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Onstage, Elton has spent the past few years nursing another baby—Billy Elliot. The Broadway musical is based on the film about an Irish boy with a passion for dance. The musical premiered in London and moved to Broadway after rave reviews. In 2009, it took home 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

In the musical, Billy's father is initially unsupportive of his passion for dance. Elton says the story reminds him of his own father's reaction to Elton's love of music. "My father never really encouraged me. Even when I became successful as Elton John, he never came to see me," he says. "At the end, [Billy Eliot's] father comes to the opera house in London and sees Billy come onstage and dance on one leg. It made me cry because my dad never, ever saw me."

Still, Elton says his father's reaction gave him the drive to succeed. "I wanted to prove a point," he says. "I just wanted him to say: 'Good, well done. I was wrong.' But, no, that never happened."

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