After her 13-year-long conservatorship was formally ended in November last year, the princess of pop Britney Spears is back with new music today—and she’s enlisted none other than fellow pop icon Elton John to do it with her. Together, the two stars have released “Hold Me Closer”—a contemporary take on John’s 1971 song, “Tiny Dancer.”
It’s Spears’s first musical project since regaining her freedom, and given her most recent new material was found on her 2016 album Glory, it’s safe to say her fans (the Britney Army, which this writer is a longtime and devoted member of) are pumped. First, a glorious wedding to husband Sam Asghari—now new music, too? America’s southern sweetheart is thriving, y’all!
So enough talking about it: I’m here to react to the new song in real-time. Join me and have a listen, won’t you? Below, find 13 thoughts I had while listening to Britney Spears and Elton John’s “Hold Me Closer.”
1. “Oh, babyyyyy.” This is how Britney opens the song—a perfect nod to her first smash hit, “Baby One More Time.”
2. The song has a steady, smooth disco beat; the type you could dance slowly to all night long without ever getting tired of it. I just need a dance floor and some bellbottoms!
3. Britney and Elton are singing together at the same time—a true duet. Their voices, surprisingly, jive very well together, despite their stylistic differences.
4. I love that Britney’s using her lower register in the bridge. Her true voice! There have been rumors that the pop star has been forced by her label to sing in a high-pitched baby voice for years; It’s refreshing to see her return to her lower range, which was more prominent in her earlier work.
5. The hook is definitely a modern take on Elton’s original 1971 chorus, “Hold me closer, tiny dancer.” It’s probably no coincidence that it reminds me of the groovier take on “Cold Heart” that John and Dua Lipa recently did.
6. Elton’s sounding real good here, too. The man’s been in show business for six decades and, somehow, the passage of time doesn’t seem to affect those signature pipes.
7. There’s something about Britney’s voice and a dance track that just go extremely well together—like red wine and a basket of bread. She does things with her vocal tone that all the other pop girlies simply can’t. That’s why she’s the true princess of pop.
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