Britney Spears and Elton John’s ‘Hold Me Closer’ Gets Stunning Music Video
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Britney Spears and Elton John have released the video counterpart to “Hold Me Closer,” a colorful, nearly four-minute music video full of interpretive dance numbers. However, it does not include appearances from Spears or John.
The music video was directed by Tanu Muino, who also helmed Harry Styles’ “As It Was” and Lil Nas X’s “Montero,” along with several other top visual treatments to come out of pop music in the past two years.
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The music video starts off in Mexico City, with dancers dressed in vibrant blue and yellow garbs who move seamlessly as a reflection of “human embrace, beautifully capturing an immeasurable feeling of intimacy so missing from the world through the turmoil and chaos of recent times,” as it states in the video’s official press release.
“Going into this video, I knew there would be a lot of emotional expectations the audience and fans would have,” added Muino. “With this responsibility, I had to do something different and unexpected. The visuals had to be different. The dance had to be forward-thinking to raise eyebrows and make Elton and Britney proud.”
Muino continues, “This was an emotional one for me as I grew up with Britney. After seeing ‘Slave 4 You,’ I decided that I wanted to become a video director. Elton John is an icon that I and the world grew up listening to.”
“Hold Me Closer” was released on Aug. 25 and is a reimagined take on John’s “Tiny Dancer,” with Spears’ unmistakable and breezy dance-pop vocals. It marked Spears’ first release in six years amid a drawn-out battle over her conservatorship.
On the week of its release, Spears tweeted that she was “overwhelmed” by the prospect, but was honored to be singing beside “one of the most classic men of our time.”
Okie dokie … my first song in 6 years 🎶 !!!! It’s pretty damn cool that I’m singing with one of
the most classic men of our time … @eltonofficial 🚀!!!! I’m kinda overwhelmed… it’s a big deal to me !!! I’m meditating more 🧘🏼♀️ and learning my space is valuable and precious !!!— Britney Spears 🌹🚀 (@britneyspears) August 25, 2022
Along with the arrival of the video, there will be three collectible, limited-edition CD single formats of “Hold Me Closer” available for pre-order starting Tuesday and set for release in November. Each of the three discs will feature different artwork; one with the original single sleeve and the remaining two with fan-voted art as the cover.
Additionally, each CD will carry a different tracklist, all with the original “Hold Me Closer” song, with the second track varying between an extended version of a Joel Corry Remix or a Purple Disco Machine Remix of the single.
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