Elton John sings Britney Spears collaboration to shocked diners at restaurant in Cannes

‘Hold Me Closer’ officially comes out on Friday 26 August

Elton John has given a sneak peek of his and Britney Spears’s new collaborative single “Hold Me Closer” at a restaurant in Cannes, France.

The forthcoming re-recorded version of the British singer’s 1971 hit song, “Tiny Dancer”, is set to release on Friday (25 August).

However, the music icon couldn’t resist sharing the track with patrons of French restaurant La Guérite on Tuesday (23 August).

John also streamed the occasion on Instagram. In the video, John can be seen approaching the restaurant’s DJ before the music changes to “Hold Me Closer”. The star proceeds to sing along with the song almost in its entirety, much the excitement of fans in the restaurant.

The song begins with Spears singing the first few lines from John’s track “The One” before she transitions to the well-known chorus of “Tiny Dancer”.

The new version contains more of an upbeat dance rhythm than the original, similar to that of Elton John and Dua Lipa’s 2021 collab “Cold Heart”, which interpolates John’s 1972 single “Rocket Man”.

Last month, it was reported that Spears, 40, and John, 75, met at a music studio in Beverly Hills to put a new spin on his 1971 hit.

The new single will be Spears’s first since being freed from the conservatorship that has controlled her life for over a decade. In November 2021, a judge ruled that the singer be given back control of her personal and financial independence for the first time since 2008.