Sir Elton John paid tribute to late US rapper Mac Miller during the opening show of his final world tour in Pennsylvania.
Platinum-selling US musician Miller was found unresponsive at his home in Los Angeles on Friday morning after a reported overdose.
Sir Elton, 71, dedicated his performance of Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me to Miller during the set, which marked the start of his three-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road trek.
Sir Elton told a sellout crowd in Allentown on Saturday night: “I would like to dedicate this song to Mac Miller who, unbelievably, at 26 years of age passed away yesterday.
“It’s inconceivable that someone so young, and with so much talent, could do that and I would just like to pass all of our love and best wishes to his loved ones, his family, his friends.
“And Mac, wherever you are, I hope you’re happy now.”
Get an early glimpse of the #EltonFarewellTour with this rehearsal video. @PPLCenter, just a few hours until showtime! (🎥: Josh Partridge) https://t.co/2NadVb5zKS ✨ pic.twitter.com/nbA3Ex3ixk
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) September 8, 2018
It follows an apparent tribute from Miller’s former partner Ariana Grande.
The No Tears Left To Cry singer, 25, posted a captionless black and white photograph of Miller looking up at the camera on her Instagram account, which also had the comments disabled.
Grande and Miller dated for around two years before breaking up earlier this year.
Shortly after they parted ways, Grande responded to a fan on Twitter who criticised her for dumping him and said their relationship had been “toxic”.
She tweeted: “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be. I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety & prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course) but shaming/blaming women for a man’s inability to keep his s*** together is a very major problem.”
She also later said she and Miller shared “unconditional love” and that he was “one of my best friends in the whole world”.
Miller performed with Grande at a memorial concert following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing and the pair released music together before their split earlier this year.
The LA coroner said the cause of Miller’s death is yet to be determined and that a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
In a statement, his family said Miller was a “bright light in this world for his family, friends and fans”.
Sir Elton joins a stream of stars who have paid tribute to Miller, including Ed Sheeran, Drake, Chance The Rapper and Post Malone.