway press conference\u003cbr/\u003e10. Mid shot presser\u003cbr/\u003e11. (Q: Do you see similarities between people who are trained in more classical music such as the orchestras that you are working with and the young people on American Idol that you worked with a couple of weeks ago?)\u003cbr/\u003e SOUNDBITE (English) Elton John: \u003cbr/\u003e\"Let me just say that when I did the American Idol thing and I went to the rehearsal there were three people that I was really impressed with and they all happened to be black, young female singers and they all seemed to be landing in the bottom three of the um - I don't watch the programme because I'm too busy - they seemed to be landing on the bottom three. These three girls would have the talent to be members of The Royal Academy or Juilliard. They have great voices. The fact that they are constantly in the bottom three and I don't want to set myself up here I find it incredibly racist (pause) My publicist has now exploded over there right now.\"\u003cbr/\u003e12. Wide shot Elton John posing for photographers.\u003cbr/\u003eAre the votes for hit TV show American Idol racist? British pop star Sir Elton John thinks so.\u003cbr/\u003eSir Elton made the comment at a press conference Tuesday in New York. He was at Radio City Music Hall to announce five benefit concerts in July marking his first public concerts at the word-renowned venue. \u003cbr/\u003eElton John and his band will be joined by a full symphony orchestra and choir featuring students from The Royal Academy of Music, London and the Juilliard School in New York. A similar show in London had been the high point of his career, said the star.\u003cbr/\u003eBut during the Q \u0026amp; A portion of the press conference Elton turned to more controversial matters after a reporter asked him if he saw any similarities between the talent on American Idol and the kids who are trained in classical music.\u003cbr/\u003eElton slammed the the voting patterns of the show: \"Let me just say that when I did the American Idol thing and I went to the rehearsal there were three people that I was really impressed with and they all happened to be black, young female singers and they all seemed to be landing in the bottom three of the um - I don't watch the programme because I'm too busy - they seemed to be landing on the bottom three. These three girls would have the talent to be members of The Royal Academy or Juilliard. They have great voices. The fact that they are constantly in the bottom three, and I don't want to set myself up here, I find it incredibly racist,\" he said.\u003cbr/\u003eThen he quickly quipped, \"...my publicist has now exploded over there right now.\"\u003cbr/\u003eJohn, who heard the wannabe pop stars perform his songs during an appearance on the Fox TV show, was joining a growing clamour of dissent  in the U.S that followed last week's shock exit of black vocalist Jennifer Hudson, considered one of the top talents among those vying for a recording contract.\u003cbr/\u003eThe other two singers grouped in the bottom three of the seven remaining 'American Idol' finalists last week were La Toya London and Fantasia Barrino.\u003cbr/\u003eThe results moved show host Ryan Seacrest to remind viewers that the series was a talent hunt and not a popularity contest.\u003cbr/\u003eThe show often gets more than 20 million people voting.\u003cbr/\u003eRuben Studdard, a black crooner, won the top prize last year.\u003cbr/\u003eTickets for the five concerts slated for July 13, 14, 16, 17 \u0026amp; 18 will go on sale Monday May 3rd at 10 am. The net proceeds from the opening night concert on Tuesday July 13th will support the Elton John Musical Scholarship at The Royal Academy of Music and fund a scholarship at The Juilliard School\u003cbr/\u003eInterestingly, Sir elton, one of the most commercially successful entertainers of the last 30 years, won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music but dropped out shortly before graduation to join the R\u0026amp;B group Bluesology - the rest is music history.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource Details\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource-details clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eCurator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan class=\"star-rating\" aria-label=\"3.5 out of 5 stars\" role=\"img\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-star-half-stroke text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-regular fa-star text-action\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt class=\"educator-rating-title\"\u003eEducator Rating\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"educator-rating-details\" data-path=\"/educator_ratings/rrp_data?resourceable_id=915023\u0026amp;resourceable_type=Boclips%3A%3AVideoMetadata\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"not-yet-rated\"\u003eNot yet Rated\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eGrade\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd title=\"Grade\"\u003eHigher Ed\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eSubjects\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?grade_ids%5B%5D=259\u0026amp;search_tab_id=1\u0026amp;subject_ids%5B%5D=1216220\"\u003eAll Subjects\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eMedia Type\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?grade_ids%5B%5D=259\u0026amp;search_tab_id=2\u0026amp;type_ids%5B%5D=4543650\"\u003eNews Clips\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eSource:\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eDate\u003c/dt\u003e\n\u003cdd\u003e2004\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-solid fa-language'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\u003cdt\u003eAudiences\u003c/dt\u003e\u003cdd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"/search?audience_ids%5B%5D=371079\u0026amp;grade_ids%5B%5D=259\u0026amp;search_tab_id=1\"\u003eFor Teacher Use\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/dd\u003e\u003cdd class=\"text-muted\"\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa-solid fa-lock mr5\"\u003e\u003c/i\u003e2 more...