Britney Spears celebrates Elton John duet ‘Hold Me Closer’ rocketing up charts

The pair’s breezy disco collab pays homage to the Rocket Man’s songs “Tiny Dancer” and “The One.” At last, Britney Spears has returned to do what she does best: make pop music that sends us straight to the dance floor. After teasing new material earlier his month and then abruptly deleting her Instagram, the singer released “Hold Me Closer,” her duet with Elton John, on Friday. Less than 24 hours later, the new song had already shot to the top of iTunes charts in the U.S. and other countries, and the pop star was thrilled with the news, sharing a video message directly to her singing partner on Twitter. “Hello Sir Elton John, we are, like, number one in 40 countries,” Spears said, speaking in a mock British accent, before screaming, “Holy shit!” The singer ended the message by saying she was “about to go have the best day ever.”

John also tweeted how happy he was with fans’ response: “I’m thrilled with the response to #HoldMeCloser I wanted to do a fun, happy summer track so was ecstatic when @britneyspears agreed to be a part of it! She truly is an icon, one of the all-time great pop stars & I love her dearly. I hope you all love it!”