Elton John and Britney Spears bound in at No. 1 on Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Sept. 10) with “Hold Me Closer.” It’s just the third song to debut at the summit since the chart began in January 2013, following Lady Gaga’s “Stupid Love” in March 2020 and Drake’s “Falling Back” this July.
“Closer” is the second topper for both John and Spears, as well as John’s second top 10 and Spears’ third. John’s first leader, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa, spent 36 weeks at No. 1 from October 2021 through this June (the chart’s second-longest reign, after Marshmello and Bastille’s “Happier”: 69 weeks, 2018-20). Spears previously led with “Scream & Shout,” with will.i.am, for the chart’s first five weeks and hit No. 4 with “Work B**ch!” in October 2013.
Spears rewrites the mark for the longest span between Hot Dance/Electronic Songs No. 1s, with nine years, six months and two weeks separating the final frame on top for “Scream & Shout” and the coronation of “Closer.” Previously, Lady Gaga held that distinction, with exactly six years and six months between the third and last week No. 1 for “Applause” in September 2013 and the arrival of “Stupid Love.”
“Closer” collected 20.9 million in radio airplay audience, 11.1 million official streams and 48,000 sold in the U.S. in its first week (Aug. 26-Sept. 1), according to Luminate. It also initiates at No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs, where it’s John’s second topper and Spears’ first, and Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, marking John’s second No. 1 and Spears’ third. Plus, “Closer” enters the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart at No. 27.
As previously reported, “Closer” soars onto the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 at No. 6 (and at Nos. 1, 17 and 31 on Digital Song Sales, Streaming Songs and Radio Songs, respectively), becoming John’s 29th top 10 and Spears’ 14th. The mash-up blends the chorus of his 50-year-old “Tiny Dancer” and the verses of his 30-year-old “The One.” It also includes elements of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” his four-week 1976 Hot 100 No. 1 with Kiki Dee.
New ‘Blue’
John and Spears aren’t the only twosome to debut in the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top five with a reimagined hit. David Guetta and Bebe Rexha begin at No. 5 with “I’m Good (Blue),” which interpolates Eiffel 65‘s “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” which reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 2000.
Guetta adds his 18th Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top 10, the fourth-most in the chart’s history, after Kygo (23), The Chainsmokers (22) and Calvin Harris (20). Plus, “Blue” is Guetta’s record-extending 69th total charted title. Rexha notches her fifth top 10.
The song starts with 5.2 million streams and 9,400 sold, as it enters Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (No. 2) and Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (No. 6). In addition to “Closer” and “Blue,” Kordhell hits the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top 10 for the first time with “Murder in My Mind” (11-10). The track gained by 5% to 2.9 million streams.
‘Down’ Up to No. 1
On the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Alok, Ella Eyre and Kenny Dope dart 3-1 with “Deep Down,” featuring Never Dull. The first leader for all four acts, the track contains prominent samples of dance classics The Bucketheads’ “The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind),” which topped the Dance Club Songs chart in 1995, and Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless),” which led Dance Club Songs in 1991.
Stations digging “Deep” include SiriusXM’s BPM, Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel and iHeartRadio’s Evolution Network, among others. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)
Plus, Canadian DJ duo Loud Luxury leaps to its fourth Dance/Mix Show Airplay top 10 with “These Nights,” featuring Swedish singer KIDDO, who adds her second (14-7), while Dutch trance king Armin van Buuren achieves his 10th top 10 and featured Swedish singer Maia Wright notches her second with “One More Time” (11-8).
