Britney Spears and Elton John release their duet “Hold Me Closer”.

Britney Spears and Elton John release their duet “Hold Me Closer”.

Pop legends Britney Spears and Elton John have released a new duet “Hold Me Closer”.

It became available on East Coast streaming services at midnight on Friday, and the official audio video debuted on John’s YouTube page with the simple message: “Elton John and Britney Spears’ new single, ‘Hold! Me Closer’, is now available!”

The duo has been teasing their collaboration for weeks now, with their official title announced on August 19, after announcing its availability in advance and previewing the cover art on August 8. The song’s title is based on the first three lines of the chorus. John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer”, which he co-wrote with his creative partner Bernie Taupin. crazy about the water album.

“Hold Me Close” marks one of Spears’ first major releases since her 2016 album. glory and the first new song since completing her 13-year conservatory.

In a series of tweets on August 24, just two days before the song’s release, Spears expressed her excitement about the song’s release. “Okie dokie… my first song in 6 years” wrote on twitter. “It’s great to be singing with one of the most elegant men of our time… @eltonofficial!!!! I’m a little overwhelmed… this is very important to me.”

John shared some previews of the song ahead of its release. This includes a video of him performing the song to a cheering crowd at La Guérite in Cannes, before sharing a lighter cut of the single with rose-and-firecracker-infused animation. Spears also posted a preview of the song on her Instagram account, but deleted it on Thursday night.

The duet is the latest collaboration to mark John’s back catalogue. Prior to his duet with Spears, he collaborated with Dua Lipa and PNAU on the 2021 release “Cold Heart”, which included elements of John’s 1972 hit “Rocket Man” as well as “Sacrifice”, “Kiss the Bride”. Where is Shoora?” “

While “Tiny Dancer” is arguably the most recognizable track on “Hold Me Closer” for a number of reasons, it also contains references to John’s 1992 song “The One” and 1976’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.

In an interview published on Thursday, John confirmed plans to continue these collaborations. The Guardian“I want to make a fun, happy summer record every year.”

The Grammy-winning musician also spoke about working with Spears, who recorded while on her honeymoon in Los Angeles with producer Andrew Watt. She revealed that her husband David Furnish had the specific idea of ​​working with Spears, with John calling it an “amazing idea”.

“Everyone said they thought I couldn’t sing anymore,” he said at one point in the interview. “But I said he was brilliant when he started, so I think he might. And he did, and I was very impressed.

Producer Watt described Spears as “really collaborative” and demanding in her vision for her half of the collaboration.

John shared that she “sang fantastically” and hopes the song will not only give her “a lot more confidence than she already has”, but also help her realize that “people really love her and care about her and want to be happy”. .”

“He’s been gone so long, there’s a lot of fear there because he’s been betrayed so many times and he hasn’t officially been in the public eye for that long,” he said, referring to his consummate conservatism. “We held his hand through the whole process and made sure everything would be okay.”


Source: Hollywood Reporter

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