Elton John: Khalid on the road to superstardom
El Paso loves its people. It’s newest son is Khalid.
Thursday night, superstar Elton John dedicated the song “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” to Khalid during a performance at the Don Haskins Center.
The pop culture icon said Khalid is on the road to super-stardom.
Khalid later tweeted a photo he took with the British singer backstage.
I love you so much @eltonofficial thank you so much for everything pic.twitter.com/2hH8FwhLDd
— Khalid (@thegreatkhalid) March 24, 2017
The 19-year-old singer and songwriter spent his childhood moving from state to state and country to country.
Khalid lived in Heidelberg, Germany, New York. During his senior year in high school, his family was relocated to Fort Bliss and Khalid attended Americas High School.
FORBES: For ‘Location’ Singer Khalid, El Paso Helps Drive Nationwide Success
It was in the Sun City where Khalid recorded his album’s breakout hit “Location.”
The song generated more than 26.5 million Spotify streams and 4 million YouTube views. He also landed a major label deal with Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records.
Khalid’s album, “American Teen” was released March 3, 2017 and debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200 chart. This week, it dropped to #13.
Timeline to Khalid’s success:
In an interview with Pigeons and Planes, Khalid said he started making music in the winter of 2015 in El Paso. April 29th 2016, Khalid released his breakout hit “Location” May 27th 2016, Reality TV Star Kylie Jenner played “Location” on Snapchat, a move Khalid says helped skyrocket the hit. September 2016, Khalid released “Location” music video which was shot in El Paso. January 12th 2017, Khalid kicks off “Location” tour in Chicago. March 3rd 2017, Khalid releases album, “American Teen,” holds first album singing in El Paso. March 15th, 2017, Khalid appears on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” March 16th, 2016, Khalid wins MTV’s “Woodie to Watch” award.