Britney Spears' return to the music industry has received a very warm welcome. The pop star topped iTunes in the United States and more than 50 other countries after releasing her new collaboration with Sir Elton John, "Hold Me Closer".

The track arrived on August 26, marking Britney's first single in six years. Following its release, the tune debuted at No. 31 on the Mediabase pop radio chart with 1,595 spins. It serves as her first top 40 song on the list since "Slumber Party", which reached No. 27 back in 2016.

As of 31 August, "Hold Me Closer" has sold 22,295 units in the United Kingdom, making it jump to No. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart in the week ending 2 September. Meanwhile, in Australia, the song stole the number one spot.

On collaborating with Britney, Elton told The Guardian, "I'm so excited to be able to do it with [Britney] because if it is a big hit, and I think it may be, it will give her so much more confidence than she's got already." The 75-year-old composer went on to share, "And she will realize that people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy."

"She's been away so long - there's a lot of fear there because she's been betrayed so many times and she hasn't really been in the public eye officially for so long," the English musician added, referring to Britney's 13-year conservatorship that finally came to an end in November 2021. "We've been holding her hand through the whole process, reassuring her that everything's gonna be alright."

Elton confirmed his collaboration with Britney on August 8 via Instagram. At that time, he posted a photo of a rose and a rocket emoji with the caption "hold me closer." The track itself combines elements from his hits "Tiny Dancer" (1971), "The One" (1992) as well as "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976).

© AceShowbiz.com