Britney teams up with Elton for first new music since 2016

It feels as if the whole world has been embracing Britney Spears since the #FreeBritney movement began in 2019.

And finally freed from the 13-year conservatorship that ended last November, the pop superstar is now getting some support from Elton John — a music legend who knows how it feels to be still standing after years of struggles — on “Hold Me Closer,” her first newly recorded single since 2016.

The cross-generational collaboration between 40-year-old Spears and the 75-year-old Rocket Man — which dropped from the dream-duet heavens on Friday morning — is a radical reworking of John’s 1971 classic “Tiny Dancer.” Indeed, it’s such an extreme makeover that they gave the song it’s own new name taken from the original’s chorus. All together now, “Hold me closer, tiny dancer!”

While “Tiny Dancer” was an epic ballad that took your inner ballerina pirouetting across the keys in a fanciful flight, “Hold Me Closer” goes twirling directly under the disco ball with some thumping beats but also a light airiness that captures some of the graceful beauty of the original. 

Like John’s recent hit with Dua Lipa — “Cold Heart (Pnau remix),” which mashed up “Rocket Man” with a few of his other songs — “Hold Me Closer,” produced by Andrew Watt and Cirkut, also features elements of Elton’s “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”

And while their digitally altered voices sometimes blend into one another where you can hardly tell the difference, it’s great to hear the moments when Spears’ distinctive, much-missed chirp stands out.

And after the its initial futuristic electro-whirl, “Hold Me Closer” brings you back down to earth with John’s piano work at the end.

The beginnings of this collaboration go all the way back to 2015, when Spears professed her love for “Tiny Dancer” in a tweet. And now, after six long years away from music, this is hopefully just the start of the long-awaited Britney comeback.