Elton John 'feeling very well'

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David Furnish and Elton John

Elton John reassured fans he's "feeling very well" as he made his first public appearance since his recent hospitalization.

The Rocket Man singer became "violently ill" after contracting a "potentially deadly" bacterial infection during his recent South American tour. He was admitted to hospital immediately after returning from Santiago, Chile at the end of April, and placed in intensive care for two days.

He cancelled a series of Las Vegas shows so he could recover at home but he returned to the public eye at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Monday, when he unveiled the winners of his YouTube competition Elton John: The Cut.

Elton told people at the event he was in good health, assuring them he was "feeling very well" and told fans waiting outside the venue, "I feel good", according to reports.

"He's doing good," his partner David Furnish added, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper. "He's made a great recovery. I've been looking after him. He's been a good patient."

However, a source told The Sun newspaper he seemed "a bit shaky on his feet" as he went up to the stage but was "on top form" regardless.

Elton presented the fan-made music videos for his classic hits such as Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer and Bennie and the Jets, which had been made by budding filmmakers Majid Adin, Max Weiland and Jack Whiteley and Laura Brownhill respectively.

During a press conference, which was also attended by his collaborator Bernie Taupin, he blasted the "MTV generation" for not being real musicians.

"We were before the MTV generation and I'm glad we were because we were real artists," the 70-year-old said. "The MTV generation brought along a lot of people who just made videos. A lot of the artist went out of the music."

Elton is expected to return to the stage in Twickenham, England on 3 June.