Miley Cyrus arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013, at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York.Evan Agostini/The Associated Press
With more than four decades in the music business under his belt, Sir Elton John has some sage advice for Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga: Get a grip before it's too late.
As reported in The Daily Mail, the multiple Grammy-winner has created a stir with his recent interview in The Australian, in which he speaks of his deep concern for the current generation of pop stars.
Such as: "I look at Miley Cyrus and I see a meltdown waiting to happen. And she's so young. But she's got two records in the top 20, so who is going to stop her?"
John also issued some firm words for Lady Gaga, who is godmother to his eldest son, Zachary.
"I'd like to be able to talk to her right now, but I can't get through to her," he said. "When your persona begins to take over your music and becomes more important, you enter a dangerous place. Once you have people around you who don't question you, you're in a dangerous place."
By way of cautionary example, Sir Elton invoked the name of a certain young actress.
"Look at Lindsay Lohan," he said. "There was someone with a successful career and her parents completely f–-ed her up. The dad was in jail and the mum was doing coke with her. Great!"
Best known for the singles Rocket Man, Your Song and the seminal 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the British singer-songwriter claims he possesses the ability to "spot a car crash before it happens" in regard to troubled young talent. He also said he predicted the sudden 2009 death of Michael Jackson.
"I was in my dressing room in Las Vegas when they announced that Michael Jackson was playing 50 dates at the O2," said John, 66. "I turned to my agent and said, 'He won't do a single one of those.' I could tell you he was going to die."
How could John possibly know the end was near for Jackson? For those who knew MJ, it was obvious, he says.
"He'd been doing drugs for so long, he'd been a mess for so long – and I've known Michael since he was 12 or 13 – that it was never going to happen. Everyone was saying it was going to be great and I was saying, 'Hello? Are you looking at the real thing here?'"
John's contentious interview comes one week before the release of Diving Board, his 30th studio solo album, which tells the story of a young pop star hitting the skids after experiencing fame.
The album's first single, also titled Diving Board, includes the lyrics "You free fall into the ether" and "You fell in love with those dizzy heights."
Are you listening, Miley and Gaga?