Two pop music legends, Britney Spears (“Toxic”) and Elton John (“Rocketman”), released a collaborative single, “Hold Me Closer,” on August 26. 

The song marks Spears’ unofficial return to new music, if you discount the past few years’ outputs for her 2020 deluxe reissue of her 2016 album “Glory.” The Rocket Man and the Princess of Pop’s collaboration may seem unexpected. However, given John’s recent hit “Cold Heart” with Dua Lipa (“Potion”), the song is less of a gimmick and more something that fans of both have been waiting to happen.

Elton John fans, or really anyone with access to classic oldies radio, may immediately notice the interpolation of his 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer” in the chorus and 1992’s “The One” in the verses. John is clearly using the formula he made by infusing “Rocket Man” into his Lipa hit. Producers Andrew Wyatt (“Patient Number 9”) and Cirkut (“Tears in the Club”) even copy the disco-inspired production of “Cold Heart,” originally catered for the nu-disco icon Lipa.

One may start to question that, in a scenario when two of the biggest legends in pop music history collaborate, is it not a missed opportunity to come up with something original? Setting aside the interpolations, the similarities to “Cold Heart” hurt this song’s ability to be a cultural milestone by living in the shadow of the Lipa song.

Or maybe this is all purely therapeutic. John gets to relive his hits, while Spears gets to relive fame. John said in an interview that they were “holding [Spears’] hand the whole time, reassuring her that everything’s gonna be alright,” since she was under fear that her return would garner criticism. “Tiny Dancer,” a song about the power of music and the radio, then feels like a fitting cover for musically scarred Spears; she even appears on the cover art with a childhood picture of her in a tutu, a literal tiny dancer.

But on with the music. Given the context, the real draw of this song is the vocals. John and Spears are in unison throughout the song, as if John’s quote about holding hands was seemingly literal. John’s signature aged, deep voice complements Spears, whose voice opens like a crisp whisper that grows louder. When the “Tiny Dancer” chorus hits, rather than use her trademark youthful high register, such as in songs like “Gimme More” and “Scream and Shout,” Spears actually explores her deeper voice. It’s an ear-catching turn that takes the star’s juvenility and trades it for maturity. 

All in all, it is as if Lipa is staring through the door of the recording studio. The punching bass, the snapping drums, Wyatt’s faded guitar: while the homage to the ‘70s might be an homage to John’s heyday, the song’s production just seems like an outtake from Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia.” But what made that album a near masterpiece was its ability to lock the listener into a dance club with its amazing hooks and powerful vocals, such as in “Don’t Start Now” and “Hallucinate.” But in “Hold Me Closer,” the production is derivative but nothing close to its source, and the vocals, while interesting, never reach the heights we as listeners know John and Spears are capable of.