Special video for the track features Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen
Elton John and Britney Spears have released the acoustic version of their chart-topping smash hit record, “Hold Me Closer.” The latest rendition offers a stripped down, piano version of the song showcasing Spears’ vocal abilities.
Accompanying the song release is a beautiful music video featuring Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen ice skating to a routine he choreographed himself captivating emotion in every frame. The seeds of collaboration between the duo began in 2019 when Chen first incorporated the music legends’ songs into his free skate program after his choreographer saw the Oscar-winning motion-picture “Rocketman.” A lifelong fan of Elton John, Chen decided to use his Elton John-inspired program for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where he secured the Gold Medal for his show-stopping performance. Following his Olympic triumph, Chen and fellow ice-skating stars attended one of John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour performances in Charlotte, North Carolina where Elton surprised him with a surprise congratulatory shout-out from the stage on his well-deserved gold.
“Elton John’s music means something to anybody who’s ever listened to it,” Chen shares. “‘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.”
Debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, “Hold Me Closer” finds two of the most iconic artists of all time coming together for the first time ever on record. As predicted, the song topped the charts providing John with his tenth Top 10 hit and Spears’ first in almost ten years. The song has also climbed to No. 1 in Australia and Canada, No. 3 in the UK, and most notably, No. 1 on iTunes in over 40 countries upon release, with over 88 million global streams.
Produced by Andrew Watt, “Hold Me Closer” is a refreshingly contemporary twist on one of Elton John’s most iconic hits, “Tiny Dancer,” that also features elements of other classic songs from his legendary catalog, including “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
