Britney Spears Appears Elated Over ‘Hold Me Closer’ Success, Earning Praise From Elton John

Britney is back! Britney Spears shared her excitement over her newly released Elton John duet, “Hold Me Closer,” in an Aug. 26 social media video. “Hello Sir Elton John, we are, like, number one in 40 countries,” she says to the camera, speaking in a British accent, before shouting, “Holy s—!”

Spears added, “I’m in the tub right now, and I’m about to go have the best day ever.”The clip was reposted by John, 75, on his Instagram page with the caption, “Hey Britney!! Thank you for this message. You’ve made my day!! Hope everyone has the best day dancing to our song!”

“Hold Me Closer” marks the return of Spears, 40, to pop music after a six-year hiatus and the end of her 13-year conservatorship. The track is a mashup of John’s 1972 hit “Tiny Dancer” with his 1992 smash “The One.” The singing star delivers an updated version of John’s lyrics on the club-friendly track.

Spears thanked John earlier this week for including her in the song. “Since most say they are honored TO KNOW ME SO WELL and only want happiness for me … you can bet your bottom dollar that THIS collaboration will heighten my year by joining your brilliant hands of play,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for your generosity and just thinking of me to join you on such a brilliant song! How cool is it to be a background voice ON YOUR song! Sir Elton I did it thanks to your genius, creative, and legendary mind !!! I am so grateful !!!”

According to an Aug. 25 interview with The Guardian, John, 75, initially wasn’t sure who could join him on the remix, which includes extracts from 1971’s “Tiny Dancer” and 1992’s “The One.” His husband, David Furnish, suggested bringing in Spears.”He said it would be wonderful for Britney Spears to do it,” John told the outlet. “I said, that’s a pretty amazing idea. She hadn’t done anything for so long. I’d been following what’s been happening to her for a long time.”

Due to her honeymoon with husband Sam Asghari, Spears could not join John in London for the recording. The “Gimme More” singer ended up recording her vocals at producer Andrew Watt’s Los Angeles studio within a couple of hours, per The Guardian. “She sang fantastically,” John said. “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.”

Spears still needed some convincing to release the song, the outlet noted. “We had to get her to approve what she did,” said John. “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 continued, “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. That’s all anybody in their right mind would want after she went through such a traumatic time.”