You won’t have to wait much longer to hear the Britney Spears and Elton John revamp of the Rocketman’s 1972 classic “Tiny Dancer.” After confirming earlier this month that the reworked song, “Hold Me Closer,” was in the works, John revealed on Friday (Aug. 19) that the tune will drop on Aug. 26.
The news was accompanied by a beyond cute side-by-side snap of both singers as children — Brit rocking a furry pink tutu and John, of course, jamming out at a piano in short pants and a blazer — as well as a more recent pic of them smiling together.
“Tiny Dancer,” originally included as part of John’s 1971 album Madman Across the Water, was released as a single in 1972 and peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has grown in stature through the years and is now regarded as one of Elton’s prime classics. In 2000, it was famously featured in a sing-along bus scene in Cameron Crowe’s film Almost Famous.
“Closer” will be Britney’s first new musical release since her 2016 album, Glory, but more important, it will mark her official return to music after the end of her contentious, 13-year conservatorship. Spears recently implied that she may be interested in making music again — this time, as a free woman — when she took to Instagram in July to share two videos of her singing her breakthrough 1998 hit song “…Baby One More Time” a cappella with some more adult lyrics, swapping out “give me a sign” in the chorus with “give me a f—ing sign.”
Check out the “Hold Me Closer” snaps below.
