On Thursday, December 14, Elton John chose David Kushner‘s viral hit “Daylight” as one of his favorite songs that he played on his Rocket Hour show on Apple Music in 2023, calling it “extraordinary” and “beautiful.” David thinks he knows why the song connected with so many people — famous or not.

“I think it was just, it’s very universal and it’s about this, like, light and darkness concept and just things in our lives that we know aren’t good for us,” he tells ABC Audio. “And we just are always chasing to be better and, y’know, chase that light. So I think people just heard that and they were just kind of struck — in a part of their soul maybe? … That’s just what I believe.”

“Daylight” went viral on TikTok in the early part of 2023 thanks to the “you look happier, what happened?” trend. It was released to radio in May and ended up hitting the top 10 on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart. Thanks to the song’s success, David’s been on a pretty crazy ride all year, but he’s looking forward to his Christmas break.

“Christmas is going to be so amazing,” he shares. “It’s just me and my girlfriend and my dog, Coco … we just got a new little puppy. But we’re going to be back in LA, we bought her a stocking and yeah, it’s going to be me and my girlfriend and our little pup.”

Expect new music from David in 2024.

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