Skip to main content

Home Culture Culture Film & TV

26 August 2022 8:35 AM

Fans react to Britney Spears and Sir Elton John’s ‘Hold Me Closer’ duet: ‘It’s perfect’

Sir Elton John has also spoken of supporting Britney through the collaboration, which is her first release since the end of her conservatorship.

By Emily Maskell

Words: Emily Maskell; pictures: Instagram/@britneyspears and Wiki Commons

The day has arrived: Britney Spears and Sir Elton John’s duet ‘Hold Me Closer’ is here to grace your ears. 

After years of no new music, fans and Elton John are over the moon to welcome back the icon and celebrate this formidable pop pairing.

In just a matter of hours following the track’s release, the song entered the top five on the US iTunes chart and currently sits at number one.

The disco-infused reimagining of John’s 1972 single ‘Tiny Dancer‘ and 1992’s ‘The One’ is said to have been John’s, 75, idea with Spears’, 40, recognisable vocals adding a spark to the song which is on track to be a hit.

The song is Spears’ first release since the termination of her 14-year conservatorship in November 2021 and her first new music release in six years, fans are overjoyed to welcome her back.

“It’s perfect,” wrote one listener on Twitter.  

“I really like Hold Me Closer, and even if I didn’t I would stream it repeatedly because she deserves it,” another wrote.

Someone else tweeted: “Wait this hold me closer song is so good wtf britney such a queen lol”

There had been rumours circulating that the pair were working on a collaboration earlier this year, but after the news was confirmed the pair seemingly couldn’t hold in their excitement with the ‘Your Song’ singer playing a snippet of the unreleased track in a Cannes restaurant. 

Ahead of the track’s release, he spoke about working with Britney, who recently tweeted about feeling “overwhelmed” with the track.

“We had to get her to approve what she did. She’s been away so long – there’s a lot of fear there because she’s been betrayed so many times and she hasn’t really been in the public eye officially for so long. We’ve been holding her hand through the whole process, reassuring her that everything’s gonna be alright,” he told The Guardian.

“I’m so excited to be able to do it with her because if it is a big hit, and I think it may be, it will give her so much more confidence than she’s got already and she will realise that people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy.”

John goes on to say “Britney was broken” after the “traumatic” experience she has lived over the years, which he adds is a feeling he too has lived through.

“Now I’ve got the experience to be able to advise people and help them because I don’t want to see any artists in a dark place,” John remarks.

The uplifting ‘Hold Me Closer‘ follows ‘Cold Heart‘, John’s 2021 duet with Dua Lipa, which combined his hits ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Sacrifice’, ‘Kiss the Bride’, and ‘Where’s the Shoorah?’

“I want to do one every year for a fun, happy summer record,” John told the Guardian.

The Attitude September/October issue is out now.

In This Article: