For the first time ever, Britney Spears and Elton John have collaborated together to release a song titled Hold Me Closer. Although John has been putting out new music lately, including the 16-track 2021 album The Lockdown Sessions, the song is Spears’ first, since her 2016 album Glory and her first release since the end of her disputed conservatorship.
The duet is a remake of his popular song Tiny Dancer. According to Kworb, the track topped iTunes sales in 30 nations within hours of its online release, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Israel, and Sweden.
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Who is Elton John?
Sir Elton Hercules John is a British pianist, songwriter, and performer. John, who gained the moniker “the Rocket Man” following his popular song of the same name from 1972, has had a long and successful solo career, releasing 31 albums since 1969.
Elton John was born on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England. When he was born, his name was Reginald Kenneth Dwight; which he legally changed to Elton Hercules John on January 7, 1972. John started playing the piano at a young age and, by 1962, had started the blues band Bluesology, which he remained a part of until 1967.
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It was then when he first met Bernie Taupin, a lifelong musical collaborator with whom he has had a long and fruitful relationship. John released his first album, Empty Sky, in 1969. His first top ten single, Your Song, was then released in 1970. When John released a string of #1 albums in the US and UK, starting with Honky Château (1972) and ending with Rock of the Westies (1975), his critical success peaked in the 1970s.
Throughout his six-decade career in music, John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Among the best-selling albums globally are his 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and his 1974 compilation album Greatest Hits. The best-selling chart single of all time is his tribute record Candle in the Wind 1997, a revised version of his 1974 track dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales. It has sold over 33 million copies worldwide.
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He has also found success as a composer for theatre productions of Aida and Billy Elliot the Musical as well as musical movies like The Lion King. Me, John’s autobiography, was released in the year 2019. His life and musical career were dramatised in the biopic Rocketman that same year. Among many other honours, John has won five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor.
John has been active in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s and raises money for HIV/AIDS charities outside of the music industry. In 1992, after the passings of Freddie Mercury and Ryan White, John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 1976, John declared himself to be bisexual, and he has been out as gay since 1988. In 2005, he and Canadian director David Furnish entered into a civil partnership; they later were married after same-sex unions were made legal in England and Wales in 2014.
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He is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors and was admitted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his contributions to music and humanitarian work.
