Britney Spears returns to music with Elton John with “Hold me Closer”
Elton John and Britney Spears have released “Hold Me Closer,” a reimagined duet of the piano man’s immortal “Tiny Dancer.” The song is Spears’ first release since her conservatorship ended in November 2021, and her first new music release in six years.
While the chorus remains undeniably catchy, the song has been completely reworked into a breezy dance-pop song, with Spears and John duetting gently on the verses and chorus and John adding trademark piano flourishes throughout. It’s the perfect follow-up to his similar reimagining of “Cold Cold Heart” with Dua Lipa, which was released last summer and featured on his “Lockdown Sessions” duets album, which essentially mashed up his songs “Sacrifice” and “Rocket Man.”
Andrew Watt and Cirkut produced the duet, telling Variety how it was conceived and ultimately put together, including the idea to interpolate another John song, “The One.” “It hits Elton: ‘The One’ for the verses?” Watt recalled. “He begins to sing it, but he sings it a little differently. We worked on melodies together, and it’s the words and vibe, but the melody has been repurposed to work over the chords. We took the vocals from that and changed them slightly. ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘The One’ are 20 years apart, but they worked so well together. “
“He wanted to collaborate with an artist again and came up with the idea of having Britney on the record,” Watt continued. You couldn’t make it up, how it all came together, how she wanted to do it, and how she sounded on the record. She added so much of her personality to the record, with all of her ad-libs, runs, and soulfulness. “
Since the conclusion of her 13-year conservatory, fans have speculated on whether Spears would want to return to the studio and the stage. Spears recorded new music, went on tour, and held a Las Vegas residency while under her conservatorship, which lasted from 2008 to 2021. When she testified in court, however, the singer claimed that she was forced to work against her will.
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