Elton John is a timeless queer performer. He continues to prove this by reinvigorating his classic hits with a dance twist and dueting them with this generation’s pop royalty. Now, he’s officially back at it again with the “Princess of Pop” Britney Spears.

With her first music since 2016’s Glory, Spears is back and giving her fans exactly what they’re looking for – another pop hit. And she came out swinging with a duet with John called “Hold Me Closer”. The song is an amalgamation of repurposed songs “Tiny Dancer”, “The One”, and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, all classic hits from John. 

This repurposing formula served John well, when he did this with pop star Dua Lipa for their smash hit “Cold Heart”. The song served as the lead single from John’s album The Lockdown Sessions and was a reworking of John’s songs “Rocket Man”, “Sacrifice”, “Kiss the Bride”, and “Where’s the Shoorah?”. The pop hit made John the first artist to obtain a top 10 hit in the UK in six different decades.

John is known for his high-profiled collaborations with several popular artists, including Lil Nas X, Rina Sawayama, Olly Alexander, Charlie Puth, and Lady Gaga. And what started as a conversation with his husband, David Furnish, ended in a collaboration with the fellow pop icon.

“He said it would be wonderful for Britney Spears to do it,” John said in an interview for The Guardian. “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”.

The world was excited for Spears’ return to music and so was she. Not to mention, she was a bit starstruck from making music with John.

“Hold Me Closer” also marks Spears’ first foray into new music since the end of her 13-year conservatorship. Various campaigns and protests throughout the years have dedicated themselves to advocating for the 40-year old entertainer’s freedom. Now that she has it, being reticent about making a return to music is understandable, especially when she can make it on her own terms.

“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”, said the “Rocket Man” singer. “That’s all anybody in their right mind would want after she went through such a traumatic time”. 

And the pop icon is right, as the the love for Spears’ return to music keeps pouring out.

These two queer icon’s latest song “Hold Me Closer” below.

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