Britney Spears and Sir Elton John. (Getty)
Britney Spears’ highly-anticipated duet with Elton John, “Hold Me Closer”, has leaked – and fans aren’t happy about it.
The song – a new take on Elton’s 1971 classic “Tiny Dancer” –marks Britney’s first new music in almost six years and is her first release after being freed from her conservatorship.
The duet was recorded in secret over July and was announced by Elton on 8 August. But ahead of its official release, snippets have appeared online.
#HoldMeCloser 🌹🚀https://t.co/aikLMNp7ow pic.twitter.com/LbKbn0UhyX
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 8, 2022
The leaks have been spreading across social media like wildfire but fans have taken to Twitter to defend Britney’s honour and shout them down.
One fan wrote: “Ruining the release of Britney’s first single as a free woman in 15 years is honestly disrespectful. I can’t believe even Britney’s fans are spreading leaks. It’s not like we have to wait a whole other year for a new song.”
While another added: “All of you sharing the leak right now suck. Britney has fought so hard for this moment. We need to be her biggest supporters right now and that means PROTECTING HER AND HER MUSIC.”
Britney Spears deserves to drop music ‘on her own terms’
It had been rumoured that Britney Spears and Elton John’s duet would drop on Friday (19 August), but there has been no official word on a release date.
Some have speculated that the reason for the apparent delay is due to last minute changes, meaning the official version might differ from the leaked one.
“If it’s true Britney pushed the song back a week because she wanted to make changes everyone who is sharing that leak around and demanding she release it now is so annoying.
“I get we all want new music badly but it should be on Britney’s terms,” one fan wrote.
OMG!!! im so tempted to go find Hold Me Closer leak but I want to respect both Britney & Elton …. I’ve been waiting for this moment for almost 6 years #BritneyIsComing
— Britney Pop Icon 🌹🚀 (@Britney_PopIcon) August 18, 2022
if you think I waited 13 years and some change to hear Britney Spears’ first song after being freed through a LEAK I’m NOT the one!!! I WILL WAIT FOR FULL RELEASE AND SUPPORT LIKE A PROPER STAN. #BritneyIsComing #HoldMeCloser
— ☽○☾ bretney ☽○☾ (@ItsBritneyForMe) August 19, 2022
These fake fans leaking Hold me closer makes me MAD.
This is her first single as a free woman, why would you ruin the release for your own selfish reasons. You CAN wait a couple more days 🙄😒#BritneyIsComing #HoldMeCloser— Elliot (@Whiteunitato) August 19, 2022
y’all can leak britney’s PREVIOUS music from like 12 years ago that got scrapped and that’s fine by me but y’all can’t be leaking her new music that she’s taking long for to perfect it for us. she’s so excited and it’s rude
— phonography 🌹🚀 (@bolshevistbrit) August 18, 2022
i don’t understand why people are trying to leak the song? we’ve waited so long and britney’s worked so hard on it, let her have something nice for once 😕 and to whoever’s leaked it, ur a bAnon idc.
— amraj ❗️ (@5luT4kN33) August 19, 2022
don’t spread the #holdmecloser leaks, just report and move along, britney deserves a proper, successful rollout with her first piece of work post-conservatorship
— BIBLEGIRL (@BIBLEGIRL222) August 18, 2022
Fans coming to the defence of their favourite artist has now become a rite of passage for many in the lead up to new music, as leaks continue to plague the music industry.
Most recently, Beyoncé’s long-awaited album Renaissance was leaked a day before the official drop.