Music icons Britney Spears and Elton John released the music video for “Hold Me Closer (Acoustic Version)” on November 18 with a winter wonderland setting featuring Olympic gold medalist, Nathan Chen. 

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Worldwide Pop Icons

Elton John is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time with over 300 million records sold worldwide. Elton also holds the record for the biggest selling single of all time, “Candle in the Wind 1997” in America, and has over 50 Top 40 hits. Elton has many popular hits like “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” to “I’m Still Standing” and “Rocket Man” which also gained a film by the same name featuring Taron Egerton in a biopic as Elton John himself. Elton has just re-released his “Diamond: The Ultimate Greatest Hits,” a compilation of John’s best and biggest hits from the last 50 years. Elton is currently on his final tour, the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour. On November 20, a live stream performance on Disney+ to commemorate Elton John’s legendary performance at Dodger Stadium from 47 years ago.

Britney Spears is one of the most successful artists in pop history with nearly 150 million records worldwide, becoming a household name from a young age with her first single “…Baby One More Time” which sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. She can be recognized from many other popular songs like “Toxic,” “Womanizer,” “Oops.. I Did It Again,” “Gimme More” and many more. The release of “Hold Me Closer” marks the first new music from Britney Spears in six years.

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The two singers met at the 22nd Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party and a tweet in 2015 from Britney saying “Tiny Dancer” sparked the idea for the collaboration.

A Seasonal Special MV

Elton and Britney released their first version of the single and music video on August 26. In this new edition, the original “Tiny Dancer,” has been modernized into an acoustic version, showcasing Britney’s powerful vocals alongside Elton John’s. The song debuted at number one on iTunes in over 40 countries with over 88 million streams, according to a press release from Interscope Records via email.

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In the music video, Nathan is seen performing a routine choreographed by himself in an empty ice rink. His powerful movements compliment the emotional sound of the song, while wearing his training clothes. The routine is elegant, as his powerful moves convey the emotions of the new sound with a dramatic ending close up on Chen’s smiling face. The music video is perfect for the upcoming winter season and the more simplistic and raw song that Elton John and Britney Spears have created.

Nathan Chen

Nathen Chen won a gold medal at the recent Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year. He displayed his long term interest in Elton John as he chose one of Elton’s classic hits, “Rocket Man” as his chosen song for his free skate routine. Elton John responded to his win with a shout out at his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour and a kind congratulation on John’s Twitter. 

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Nathan Chen shared his gratitude on working with Elton, “Elton John’s music means something to anybody who’s ever listened to it. ‘Rocket Man’ has always intrigued me — it’s otherworldly, but it’s just as much about our lives on Earth, love and loneliness, dreams and disappointments. In a way, ‘Rocket Man’ captures what my own journey has felt like — and getting to skate to it at the Olympics was one of the most special moments of my life. I couldn’t believe it when I heard Elton thought of me for this video. Elton and Britney created something really beautiful with this version of ‘Hold Me Closer’ — and I’m so honored to be a part of it.”

Fans Show Support

Fans of Nathan, Elton and Britney have shown their support and admiration for the unique combination of music and skating.

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Want to read more EnVi music articles? Click here to read at BTS’s Jungkook performing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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