Sir Elton John has hit out a modern day songwriters, labelling them “pretty awful”.

The veteran singer said he was a fan of stars like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, but advised them to write their own material.

"Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same,” he said. “Contemporary pop isn't very inspiring."

Sir Elton also revealed that he wasn't a fan of reality TV shows like The X Factor and that he refused to be a judge on American Idol.

"I'm not a fan of talent shows. I probably wouldn't have lasted if I'd gone on one,” he told the Radio Times.

"Also I don't want to be on television. It's become boring, arse-paralysingly brain crippling. I like Simon Cowell [creator of X Factor], but what he does is TV entertainment.

"TV vaults you to superstardom and then you have to back it up, which is hard. [X Factor winners] Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke are at the mercy of the next song they can get."

Meanwhile, Sir Elton is due to perform at the BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms in London later this month.

(by Jason Gregory)