Britney Spears' new single "Hold Me Closer" with Elton John is her first new music since 2016, and it's being embraced by fans and by radio. Elton says its success has gone a long way toward not just helping Britney heal but helping her "defrost."
Speaking to Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe, Elton says Britney was "very reticent" at first about joining him for the track, which mashes up his hits "Tiny Dancer," "The One" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." But, he notes, "She did it so well and so easily...she came through it with flying colors."
Elton says he hasn't spoken to Britney since the song came out, but he says they have emailed and also reveals that she sent him and his husband, David Furnish, "a beautiful gift."
"It's all new for her. She hasn't been in the charts for a long time, but she's warming up, she's defrosting, as I say, and she's having a great time," Elton says.
And while he admits that he doesn't "know when I'm going to see her or when I'm going to talk to her next," he believes, "It doesn't really matter."
"The more the record does, the more it will help her heal," he points out. "And she will realize that people are so fond of her and that they have missed her. They feel for her."
Elton tells Zane that when he wraps up the U.S. leg of his farewell tour with three shows at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium in November. "There'll be some surprises on the last show and maybe some other shows as well," he says. Dare we hope that Britney will join him onstage to sing the song live? Fingers crossed.