The Rocket Man fires up again, this time with a little help from Dua Lipa and Pnau.
Elton John and fellow Brit Lipa join forces on “Cold Heart,” a mashup expertly created by Pnau, the Australian electronic music outfit of Peter Mayes and brothers Nick and Sam Littlemore.
The new cut has a slinky vibe, introduced into the mix by Pnau, and features a nuggety bassline and house beat. Over the top, John performs lyrics from his 1989 single “Sacrifice” and Lipa drops in with lines from Elton’s signature song from 1972, “Rocket Man.”
On paper, it reads as though it couldn’t work. On audio, it’s something else.
Elton and Lipa have much in common. They teamed up in March for his annual Oscar viewing party, where Lipa and John took turns duetting with each other’s songs, including his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Bennie and the Jets” and her Future Nostalgia deep cut “Love Again.” John was also one of the VIP guest stars on Lipa’s Studio 2054 livestream last year.
“Dua, I adore you,” John teased on Instagram ahead of the “Cold Heart” release, “and it has been an incredible experience making this together. I can’t wait for you all to hear it!”
Elton and Pnau have history, too. Back in 2012, Pnau remixed a collection of Elton’s classic songs for the album Good Morning to the Night. The unlikely collaboration was a hit, blasting to No. 1 in the U.K. for Elton’s first leader in 22 years, and Pnau’s first ever.
Pnau are high-fliers in their homeland, where they’ve snagged three ARIA Awards for best dance release. Nick Littlemore and Mayes are also founding members of Empire of the Sun.
The official music video for “Cold Heart” is due to drop at 8am ET.
Stream below.
