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Britney Spears promoted her upcoming collaboration with Elton John on Friday night following her ex Kevin Federline’s public criticism of her nude Instagram selfies.
In response to her former spouse’s claims that their teen sons are ’embarrassed’ by her raunchy posts, the pop star, 40, defended herself as she stated that she has the ‘right to express her body, mouth, eyes, heart, and feet and show whatever’ she wants.
‘My body was manipulated, abused, and torn by people, not my friends!!! I have beautiful friends,who give me joy and lift my a** higher everyday,’ she captioned a photo of herself in a white and blue leotard with ‘Elton’ across the chest.
She went on to reveal the name of her and Elton’s new song is Hold Me Closer, before raving she ‘can’t wait’ for her fans to ‘hear what we’ve been working on.’
Spears also seemed to quote her pal, Selena Gomez’s emotional AMA acceptance speech back in 2016, as she confessed she ‘had everything’ but felt ‘broken inside.’
On Monday, it was confirmed that Britney and Elton have teamed up for a reimagining of his classic hit Tiny Dancer, which has been re-titled Hold Me Closer.
Exciting: On Monday, it was confirmed that Britney and Elton have teamed up for a reimagining of his classic hit Tiny Dancer, which has been re-titled Hold Me Closer; seen in 2013
Temporary artwork for the song uses two emojis that represent the stars; a rose for Britney and a rocket for Elton.
Britney, 40, is known for her use of the rose emoji in many of her social media posts, while Elton’s pays tribute to his classic song Rocket Man.
Page Six reported last month that Britney had joined up with the English singer and composer in Beverly Hills to record the track, which first appeared on his 1971 album Madman Across The Water.
Fans won’t have to wait long to hear Britney on record again, as sources told the publication that the new version of Tiny Dancer is expected to be released in August by Universal music.
Elton appears to be the one who came up with the idea of the collaboration, but it seems to be an ideal soft launch for Britney to reinvigorate her musical career after staying silent in the final years of her now-defunct conservatorship.
Single cover: Spears’ husband, Sam Asghari, reposted the temporary artwork for her new song with the message: ‘Lioness’
‘This was Elton’s idea, and Britney is a huge fan. They have recorded a remix of Tiny Dancer as a full duet — and it is incredible,’ a music industry insider told the outlet.
‘Britney was in the studio in Beverly Hills last week with Elton for the super-secret recording session overseen by uber-producer Andrew Watt,’ they added.
According to TMZ, Britney and Elton were recording the song on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, and the track is now being mixed.
Watt has worked with several high-profile pop and rock acts — including Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Camilla Cabello and Pearl Jam — and he has collaborated multiple times with Elton, which suggests he would be an ideal pick for the two artists.
Match made in heaven: ‘This was Elton’s idea, and Britney is a huge fan. They have recorded a remix of Tiny Dancer as a full duet — and it is incredible,’ a music industry insider told the outlet; seen in London in 2018
According to the source, Britney and Elton’s new single is already a hit with record company executives.
‘They’ve already played it for people at their record label, and everybody is freaking out. It is so good,’ they gushed. ‘They are saying this is going to be the song of the summer.
‘Britney is officially back,’ they added. ‘She’s back to work, and she’s super excited.’
The record label appears to be highly invested in getting Britney back into the studio, as the source claimed that she got ‘a record-breaking deal’ to entice her to collaborate with Elton.
The songstress may have hinted that she would restart her career by examining music from the past when she shared a darker, slowed-down version of her 1998 classic …Baby One More Time on Instagram earlier this month.
It’s a hit! ‘They’ve already played it for people at their record label, and everybody is freaking out. It is so good. They are saying this is going to be the song of the summer,’ the source claimed; seen in 2014 in West Hollywood
As if she never went away: ‘Britney is officially back,’ they added. ‘She’s back to work, and she’s super excited’; pictured in 2016 in Las Vegas
‘I haven’t shared my voice in an extremely long time … maybe too long,’ she wrote at the time, before revealing that she had wanted to release the updated version of the hit single, but her conservatorship allegedly put the kibosh on the plans.
