Elton John is well qualified in surviving against the odds, and last night he took to the stage and sang his heart out for someone else who refuses to quit: Hillary Clinton.

The performance at New York's Radio City music hall was the first he had given for the Clintons since he appeared at the White House in 1998 at a state dinner for Tony Blair.

"I've always been a Hillary supporter," he told the crowd, who had paid between $125 and the fundraising limit of $2,300 per ticket. "There is no one more qualified to lead America."

Interspersed between renditions of Your Song, Border Song, Daniel and Rocket Man, John had time to tell his audience how interested he was in the US political process, "because it affects the whole world".

He lashed out at what he identified as America's misogyny, saying: "I'm amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country. And I say to hell with them ... I love you Hillary, I'll be there for you."

The turnout suggested there is life in the Clinton campaign yet: the show raised $2.5m, compared to the $1.5m the campaign earned from her last musical soiree in October, when Elvis Costello marked her 60th birthday at New York's Beacon Theatre.

When she spoke herself, Clinton was unable to resist an obvious reference to the title of one of her star supporter's classic hits.

"What I want you to know," she said, "is I'm still standing, and I believe this country is worth fighting for."