Elton John and Britney Spears to Collaborate on New Song

Britney Spears. (Getty Images)
Britney Spears. (Getty Images)
TT
20

Elton John and Britney Spears to Collaborate on New Song

Britney Spears. (Getty Images)
Britney Spears. (Getty Images)

Princess of pop Britney Spears will join forces with music maestro Elton John on a new single, the record company releasing the track said Monday.

The pair -- who between them have 90 years' experience in the music business -- will collaborate on "Hold Me Closer," Interscope Records said.

There were no further details, including when the track would be released, but it will be the first new music from Spears since the middle of the last decade, AFP said.

The title of the song comes from the lyrics of the early 1970s hit "Tiny Dancer," which John co-wrote with long-time creative partner Bernie Taupin.

The news comes after days of online speculation from fans that the pair would be teaming up.

It also comes just weeks after Spears announced a long-wished-for pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage.

The pregnancy, with Sam Asghari, came five months after a Los Angeles judge dissolved a conservatorship overseen by Spears's father -- an arrangement the singer said had prevented her from having a contraceptive IUD removed despite her desire for more kids.

Aside from her very public legal battle with her father, the "...Baby One More Time" singer has mostly only been seen on her social media account in recent years.

She has not given an interview in years, rarely makes public appearances and last performed in October 2018.

The superstar, who first came to public attention as a child in 1992, dropped four studio albums under the conservatorship, most recently 2016's "Glory."

She also was among the singers to stage wildly lucrative Las Vegas residencies in recent years. Her four-year "Britney: Pieces of Me" run grossed a reported $138 million.

But in January 2019, she abruptly canceled her planned return to Vegas, going on indefinite professional hiatus.

The multi-award-winning John -- properly Sir Elton John -- is one of Britain's most bankable stars, whose showmanship and musicality have left their mark on the performing arts.

Since he first emerged in 1962, the singer -- born Reginald Dwight -- has been responsible for some of the most recognizable tunes in pop, including "Rocket Man," "Your Song" and "I'm Still Standing."



Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
TT
20

Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Computer drives containing unreleased music by US superstar Beyonce and plans related to her concerts were stolen last week in Atlanta, police said Monday, with a suspect still at large.

The items were stolen from a rental car used by Beyonce's choreographer and a dancer on July 8, two days before the pop icon kicked off the Atlanta leg of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a police incident report said, according to AFP.

Choreographer Christopher Grant, 37, told police that he returned to the car to find its rear-window smashed and their luggage stolen.

Inside were multiple jump drives that "contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list (sic)," the report said.

Also missing were an Apple MacBook, headphones and several items of luxury clothing.

Police investigated an area where the MacBook and headphones had pinged their location, but the report did not mention any items being recovered.

Atlanta Police said in an online statement that a warrant had been issued for an unnamed suspect's arrest, but that the suspect remained at large.

The "Cowboy Carter" tour kicked off in April after the global superstar took home her first "Album of the Year" Grammy for the 2024 album.

The sweeping country-themed work saw Beyonce stake out musical territory in a different genre from much of her previous discography.

The ambitious, historically rooted album also aimed to elevate and showcase the work of other Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

As her stadium tour to promote the album winds down, Beyonce ended her four-night stint in Atlanta on Monday, with two final performances set for late July in Las Vegas.