“I’m Still Standing,” a song Elton John first released back in 1983, has truly lived up to its title, as it joins Spotify’s Billions club.
“Wonderful to see ‘I’m Still Standing’ hit 1 billion streams on @Spotify!” Elton wrote on Instagram. “This track has had such a life and whether you know it for its empowering lyrics, the legendary dance moves from the music video, or @taron.egerton’s rendition as Johnny HD in Sing, it makes me so happy to see it being enjoyed by so many.”
On his Instagram Story, Elton also shared a post showing a tiny little kid waking up and commanding his smart speaker device to “play ‘I’m Still Standing’ song.” For some reason it plays Taron Egerton‘s version, not Elton’s.
“I’m Still Standing” is from Elton’s 1983 album Two Low for Zero. While it’s now seen as an anthem about Elton’s decadeslong career, the song was actually written by his musical partner, Bernie Taupin, as a kiss-off to an old girlfriend.
The iconic video for the song was filmed in the south of France. One of the dancers in the video is Bruno Tonioli, who went on to judge ABC’s Dancing the Stars. In his autobiography, Me, Elton tells the story of how, while in Cannes for the shoot, he ran into Duran Duran and they all got wrecked on martinis.
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