Elton John shares official music video for 'Hold Me Closer'
The song is a remix of his classic 'Tiny Dancer' track
After releasing the re-recorded version of his classic track 'Tiny Dancer' on 26th August, Sir Elton John has now shared the official music video for 'Hold Me Closer'. The song was created with 90s pop icon Britney Spears, and was shared with a visualiser video, with an animation of a rocket taking off from a field of roses.
The official music video was created by director Tanu Muino and was filmed in Mexico City. The video shows various dancers coming together and embracing in different ways. Speaking about the video, he said: "Going into this video, I knew there would be a lot of emotional expectations the audience and fans would have. With this responsibility, I had to do something different and unexpected. The visuals had to be different. The dance had to be forward-thinking to raise eyebrows and make Elton and Britney proud."
Sharing a clip of the music video when it was released on 27th September, Elton wrote: 'Check out the stunning dance video for ‘Hold Me Closer’, shot in Mexico City by the award-winning director @tanumuino beautifully capturing an immeasurable feeling of intimacy so missing from the world through the turmoil and chaos of recent times.'
Watch the official music video for 'Hold Me Closer' by Elton John and Britney Spears:
When was 'Hold Me Closer' announced?
On 8th August Elton confirmed that the song would get its official release on 26th August, after clips of it had previously been leaked.
Along with the audio, which features parts of the beloved song 'Tiny Dancer' as well as new elements like Britney Spears' easily recognisable vocals, an accompanying animation of a rocket taking off from a field of roses was released.
Watch the 'Hold Me Closer' visualiser video:
Elton said of the new track: "I am absolutely thrilled to have had the chance to work with Britney Spears; She truly is an icon, one of the all-time great pop stars and she sounds amazing on this record. I love her dearly and am delighted with what we've created together."
Britney added: "I was so honoured when the incredible Sir Elton John asked me to join him on one his most iconic songs. We are so excited for the fans to hear it! Thank you, Elton, for having me! I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to work with you and your legendary mind."
Has Elton John performed 'Hold Me Closer'?
Ahead of the song's official release, Elton surprised fans with a performance of the song while at a restaurant in Cannes. While the DJ played the track, Elton sang along to his parts of the song and the crowd gathered around to watch the sneak preview.
In the lead up to the song coming out, the 'Rocket Man' singer also took to Instagram to share two photos, one is a side-by-side photo of Britney and Elton as kids, with the second a photo of the pair now.
He simply captioned the photos with the release date and song's name: 'August 26 #HoldMeCloser 🌹🚀'.
Following Elton's post, fans of the singers, including several celebrities commented. Kylie Minogue wrote: 'Beyond!!! 💖', and a fan wrote: 'COMING FOR #1'.
How did the Elton John and Britney Spears collaboration come about?
Opening up to Fleur East on our sister station Hits Radio, Elton told how it was ultimately his manager and husband David Furnish who had the idea, although he had worked with producer Andrew Watt on the idea of combining two of his classic songs 'Tiny Dancer' and 'The One'."
"We had the idea for the song, Andy Watt (producer) had the idea of doing ‘Tiny Dancer’ and then I put ‘The One’ in front of ’Tiny Dancer’, so we had two songs going into each other, bit like 'Cold Heart' with Dua," Elton explained.
"And then, it was David, my manager and husband, who said ‘how about Britney Spears doing it?’ and I went ‘you know what, that’s one of the most brilliant ideas ever!’ No one would have thought of Britney and you know, we’ve been kind of in a Britney bubble, because we’ve watched the documentary, and been following what’s happened to her.
"I said, I’d love her to do it, because a) I’d love to sing with her and b) I think it would be good for her, you know, it would be tremendously good for her. So, we approached her, and I think she was a little nervous, but she went into the studio in LA with Andrew, and she sang brilliantly, and the result is ‘Hold Me Closer’, so it all worked out, and I’m happy because she’s gotten back to… this is about music, it’s not personal life, it’s music."
Take a look through some of Elton John's best collaborations:
'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' - Kiki Dee
'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' proved to be a career defining duet as it was both Elton John and Kiki Dee's first Number 1 single in the UK, making it into the charts in 1976.
Listen on YouTube.
'That's What Friends Are For' - Dione Warwick, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder
This classic track brought together the iconic musicians Elton John, Dione Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder and went on to win Grammy awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. Released in 1985, this charity single also helped raise money for funding AIDS research.
Listen on YouTube.
'Through the Storm' - Aretha Franklin
Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin released her 32nd studio album 'Through the Storm' in 1984, and Elton John joined her on the title track.
Listen on YouTube.