Elton wrote the instantly catch music for Tiny Dancer, while his regular collaborator Bernie Taupin handled the lyrics.
Although the performer has collaborated with multiple lyricists throughout the years, Taupin is one of his oldest collaborators and helped pen the vast majority of his classic songs going back to the late 1960s.
Britney’s fans should be excited to hear her, as she hasn’t released a single since Slumber Party in 2016.
Incidentally, it was in October of that year that the pop star met her now-husband Sam Asghari, as he starred in her music video for the single.
Classic: Elton wrote the instantly catch music for Tiny Dancer, while his regular collaborator Bernie Taupin handled the lyrics. It was featured on 1971 Madman Across The Water LP; seen in 2018 in NYC
Last week, Spears hit back at her ex-husband’s exclusive DailyMail.com interview.
Taking to the app’s Stories feature, the singer lamented: ‘It saddens me to hear that my ex-husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children.’
She added in her post about Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15: ‘I gave them everything.’
Fate: Britney hasn’t released a single since 2016’s Slumber Party. It was in October of that year that she met her future husband Sam Asghari when he starred in the song’s music video
Britney’s solemn post was written in white letters set against a solid black background.
She explained, ‘As we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone. It concerns me the reason is based on my Instagram. It was LONG before Instagram.’
The Louisiana-born entertainer was referring to her ex’s comments about her posting nude photos on social media.
She continued, ‘One word: Hurtful… I’ll say it… My mother told me “you should GIVE them to their dad” … I’m sharing this because I can!!!’
Not happy: Last week, Spears hit back at her ex-husband’s exclusive DailyMail.com interview
In a breathless follow-up post on her main page, she wrote, ‘In addition to what I said on my story … As their step mom says “whatever is happening outside this home has nothing to do with his home” … I would like to share the DOOR [door emoji] to outside is a token to the WHITE GATES I’ve been kept from for 15 years … the conservatorship has only been over for 8 months !!!!’
She continued, ”Being able to have cash FROM THE OUTSIDE world for the first time is EXTREMELY ENLIGHTENING [light bulb emoji] …. are we equal now ??? As in even equality ???’
Speaking her mind: The hitmaker had more to say later on Saturday night in a post that seemed to defend her nude photos while noting the long-lasting effects of her conservatorship
Free at last: Britney added that she was ‘controlled and monitored for nearly 15 years’ under her conservatorship and said she was ‘not surprised at all with their behavior’
She appeared to be defending some of her nude Instagram posts, while noting that the affects of her conservatorship were still being felt.
‘Reminder that the trauma and insults that come with fame and this business not only affect me but my children as well !!! I’m only human and I’ve done my best … I honestly would like to share my TWO CENTS !!!! I daringly would like for the Federline’s to watch the BIG BOOTY VIDEO [peach emoji] !!! Other artists have made much worse when their children were extremely young !!!!’
Britney added that she was ‘controlled and monitored for nearly 15 years’ under her conservatorship.
‘I needed permission just to take Tylenol !!! I should embark on doing WAAAY more than going topless on the beach like a baby !!!! I’m not surprised that just as my family did their share of interviews, they will too,’ she continued.
‘I’m not surprised at all with their behavior and their approach to what I’ve had to deal with !!!’ she concluded, though her target wasn’t clear.
Britney’s last known picture with her two sons was this snap she shared on Instagram in March 2021. The Baby One More Time star wrote in the caption: ‘It’s so crazy how time flies… My boys are so big now! I know I know it’s very hard for any mama especially a mama with boys seeing them grow up so fast! … I haven’t posted pictures of them for some time cause they’re at the age where they want to express their own identities and I totally get it …. But I went out of my way to make this cool edit and guess what…. They’re finally letting me post it… Now I don’t feel left out anymore’