We’re now just a few days from Britney Spears’ musical return, as she and Elton John are releasing their new collaboration, “Hold Me Closer,” this Friday, August 26. Now, we know what the song sounds like, as John just gave it a surprise premiere at a small DJ gig in France.
Today, French DJ Johny//Be (real name Jonathan Bellone) was spinning tunes at the La Guérite restaurant on Île Sainte-Marguerite (an island about half a mile from Cannes, France), playing songs for a relatively small crowd in a tented area. John popped up and was handed a microphone as he waited for the currently playing song to end. Shortly after, Bellone transitioned into the start of “Hold Me Closer,” which kicks off with a subdued version of the classic “Tiny Dancer” chorus before transitioning into a funky, disco-inspired verse sung by Spears.
John sang over the recording, so Spears’ voice couldn’t really be clearly heard, or at least not with another voice singing over it. All in all, the song sounds not unlike “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” the Dua Lipa-featuring single from last August that mashes up a number of John classics (“Rocket Man,” most notably). The tune ended up becoming a top-10 hit for John in the US, so perhaps “Hold Me Closer” will land Spears back near the top of the charts, too.
John broadcast this moment on Instagram Live and later shared the whole performance as an Instagram post, writing, “Sneak peak of Hold Me Closer – out this Friday.” Bellone also shared clips of it on Instagram, so check those out above and below.
https://twitter.com/bwitneys/status/1562079564125323264
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChmunhpD7cS/
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
