Elton John wrote “Diving Board” about troubled young stars like Lindsay Lohan and Justin Bieber

Elton John wrote the title track from his new album The Diving Board about young stars like Lindsay Lohan and Justin Bieber who get “swallowed up” by fame.

“The Diving Board” is all about coping with success and fame at a very young age, something Elton John went through himself. “It could be a summation of my career because it’s about young people becoming successful and diving off into the unknown,” he told The Sun. “What’s going to happen? Are they going to survive it? Are they going to become victims of their own success? Are other people going to prey on them and destroy them?”

“You could actually say it’s about me, but I was thinking about Lindsay Lohan when I was writing it,” he admitted.

The singer told Event magazine that he was also thinking of Justin Bieber. “It’s about Lindsay Lohan, Justin, all these kids who are out there now not knowing what the hell is going on,” he told the magazine. “I hate to think of Lindsay because she had a talent, she was a great actress, and then it became all about the madness, the parties and everyone forgets about what put them there in the first place; they get lost in the idea that they are famous for who they are, not what they are.”

“I feel sorry for these kids. I was 23 when I got famous. And I made every mistake in the book,” he says. But still, Elton says he never lost focus. “Whatever was going on, the drinking, the drugs, whatever, I was still making music, I kept making music and I never stopped.”

66-year-old Elton John has been through a number of troubles including drug addictions and eating disorders, but his issues didn’t destroy him. He now has a stable family life with partner David Furnish and their two sons Zachary (2,) and eight-month-old Elijah, and he has enough stamina and vigor on stage to put most 20-somethings to shame.

He makes a good point about being focused on his music. Young fame is definitely a difficult road full of a number of tracks, but the ones who seem to come through okay continued to work and create through it all.