Elton John and Britney Spears are teaming up for a duet, which represents her first single release since a judge ended her 13-year conservatorship in November 2021.
The new track is called “Hold Me Closer” and will be produced by Grammy award-winning producer Andrew Watt, according to Billboard. John confirmed he collaborated with Spears on Monday in an Instagram post with an image of the “Hold Me Closer” title from his 1972 classic track. The song’s release date is not yet known.
Watt has worked with big names in the music industry, including Justin Bieber, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, 5 Seconds of Summer, Post Malone, Ozzy Osbourne, Miley Cyrus, and Dua Lipa, just to name a few.
Meanwhile, “Hold Me Closer” will be Spears’ first new release since her 2016 studio album “Glory.”
John teamed up with Dua Lipa for another similar collab in 2021 using one of his retro tracks, “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix).” The song reached number one on the adult contemporary chart and was John’s first U.K. number-one single in 16 years. It was also nominated for Song of the Year at the Brit Awards.
Spears has been more publicly active following the dissolution of her conservatorship, though not all the attention has been positive. The 40-year-old pop star wed longtime partner Sam Asghari earlier this summer. Spears’ two teenage sons did not attend the nuptials. Not long after, her ex-husband Kevin Federline claimed in an interview that the boys did not want to be around their mom.
“This whole thing has been hard to watch, harder to live through, harder to watch my boys go through than anything else,” Federline said of his ex-wife, per The Daily Wire. “It’s been tough. It’s the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
He also insinuated that Spears posting nude photos on Instagram is one major reason the teens have been avoiding their mom.
Spears responded to Federline on Instagram.
“It saddens me to hear that my ex husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children … As we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone … It concerns me the fact that the reason is based on my Instagram … it was LONG before Instagram,” Spears wrote.
“I gave them everything … Only one word: HURTFUL … I’ll say it … My mother told me ‘You should GIVE them to their dad’ … I’m sharing this because I can … Have a good day folks!!!”