Britney Spears to return to music with new Elton John collaboration ‘Hold Me Closer’

Britney Spears and Elton John have announced they are releasing a new song, “Hold Me Closer”.

The track is a new version of John’s song “Tiny Dancer”, which the pair worked on at a “super-secret” recording session in Los Angeles in July.

Last month, it was reported that Spears, 40, and John, 75, met at a music studio in Beverly Hills to put a new spin on his 1971 hit.

On Monday (8 August), John shared an image on his official Instagram of a rose and rocket emoji with the words “hold me closer”.

The track is being produced by Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt and is scheduled for release by Universal Music in August. It can be pre-saved here.

The duet was “Elton’s idea and Britney is a huge fan,” Page Six previously reported, citing an industry insider.

“Britney was in the studio in Beverly Hills last week with Elton for the super-secret recording session overseen by uber-producer Andrew Watt,” a source told the publication, adding that Spears and John have already “played it for people at their record label and everybody is freaking out”.

Watt has previously worked with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Pearl Jam.

“It is so good,” the source reportedly said, adding that the duet is touted to be “the song of the summer”.

The new single will be Spears’s first since being freed from the conservatorship that has controlled her life for over over a decade. In November 2021, a judge ruled that the singer be given back control of her personal and financial independence for the first time since 2008.

Earlier this month, Spears shared a video of herself singing her 1998 hit “Baby One More Time” with altered lyrics.

Spears’ last album Glory, which was released in 2016, was praised by critics and fans. At the time, Glory became Spears’ highest-charting album since her 2007 comeback album, Blackout.

Spears recently married long-time partner Sam Asghari in an intimate ceremony at her home in Los Angeles.