Elton John on Brandi Carlile: She gave me "a fresh start"

Sir Elton John has millions of fans all over the world, but few of them as devoted as a young girl who first heard his music more than 30 years ago.

In 1992, Brandi Marie Carlile was a kid living in a single-wide trailer in rural Washington State, and to her, Elton John was everything. Young Brandi collected everything about him she could get her hands on – records, photos, even an Elton John book she borrowed from a library 33 years ago, and kept(!). "The date is still on here. Boulevard Park Library, May 10, 1992. It's all time stamped. And they're gonna have to come and get it!"

Little Brandi is now music superstar Brandi Carlile, but to a young girl coming of age and struggling with her own sexuality, Elton John was a flicker of hope in a confusing world. She loved him, and said so in writing, covering an entire page front to back with "I love Elton John." "It's insane," she said. "I look at it now. I just can't believe what happened in my life to get me to where I am now. It's such a strange thing. It makes you wonder, it just makes you wonder. I do love Elton John!"