Music legend Elton John and his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin are asking fans around the world to create kick-ass music videos for three of their biggest hits: "Rocket Man," "Tiny Dancer" and "Benny and the Jets."
Yes, you read that right.
The global contest, called "Elton John: The Cut," launched in partnership with YouTube earlier this week and will run through January 23, 2017 (entries will be accepted beginning January 9, 2017). The winning videos will premiere on YouTube next summer and the three champions will receive $10,000 each.
“YouTube is a rich tapestry of creativity,” said John in a statement, “and I can’t wait to see how the breadth of talent from the dance, live-action and animation communities apply their vision to these cherished songs.”
As no videos were ever shot for these singles (all of them were released in the 1970s, a decade before MTV launched and made music videos basic requirements for music releases), John and Taupin have some requests: for "Rocket Man," they're looking for animated videos; "Tiny Dancer" should focus on live action films and "Bennie and the Jets" should be choreography-heavy. Other than that, you must be 17 or older to enter the competition.
All submissions will be viewed by three judges: filmmaker-musician Kurt Hugo Schneider, Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker PES and Parris Goebbel, who directed and choreographed Justin Bieber's “Sorry (PURPOSE: The Movement)” dance video. The three judges will create a short list that will be reviewed by a different panel of judges (their names will be announced on January 9, 2017) who will ultimately select the winners.
As if creating a music video for one of Elton John's greatest songs wasn't enough, the winners will get to work on their final productions with Pulse Films... the production studio that worked on Beyonce's "Lemonade" music film.