A legendary collaboration is officially on the way. Britney Spears and Elton John are set to release a duet.
Following weeks of rumors, John confirmed the partnership Monday on Instagram, posting a photo with a rose and rocket ship emoji under the words “Hold Me Closer.”
The title is a likely homage to the 75-year-old British artist’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer,” which features the line in the chorus, “Hold me closer, tiny dancer.”
A link to pre-save the new track has already been added to the British singer's social media bio.
The emojis in the post appear to be symbols for both artists. The rocket is likely referring to John, given one of his most popular songs and a film about him are both entitled "Rocketman."
The rose is a likely stand-in for Spears. Spears repeatedly referred to a cryptic endeavor called “Project Rose" in social media captions, leading to speculation from fans. Spears has been known to pose with roses. Given her association with the flower, the "Framing Britney Spears" documentary creators told Glamour they tried to incorporate roses as often as possible in the film.
Spears has not posted about the duet, which will mark her first new music in six years, and her first music since her conservatorship ended in Nov. 2021.
The popular early 2000s artist released her last studio album, “Glory,” in 2016. In May 2020, Spears dropped an alternative cover for that same album, after it hit number one in the iTunes charts.
John and Spears have not yet provided any additional details on the release of the upcoming arrangement — but Paris Hilton gave an early review.
After her DJ set at Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium last month, Paris Hilton said in an interview that she had heard Spears’ upcoming track.
“It’s going to be iconic. I just heard it a couple days ago in Ibiza and it’s insane,” Hilton said.
The song follows "Cold Heart," John's mega hit with pop star Dua Lipa from his August 2021 album "The Lockdown Sessions." Like the upcoming song "Hold Me Closer," John and Lipa's duet reimagined John's past work.
