Never Too Late (Elton John and Brandi Carlile song)

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It was wild setting a lyric down in front of Elton John for the first time that I had written and watch him write it. It was absolutely surreal. The thing about Bernie that so influenced my ability to do this, and why I think in the end it became a collaboration, is because Elton doesn’t like saying nice things about himself. [...] It’s soulfully the right thing, based on this story, based on this film, based on the man and the men. Elton is a wildly individual and spectacular comet of a person, but he’s a sum of his parts, (which are) musically Elton John and Bernie Taupin

— Brandi Carlile to Variety in 2024 [5]

The film's production was announced in 2022 by The Walt Disney Company, originally with the working title Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances and the Years That Made His Legend. [6]

During the documentary production, Brandi Carlile and her wife Catherine Shepherd went to Elton John's house in southern France, where they saw an early cut of the documentary with the director David Furnish. Inspired by the movie, Carlile wrote the first lyrics of the song and presented it to John, who submitted it to Andrew Watt and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin. [5] [7]

After the song's production and rewriting, John decided to change the documentary's name to Elton John: Never Too Late, inspired by the song title. [8] [9]

Music video

The music video for the song was released on November 15, 2024 through John's YouTube channel. It featured cameo and short video with unreleased images and footage initially sourced for the documentary. [10]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom "Never Too Late" debouted on the Official Singles Downloads at No. 3, becoming John thirtheend top 40 hits on the lis. The song also debouted on the Official Singles Sales chart, which is similar to the download-only roster, though it doesn’t climb quite as high. “Never Too Late” launches at No. 47. [11]

Accolades

"Never Too Late"
Cover of Never Too Late Elton John and Brandi Carlile.jpeg
Single by Elton John and Brandi Carlile
from the album Elton John: Never Too Late: Soundtrack to the Disney+ Documentary
ReleasedNovember 15, 2024 (2024-11-15)
Genre
Length3:26
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Andrew Wyatt
Elton John singles chronology
"Hold Me Closer"
(2022)
"Never Too Late"
(2024)
Brandi Carlile singles chronology
"You're Gonna Go Far"
(2024)
"Never Too Late"
(2024)
Awards and nominations received by "Lift Me Up"
YearOrganizationCategoryResultRef.
2024
Hollywood Music in Media Awards Best Original Song in a Documentary Won [12]
2025
Academy Awards Best Original Song Pending [13]
Satellite Awards Best Original Song Nominated [14]
Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media ProductionPending [15]

Charts

Chart performance for "Never Too Late"
Chart (2024)Peak
position
UK Singles Sales (OCC) [16] 47

Release history

"Never Too Late" release history
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
ItalyNovember 15, 2024 Radio airplay EMI [17]

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References

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  4. Lewis, Hilary (January 23, 2025). "Oscars: Full List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 23, 2025.
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  17. Seminara, Emanuela (November 13, 2024). "Elton John, Brandi Carlile - Never too late (Radio Date: 15-11-2024)" (Press release) (in Italian). EarOne. Retrieved January 24, 2025.