Elton John reveals the unusual way he convinced Dua Lipa to collab
They released their song 'Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)' in August
Last updated 28th Oct 2021
In an exclusive chat between Hits Radio Breakfast's Fleur East and Sir Elton John, the music icon spoke about his new album 'The Lockdown Sessions' and got chatting about the amazing collaborations he did while creating the album.
Elton John and Dua Lipa collaborated to create their song 'Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)' which recently topped the Hits Radio UK Chart Show.
When asked how Dua Lipa ended up singing on the track, he told Fleur: "Pnau made Cold Heart, and they sent it to me and I thought this is great but we need someone to sing the Rocketman, 'I think it's gonna be a long, long time' cause I've sung it so many times."
Elton recently got to know the 'Love Again' singer and told us: "Dua Lipa, who I love, and who did our Oscar broadcast this year, I got to know her and love her and cherish her because she's so brilliant, humble, talented and professional. She happened to be in LA in May and we took her to dinner and we mentioned the track."
Elton told us about Dua Lipa's response, and explained that at the time the 'Levitating' singer working on her new album. She told Elton: "I'm coming to the end of the Future Nostalgia cycle, send it to me I'll see what I think."
Luckily, Elton managed to convince her to feature on the track: "David, my husband and manager said 'when you play it, play it by the pool loud'. And she was staying in Malibu, two days later she rang us from Malibu, by the pool and said, 'I'm in'. And you know, she gave the record the kick it needed."
Watch Elton John talk about his collab with Dua Lipa:
The song made it to Number 1 on The UK Chart Show on Hits Radio on the 17th October, and Elton spoke of the song's success: "It's turned into a really successful song for me. So I can't thank her enough."
WATCH: 'Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)' by Elton John and Dua Lipa:
Elton also talked about the variety of artists he worked with on the album: "She (Dua Lipa) starts the album off and then we go in to Young Thug and Nicki Minaj and you know there's so many different artists on this track it's not gonna be for everybody but someone's gonna like something on it, you know."
'The Lockdown Sessions' is out now and is available to stream and to order.
Take a look at Dua Lipa's best collaborations:
‘No Lie’ Sean Paul
Back in 2016, Dua collaborated with none other than Sean Paul to bring us the catchy 'No Lie', which quickly hit the UK Top 10.
‘Scared to Be Lonely’ with Martin Garrix
In 2017 the singer paired up with Dutch DJ Martin Garrix on 'Scared to Be Lonely'. The song went on to become one of the DJ's most popular singles, alongside bops such as 'Animals' and 'In the Name of Love'.
‘Lost in Your Light’ with Miguel
The singer joined forces with American superstar in 2017 with 'Lost in Your Light'. Miguel has worked with some huge names in the last, including Mariah Carey and J. Cole.
‘My Love’ with Wale, Major Lazer, Wizkid
American hip-hop artist Wale gathered huge stars including Dua, Major Lazer and Wizkid in 2017 to grace us with the boppy tune 'My Love'.
‘One Kiss’ with Calvin Harris
A collection of Dua Lipa's best collabs would not be complete without the iconic 'One Kiss'. Collaborating with the one and only Calvin Harris, it's safe to say this banger was the sound of the summer 2018! The tune was nominated, and won, multiple awards.
‘If Only’ Andrea Bocelli
Teaming up with this classical music legend in 2018, we were graced with the beautiful 'If Only'. Andrea has teamed up with others stars in the past, including Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding.
‘Electricity’ with Silk City
This big collab saw Dua combine efforts with electronic duo Silk City in 2018 with 'Electricity'. The duo is comprised of music giants Mark Ronson and Diplo, so it's no surprise this song was a real hit.
‘Sugar’ with Brockhampton
Released in 2020, Dua paired up with alternative hip-hop crew Brockhampton. The band are known for their popular tunes such as 'Sweet' and 'Bleach'.
'Prisoner' with Miley Cyrus
Dua and Miley was the collaboration we never knew we needed, until the pair dropped 'Prisoner' in November 2020! They'd been linked to be working on a collab since November 2019, but the song was confirmed by Miley in September, appearing on her album 'Plastic Hearts'.
'Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)' with Elton John
In 2021, as part of Elton John's 'The Lockdown Sessions' album, Dua Lipa paired up with the music legend to create 'Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)' which was released in August ahead of the full album release in October. The song made it to the top of the charts in October, and as of September 2024 was certified 4x Platinum in the UK.
'Sweetest Pie' with Megan Thee Stallion
Dua and rapper Megan Thee Stallion teamed up on 'Sweetest Pie'. This is their first collab together and it dropped on 11th March along with an eye-opening music video, with the concept created by Meg.
'Potion' with Calvin Harris
Dua Lipa and Calvin Harris teamed up for the second time, to release 'Potion' in May 2022. The pair, along with Young Thug, released the song on 27th May and it was immediately a hit with fans.
'Talk Talk' remix with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan
Following the revolutionary release of Charli XCX's sixth album 'Brat', which sparked the iconic 'Brat Summer', the singer began to release remixed versions of various tracks on the record - one of which was 'Talk Talk', featuring 'Rush' star Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa. Dua can be heard speaking Spanish on the track, which was released on 12th September 2024.
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