Britney Spears has scored her first top 10 hit in a decade as her single with Elton John debuted at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
The hitmaker’s song Hold Me Closer has landed at number six on the US chart, marking her 14th entry in the top 10.
Hold Me Closer – a reimagining of Elton’s hits Tiny Dancer and The One – was released on August 26 and has also reached number three in the UK.
Success: Britney Spears has scored her first top 10 hit in a decade as her single with Elton John debuted at number six on the Billboard Hot 100
The song also shot straight to the top of the iTunes chart in over 40 countries while Britney’s attorney Mathew Rosengart said he was thrilled to see his client has returned to work.
He told Page Six: ‘No one should be surprised that her first foray [since ended] is a smash success.’
In an interview with The Guardian, Elton told how he hopes the song will help Britney realise how much support there is for her in the wake of her conservatorship battle.
He said: ‘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.’
Hit: The hitmaker’s song Hold Me Closer has landed at number six on the US chart, marking her 14th entry in the top 10
Britney’s most recent Billboard top 10 hit prior to Hold Me Closer was Scream & Shout, her duet with Will.i.am in 2013.
Elton recently revealed how his collaboration with Britney came about, explaining how his husband David Furnish first suggested he team up with the singer.
Speaking to Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston on Tuesday’s edition of Heart Breakfast, the music icon said he was keen to ‘help boost Britney’s confidence’ and hopes the duet ‘will be the momentum’ for Britney to record new music.
Amanda asked Elton if it’s ‘true that your David thought to do the collab with Britney to boost her confidence?’
Elton replied: ‘Yes, absolutely. He told me, he said listen, ‘Why don’t we do it with Britney” and I went…’wow, that’s a bit left field, what a brilliant idea’.
‘A) I would love to help her and get her back to recording and b) I know she can sing and she hasn’t had anything out since 2016.’
‘She went into the studio in LA with Andrew Watt and put her voice on and did it brilliantly and everybody seemed to love it,’ he added.
Duet: Elton revealed how his collaboration with Britney came about, explaining how his husband David Furnish first suggested his team up (pictured in 2013)
Elton said that he was ‘so happy for her, because it’s got her back to what she’s famous for, being a singer and an artist.’
He admitted he thought Britney has ‘had such a horrible time in the last 20 odd years with various things that have gone off with her and she’s been treated so badly,’ referring to her controversial conservatorship which she was finally liberated from last year.
‘I thought this will give her a bit of a fillip as it were, and I know she’s so excited to be back in the charts, back on the radio charts. Hopefully it will be the momentum that’s necessary to get her to record again.’
Working together: Speaking to Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston on Tuesday’s edition of Heart Breakfast, the music icon said he was keen to ‘help boost Britney’s confidence’
Jamie and Amanda pointed out that Elton has a history of helping younger artists, with the icon reminiscing about how he aided Robbie Williams in his post-Take That solo career.
‘Robbie used to come down here when he left Take That and we used to sit in the car outside because that was the best, it sounded great in the car, and he used to play all his demos and his recordings and it was great fun.
‘I always help to try and encourage people especially if they have a lot of talent and I like them, and that’s what I tend to do a lot now.
‘And it keeps me happy, it keeps me on my toes, and it’s just wonderful to be with these younger people and get this energy from them because they have an energy, that at 75, I’ve got a lot of energy but it’s not the same when your 25.’
‘The adrenaline is different so I get a lot of stuff from young artists and I love being around them.’
Listen to Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden weekdays from 06:30 – 10:00 and on Global Player
More music to come? Elton said that he was ‘so happy for her, because it’s got her back to what she’s famous for, being a singer and an artist’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk