Chappell Roan Duets With Elton John at Oscar Viewing Party

Chappell Roan made Elton John an honorary member of the “Pink Pony Club” Sunday night, placing a fringe-laden, pink cowboy hat upon his head as she dueted with the legend on her signature song as well as one of his own classics at his annual Oscar night party in West Hollywood.

Roan’s hour-long set with her band marked the best new artist Grammy winner’s first full-length performance since she closed out her tour at Austin City Limits five months ago. Although the set included the most popular staples of her nascent catalog, it was clear early on that she’d be celebrating the occasion with some value-added Elton content, starting with an earnest solo rendition of his classic “Your Song.” Later, she called John himself up from his table to the stage, where they traded vocals on “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” before rounding the night out with a shared version of “Pink Pony Club.”

“You have sacrificed so much for the queer community,” Roan told John after bestowing on him the pink hat that would be his crown for the set’s remaining minutes. “And you made it so I could be the artist I can be, so I thank you so much,” she said, offering additional plaudits for his historical support of AIDS research and relief, the beneficiary of his Oscar event’s proceeds.

Any solemnity in that moment was cut short by the host commanding: “Let’s dance, baby!”

John watched the earlier stretch of her performance from a table in the middle of the room in the big tent set up at West Hollywood Park, where he was joined by Brandi Carlile — both of them fresh from not winning a best original song Oscar over in the other Hollywood for “Never Too Late,” but neither appearing too broken up about it as they bobbed along to Roan.

As the sea of packed black-tie attendees parted for John to make his way to the stage upon being summoned, Roan pointed out what many in the crowd already knew — that they were all within virtual spitting distance of the gay nightspot that actually inspired “Pink Pony Club.” Roan talked of visiting the Abbey when she was 21, and wanting to become a go-go dancer, “but instead I wrote a song about it.”

In singing “Your Song” toward the beginning of her set, Roan said, “I’m gonna sing a song that is one of my favorite songs of all time, and I think it’s maybe the best song,” period, she noted. “I dedicate it to my parents – they’re here tonight. Mom and dad, wave,” she asked, as her folks gestured to the crowd from a spot against the platform at stage right. “I dedicate this song to them because they introduced me to Elton John. This goes out to them, and obviously, Elton, this is yours.”

Non-Elton highlights of the night included such Roan favorites as “Hot to Go,” complete with the singer offering the usual instructions on how to spell out the title, even if some attendees might worry about how that would go with their wardrobe choices, as she acknowledged. For anyone “wearing a strapless little gown, if I tell you to raise your arms and a little nip slip happens… Good! Free the nipple… You can do it!”

Another song, “My Kink Is Karma,” was dedicated to what she described as the “future ex-husbands” in the audience, whose fates she said were set in motion from the moment “I walked out on stage and your wife said, ‘Wait a second, maybe I like girls.”

John’s and Furnish’s annual gala Oscar night event benefits the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Co-hosts or guest speakers including Jean Smart, Megan Thee Stallion, Neil Patrick Harris, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Zooey Deschanel and David Burtka offered messages during the Academy Awards’ commercial breaks about the work the foundation is doing and the added need to make a difference in the face of devastating public funding cuts currently taking place.

Each year, the viewing of the Oscars is followed by a set by one of John’s favorite artists. Four years ago, the performer was Carlile, who became John’s co-Oscar nominee in 2025.

Guests at the event included Hozier, Laufey, Donatella Versace, Lucy Dacus, Katie Gavin, Christina Hendricks, Ava Max, Andrew Watt, Sophia Bush, Justin Tranter, Kathy Hilton, Nicky Hilton, Alyssa Milano, Julia Fox, Liv Hewson, Ozuna and Lance Bass among many others.

Chappell Roan’s setlist:

Femininomenon
Naked in Manhattan
Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl
Your Song
Casual
Hot to Go!
Red Wine Supernova
Good Luck, Babe!
My Kink Is Karma
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with Elton John)
Pink Pony Club (with Elton John)