Elton John Opens Up About Helping Britney Spears Return to Music: 'There's a Lot of Fear There'
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Elton John is speaking out about working with Britney Spears on their throwback duet "Hold Me Closer."
In an interview with The Guardian published Thursday, John, 75, said that when producer Andrew Watt initially finished the song's remix, which includes extracts from 1971's "Tiny Dancer" and 1992's "The One," they were unsure about who could join him on the track.
John said the idea to bring in Spears, 40, then came from his husband, David Furnish.
"He said it would be wonderful for Britney Spears to do it," John told the outlet. "I said, that's a pretty amazing idea. She hadn't done anything for so long. I'd been following what's been happening to her for a long time."
Spears agreed but was unable to join John in London to record the track because she was on her honeymoon with new husband Sam Asghari. So instead, the "Toxic" singer recorded at Watt's studio in Los Angeles – finishing the vocals in less than two hours, per The Guardian.
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getty (2) Britney Spears and Elton John
"She sang fantastically," John said. "Everyone was saying they don't think she can sing anymore. But I said, she was brilliant when she started so I think she can. And she did it, and I was so thrilled with what she did."
Watt said of her performance on the track, "The song meant so much to her, and you can hear it in her vocal performance. She's singing her ass off."
The producer told the outlet that he was pretty hands-off once Spears started recording her parts saying, "she's so good at knowing when she got the right take. She took complete control."
Despite this, the outlet added that the "Oops!… I Did It Again" singer still needed some convincing to go ahead with the song's release.
"We had to get her to approve what she did," said John. "She's been away so long – there's a lot of fear there because she's been betrayed so many times and she hasn't really been in the public eye officially for so long. We've been holding her hand through the whole process, reassuring her that everything's gonna be alright."
Michael Kovac/Getty Britney Spears and Elton John
He continued, "I'm so excited to be able to do it with her because if it is a big hit, and I think it may be, it will give her so much more confidence than she's got already and she will realize that people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy. That's all anybody in their right mind would want after she went through such a traumatic time."
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John, who has been sober for 32 years, has stepped in as a mentor of sorts for many artists who've needed a helping hand, The Guardian noted, and with Spears, it was no different.
"It's hard when you're young. Britney was broken. I was broken when I got sober. I was in a terrible place. I've been through that broken feeling and it's horrible," John said. "Luckily enough, I've been sober for 32 years and it's the happiest I've ever been. Now I've got the experience to be able to advise people and help them because I don't want to see any artists in a dark place."
INTERSCOPE RECORDS Britney Spears, Elton John "Hold Me Closer" Single Cover
Ahead of the song's release Friday, Spears took to Twitter to reflect on the upcoming milestone, as her "first song in 6 years."
"It's pretty damn cool that I'm singing with one of the most classic men of our time … @eltonofficial," she wrote. "I'm kinda overwhelmed… it's a big deal to me !!! I'm meditating more 🧘🏼♀️ and learning my space is valuable and precious !!!"
John told the outlet, "... I'm just crossing my fingers that this will restore her confidence in herself to get back into the studio, make more records, and realize that she is bloody good."
