Britney Spears' Husband Sam Asghari Praises Her After Elton John Collab

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Britney Spears' husband Sam Asghari has gushed over her new collaboration with Elton John.

The track "Hold Me Closer" dropped on Friday and is Spears' first new offering in six years.

The song, a reworking of John's classic 1970s hit, "Tiny Dancer", shot straight to the top of the iTunes chart on the day of its release.

Model and actor Asghari took to his Instagram to boast about the achievement and celebrate the new song.

britney spears sam asghari
Britney Spears (L) and Sam Asghari at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in April, 2018 in Beverly Hills. Asghari gushed over his wife's new song with Elton John. Vivien Killilea/Getty Images North America

He shared the song's cover art which featured a split photo of Spears as a child in a dance costume and a vintage photo of John sitting at his piano when he was a boy.

"Proud husband moment! I will be listening to this all night! ♥️" Asghari captioned the Instagram post.

The actor also posted a video of him playing the song in his car and singing along at the top of his lungs.

He also posted the song's cover art to his Instagram stories, declaring "Words can't describe how f***ing proud I am."

In another Story, he filmed from his car again, showing how "Hold Me Closer" was playing on the stereo.

Finally, Asghari posted a screenshot of the song sitting at the top of the iTunes charts.

He had circled it in red and wrote, "already #1."

Spears herself will not be celebrating the release on Instagram after deleting her account this week.

It came just hours after she posted a thank you to Elton John for their collaboration.

Spears wrote about visiting the U.K. to see Elton John and joked about inviting Queen Elizabeth.

"Since most say they are honored TO KNOW ME SO WELL and only want happiness for me you can bet your bottom dollar that THIS collaboration will heighten my year by joining your brilliant hands of play," she wrote.

Addressing John, Spears added: "How cool is it to be a background voice on YOUR song!!!"

In the comments, John replied: "More than a background singer darling. Can't wait for everyone to hear what we've been working on."

The 40-year-old said on Twitter she was "overwhelmed" as she prepared to end her six-year new music hiatus.

Not only is the collaboration Spears' first song in six years, but also her first release since her court-appointed conservatorship was dissolved in November after 13 years.

Spears released "Slumber Party" in 2016 and it is special not just because it was to be her last new song for years, but also because the singer met her new husband while shooting the video for the track.

In "Hold Me Closer", the most notable song is "Tiny Dancer" but it is also a mash-up with two more of John's big hits.

The title of the new single also takes its name from the chorus of the song which was written in the 1970s by John and songwriter Bernie Taupin.

While the chorus of "Hold Me Closer" is taken from "Tiny Dancer," much of the verse of the new song is lifted from John's 1992 song "The One."

Featuring on his album of the same name, "The One" was another hit written by John with lyrics by his longtime friend and collaborator Taupin. It performed better than the previous entry on release, reaching number 10 and 9 respectively in the U.K. and U.S. charts.

The third John and Taupin song featured within "Hold Me Closer" is less prominent than the other two, but is unmistakable once heard.

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart," John's 1976 collaboration with Kiki Dee, is sprinkled into the chorus of "Hold Me Closer" as the familiar "Woo Hoo" can be heard after the title of the song is sung.

"Hold Me Closer" is yet to get its own music video, but a special "Official Video" was released on Friday to coincide with the song coming out.

About the writer

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.



Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more