Britney Spears
She responds to duet success with Elton John
Britney Spears and Elton John have released a joint single, Hold Me Closer.
© Universal Music International
Britney Spears reacts to the iTunes chart success of her duet with Elton John, ‘Hold Me Closer’. You have “the best day ever”.
US pop star Britney Spears (40) and British superstar Sir Elton John (75) released their single “Hold Me Closer” on Friday (August 26). Not only is it the pair’s first duet, it’s also Spears’ first new song in around six years and the first song since her 13-year guardianship ended in November 2021.
The song immediately shot to number 1 on the iTunes charts in Germany, the USA and dozens of other countries. The singer reacted to this impressive success with a spontaneous Videos on Twitterin which she addressed John with the best British accent:
“Hello Sir Elton John, we’re number one in 40 countries,” she says, before exclaiming, “Holy sh…! I’m in the bath right now and I’m going to have the best day ever – and I hope you are fine.” John responded to Spears’ video: “Hey Britney!!! Thanks for the message. You made my day!!! I hope everyone is having the best day and dancing to our song!”
Sir Elton John: “I’m thrilled”
He himself already had the popularity of the song commented on Twitter. Captioning a clip of the song, he wrote: “I’m blown away by the response to ‘Hold Me Closer’. I wanted to make a fun, happy summer track and was over the moon when Britney Spears agreed to be a part of it! She really is an icon , one of the greatest pop stars of all time and I love her with all my heart. I hope you all enjoy it!” wrote John.
“Hold Me Closer” combines the chorus of John’s 1972 hit “Tiny Dancer” and the verses of his 1992 hit single “The One” into a fresh dance-pop production.
That’s how the duet came about
In an interview with The Guardian John shared how he helped Spears make her much-anticipated comeback.
When producer Andrew Watt finished remixing the song, they weren’t sure who would accompany Elton John on the track. Then John’s husband David Furnish (59) suggested taking Spears as a feature. “He said it would be wonderful if Britney Spears would join,” John told the newspaper. “And I said that’s a pretty great idea […] I’ve been following what happened to her for a long time.”
“She sang fantastically,” John enthused about the result. “Everyone said she couldn’t sing anymore. But she used to be brilliant, so I was sure she still could – and she could,” he continued, adding, “We gave her during the held her hand throughout the process and assured her that everything would work out.”