Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

Brintey Spears and Elton John have released “Hold Me Closer,” a reimagined duet of the piano man’s 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

immortal tune, “Tiny Dancer.” The song is Spears’ first release since the termination of her conservatorship

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

in November of 2021 and her first new music release in six years. While the chorus is, of course, unmistakable,

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

the song has been completely overhauled into a breezy dance-pop song, with Spears and John duetting

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

gently on the verses and chorus and John adding trademark piano flourishes throughout. It’s an ideal 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

follow-up to his similar reinvention on “Cold Cold Heart” with Dua Lipa, released last summer and

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

featured on his “Lockdown Sessions” duets album, which essentially mashed up his songs 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

“Sacrifice” and “Rocket Man.” The duet was produced by Andrew Watt and Cirkut, who told Variety the 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

story of how it was conceived and ultimately put together, including the idea to interpolate another John

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

song, “The One.” “It hits Elton: What about ‘The One’ for the verses?” recalled Watt. “He starts singing it, 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

but he’s singing it a little different. We went through melodies together, and it’s the words and the

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

 vibe, but the melody is repurposed to work over the chords. We took the vocal from that and tweaked it. 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘The One’ are 20-something years apart, but they worked together unbelievably.”

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

Watt added, “He wanted to collaborate again with an artist and came up with the idea to have Britney 

Britney Spears and Elton John Finally Drop ‘Hold Me Closer’ Duet

on the record. … The fact that it came together and she wanted to do it and how she sounded on the