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Elton John Praises Britney Spears' Vocals in 'Hold Me Closer' Collab
"Hold Me Closer" marks Spears' first new song in six years.
Britney’s back!
After a lengthy and very public conservatorship battle, Britney Spears has released her first song in six years, a collaboration with Elton John riffing on his iconic songs, “Tiny Dancer” and “The One.”
“Hold Me Closer” is already winning over fans with its perfect blend of dance groove and nostalgia, managing to feel brand new without burying the familiarity of something so well-loved.
But beyond the song itself, the story of Britney returning to music, and doing so on her own terms, has been deeply meaningful to the fans who have been rooting for her all this time. The fact that the song is actually fun makes it all the better, as do the positive things that John and producer Andrew Watt have to say about working with her.
“She was so prepared. She had spent time with the record and knew how she wanted to do it,” Watt told The Guardian. “She really pushed herself, vocally. Sometimes when you produce, the greatest thing in the world you can do is say nothing, so I just let her do her thing. She’s so good at knowing when she got the right take. She took complete control.”
His lengthy, detailed comments praising Spears as talented, professional, and extremely knowledgeable about her craft have waylaid any concerns some fans may have had about her returning to the recording studio.
John echoed that sentiment, adding: “She sang fantastically. Everyone was saying they don’t think she can sing anymore. But I said, she was brilliant when she started so I think she can. And she did it, and I was so thrilled with what she did.”
The collab was born out of John’s desire to make a “Tiny Dancer” remix for the summer, with his husband, David Furnish, suggesting Spears as the vocalist to breathe new life into the track. And the “Rocket Man” singer clearly felt strongly about making sure she was comfortable and confident with the decision after all she’s been through.
“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 realize that people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy,” he said. “That’s all anybody in their right mind would want after she went through such a traumatic time.”
You can check out the song below.
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Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
