Canadian Musicians Cover Elton John At Glenn Gould Prize Gala

I don't know if you knew this, but Elton John is not Canadian. In fact, he is very not Canadian. He's as British as they come. But that did not stop the luminaries of the Canadian music business from honoring Elton John on Saturday night. John was there to be honored with the Glenn Gould Prize, an international arts award that's handed out every two years. (Past honorees include Leonard Cohen, Philip Glass, and Oscar Peterson.) Honorees don't necessarily have to show up to the event, but Elton John was in the building.

The Glenn Gould Prize ceremony went down at the Theatre at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. As the Toronto Star reports, Elton John told the crowd, "I am a Canadian. Canada is part of my life and embedded in my soul." Well, there goes my thesis. (John's husband David Furnish is Canadian.) John accepted the gold sculpture and $100,000 in prize money. He also had the chance to pick someone to receive the Glenn Gould Protégé Prize, which includes $25,000. He handed it to Toronto mezzo-soprano singer Emily D'Angelo, who sang "I Know The Truth," from his Aida musical, at the ceremony.

D'Angelo was one of a whole gang of Canadian artists who performed covers of some of Elton John's greatest hits. Here, for instance, are the Beaches, doing "The Bitch Is Back."

Here's Sarah McLachlan singing "Tiny Dancer":

Diana Krall covered "Our Song."

Loony did "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters."

Ron Sexsmith performed "Blues For My Baby And Me."

There sadly appears to be no video of Saya Gray online, but she did "Honky Cat." Also, the night's grand finale was Elton John and all the evening's performers singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" together.

Polaris/Juno winner Jeremy Dutcher and other artists were interviewed before the show.