\u003c/dd\u003e\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='detail'\u003e\n\u003cdl\u003e\n\n\u003c/dl\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='concepts-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='concepts-heading'\u003eConcepts\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='details-list concepts' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator' data-type='concepts'\u003eclassical music, concerts, pop music, education, europe, western europe, scholarships, london, entertainment, england\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='concepts-toggle-buttons' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' class='more btn-link' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-down ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='true' class='less btn-link' style='display: none;' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow Less\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-up ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='additional-tags-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='additional-tags-heading'\u003eAdditional Tags\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='clearfix'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='details-list keyterms' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator' data-type='keyterms'\u003estudents, play, fantasia, fact, artist, elton john, thing, covent garden, american idol, jennifer hudson, social affairs, stage, orchestra, choirs and choruses, generosity, james dolan, reality tv, landing, arts and entertainment, concert, juilliard, rhythm and blues, young people, bottom, arts education, thrill, ryan seacrest, people, academy music, school curricula, working, united kingdom, happen, music education, ruben studdard, radio city, royal academy, talent, education costs, rock music, orchestral music, television programs\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='keyterms-toggle-buttons' data-identifier='Boclips::VideoDecorator'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' class='more btn-link' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-down ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='true' class='less btn-link' style='display: none;' type='button'\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eShow Less\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fa-solid fa-caret-up ml5'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='educator-ratings-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title sr-only' id='educator-ratings-heading'\u003eEducator Ratings\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"educator-ratings-root\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"all-educator-ratings-root\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"educator-rating-form-root\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-resource'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Show resource details' class='rp-show-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nShow resource details\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Video player' class='player' id='player-wrapper' role='region'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='relative container mx-auto' id='lp-boclips-visitor-thumbnail'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"block\" data-html=\"true\" data-placement=\"bottom\" data-trigger=\"click\" data-content=\"\u003cdiv class=\u0026quot;text-center py-2\u0026quot;\u003e\u003ca class=\u0026quot;bold\u0026quot; href=\u0026quot;/auth/users/sign_in\u0026quot;\u003eSign in\u003c/a\u003e or \u003ca class=\u0026quot;bold text-danger\u0026quot; data-posthog-event=\u0026quot;Signup: LP Signup Activity\u0026quot; data-posthog-location=\u0026quot;body_link_boclips\u0026quot; data-remote=\u0026quot;true\u0026quot; href=\u0026quot;/subscription/new\u0026quot;\u003eJoin Now\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\" data-title=\"Get Full Access\" data-container=\"body\" rel=\"popover\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Play video: Elton John accuses American Idol vote of being racist\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"resource-img img-thumbnail img-responsive z-10 lp-boclips-thumbnail w-full h-full lozad\" alt=\"Elton John accuses American Idol vote of being racist\" title=\"Elton John accuses American Idol vote of being racist\" onError=\"handleImageNotLoadedError(this)\" data-default-image=\"https://static.lp.lexp.cloud/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/missing.png\" data-src=\"https://static.lp.lexp.cloud/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/missing.png\" width=\"315\" height=\"220\" src=\"data:image/png;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAD/ACwAAAAAAQABAAACADs\" /\u003e\n\u003cspan aria-hidden='true' class='flex justify-center items-center bg-white rounded-full w-16 h-16 absolute top-1/2 left-1/2 -mt-8 -ml-8 cursor-pointer z-0 border-2 border-primary drop-shadow-md lp-boclips-thumbnail-playBtn'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fa-solid fa-play text-primary text-3xl ml-1 drop-shadow-xl'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n"}