Elton John teases new duet ‘Hold Me Closer’ during surprise performance

Superstar Elton John may be on the road to retirement but that isn’t stopping him from going out with a bang as he treats fans to a special impromptu performance of Hold Me Closer, his newest duet with Pop Princess Britney Spears.

In the Instagram Live steam reuploaded on John’s personal account, the 75-year-old is filmed playing the song for patrons dining at an exclusive restaurant in Cannes.

Dressed in a matching cream-coloured ensemble, John enthusiastically sings and dances along to the forthcoming dance track.

“Britney Spears, Elton John — here we go,” he is heard saying, as the track plays the familiar sounds of his 1971 hit Tiny Dancer and The One.

 

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It appears the restaurant’s diners weren’t the only whose enjoyed John’s teaser, fans of the music legend were quick to flood his comment section with excitement and praise.

“That song is gonna be the number one.”

“Loving the way EJ is mashing up multiple songs into one EPIC masterpiece.”

“AMAZING!!! Thank you Elton and Britney for making my year.”

This isn’t the first time John has taken the opportunity to update some of his classic songs through collaborations with newer artists.

Back in 2021, he teamed up with disco-pop singer Dua Lipa for their electronic dance hit Cold Heart, which incorporates John’s ’70s hit single Rocketman. The collaboration proved to be a success as the song hit number one on the dance and electronic billboard charts.

More recently, the hit song maker teamed up with ABBA’s Benny Andersson to release a collaboration of two of their hit ’70s tracks Bennie and The Jets and Chiquitita.

After a TikTok audio effortlessly blended the two tracks went viral, Andersson and John joined forces to perform a live rendition of the popular audio.

The audio currently outranks Elton’s most-used official TikTok song, I’m Still Standing with just over 35,000 videos.

John’s live teaser of Hold Me Closer comes as John continues his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, his final world tour until he officially retires from live performances.

After 52 years of touring and performing live, Elton scheduled the monumental three-year international farewell tour after announcing he plans to retire and slow down to spend more time with his family.

John’s Australian fans will have one last opportunity to kick up their heels and sing along to some of Elton’s greatest hits one last time as his glittering tour is scheduled to head Australia’s way next January for four encore shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Newcastle.