'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' - George Michael
Elton John and George Michael performed Elton's hit song 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' at Live Aid in 1985. This duet version was a huge success and was released as a single in 1991, which peaked at Number 2 on the UK Charts.
Watch them sing it live on YouTube.
'The Power' - Little Richard
Rock 'n' Roll musician Little Richard was a big musical influence for Elton, so when he was making his 1993 album 'Duets', he reached out to collaborate on the gospel track 'The Power'
Listen on YouTube.
'Makin’ Whoopee' - Rod Stewart
Elton and Rod Stewart teamed up to create jazz song 'Makin' Whoopee' in 2005. The song was originally sung in 1928 by Eddie Cantor and has been covered numerous times since its release. Rod also went on to cover Elton's 'Your Song' in 1991.
Listen on YouTube.
'Face To Face' - Gary Barlow
Elton joined Gary Barlow on his 2013 track 'Face to Face'. The duet was a long time coming as they have been friends for years. Elton was also a huge influence on Gary's career, with Gary saying that he started playing piano because of Elton.
Listen on YouTube.
'(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again' - Taron Egerton
Taron Egerton starred as Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman, and Elton wrote the song '(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again' for the film. The pair sang the song together and it went on to win an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Listen on YouTube.
'Ordinary Man' - Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne's title track 'Ordinary Man' from his 2020 album featured Elton who plays piano and sings on the track. The album got to Number 3 on the UK Chart.
Listen on YouTube.
'Finish Line' - Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder and Elton John have been friends for many years and worked together on 'That's What Friends Are For' with Gladys Knight and Dionne Warwick, and Stevie also played the harmonica for Elton's 'I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues'.
Although they have worked together in the past, the first duet they did together was 'Finish Line' on Elton's 'The Lockdown Sessions' album in 2021. Speaking about working with Stevie, Elton said it was a "real honour".
Listen on YouTube.
'Stolen Car' - Stevie Nicks
As part of his 'The Lockdown Sessions' album, Stevie Nicks joined the star-studded line-up to create 'Stolen Car' with Elton. Although the pair have been friends for a long time, this was the first time they had created a song together.
Listen on YouTube.
'It's A Sin' - Years & Years
Originally released by The Pet Shop Boys, Elton John and R&B singer Years & Years performed their rendition of 'It's A Sin' at the 2021 BRIT Awards.
Watch their BRITs performance on YouTube.
'Cold Heart (PNAU remix)' - Dua Lipa
In 2021, Elton John asked pop singer Dua Lipa to sing the vocals on his new track 'Cold Heart (PNAU remix)' which was part of his incredible collaborations album 'The Lockdown Sessions'. The song went to Number 1 in the UK Charts and stayed there for 29 weeks, and after three years was certified 4x Platinum.
Listen on YouTube.
'Merry Christmas' - Ed Sheeran
Elton's friendship with Ed dates way back to their joint performance at the Grammys in 2013. Since then, the pair have become great mates, and finally collaborated on 2021 festive hit 'Merry Christmas' which went to Number 1 in the UK. Proceeds from the song went to their respective charities - the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation. They later worked with charitable Internet personality LadBaby on a reworked version entitled 'Sausage Rolls For Everyone', of which proceeds went to food bank charity The Trussell Trust.
Listen on YouTube.
'Hold Me Closer' - Britney Spears
In 2022, Elton followed up his 'Cold Heart (PNAU remix)' with a remix of his track 'Tiny Dancer'. The song is called 'Hold Me Closer' and features Britney Spears' vocals.
Listen on YouTube.
Glastonbury 2023 - Jacob Lusk, London Community Gospel Choir, Stephen Sanchez, Brandon Flowers and Rina Sawayama
Elton brought out a whole host of new collaborators for his performance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023. Throughout his 21-song set, Elton performed 'Are You Ready for Love' with Gabriels singer and American Idol star Jacob Lusk, as well as the London Community Gospel Choir who additionally joined him for 'Sad Songs (Say So Much)'. He later brought out US singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez to accompany him on his own song, 'Until I Found You', sang 'Tiny Dancer' with The Killers' Brandon Flowers and duetted with Rina Sawayama for 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'.
Although Elton John is best-known for his hits throughout the last five decades, he has had recent success with his 'The Lockdown Sessions' album. The record included the song 'Cold Heart (Pnau remix)' which became Elton's first Number 1 in 16 years and was nominated for a BRIT Award, but lost out to Adele's 'Easy On Me'.
The iconic singer is also on his 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour', having already performed in the UK this year, he will be returning next year for his final dates.
You can hear songs by Elton John on Greatest Hits Radio.
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