After years of quiet—at least when it came to releasing new music—Britney Spears returned to the medium that made her a superstar in 2022 with a high-profile collaboration. The singer celebrated becoming a free woman once again with “Hold Me Closer,” a duet with none other than Elton John. The tune was a quick win, and it showed that the world still loved her.
More than two years after it was released, “Hold Me Closer” earns its first certifications from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The organization hands out honors when tunes and albums hit certain consumption thresholds, such as gold (500,000 equivalent units) and platinum (one million units).
“Hold Me Closer” is now a platinum-certified smash in the U.S. The single collects both a gold plaque and a platinum one at the same time, going from no awards to two in a heartbeat.
Spears earns her first new RIAA-certified single in nearly a year. The last time she saw any of her releases collect any wins from the music industry organization was back in October 2023. That month turned out to be perhaps the biggest in the decades that Spears has been a household name, when it came to these honors.
On October 24, 2023, more than two dozen of Spears’ songs earned some kind of recognition from the RIAA. That’s most of her well-known hits. Some of her singles collected their first honor, like “Do Somethin’,” “Sometimes,” and “Overprotected,” which all went gold. Other smashes advanced much higher, such as “Womanizer” (six-times platinum) and “Circus” (five-times platinum).
John, meanwhile, hasn’t scored a new RIAA singles award in more than two years. He last collected any honor from the organization in May 2022 when “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” another superstar collaboration with Dua Lipa, went from nothing to double platinum at once.
“Hold Me Closer” saw John mashing up his past hits “Tiny Dancer,” “The One,” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” to create something fresh and new. He paired those lyrics with electronic pop production, which ensured the tune appealed to younger listeners. He tried the same thing with “Cold Heart,” and that turned out to be a huge global smash, so it made sense that he’d try it again.
John and Spears sent “Hold Me Closer” into the top 10 on the Hot 100, and it still stands as the latest major win for both musicians. While the track wasn’t a longstanding win, its lofty debut made it an important win, and it showed that there was still an appetite for pop smashes from Spears—though she has yet to follow the tune up with another big single.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/09/27/britney-spears-comeback-single-goes-platinum/
Britney Spears' biggest hits are coming to Beat Saber on October 8.
Meta revealed one of the biggest pop superstars of the 1990s will see her music arrive in Beat Saber from October 8 in the Britney Spears Music Pack.
The tracklist includes:
“…Baby One More Time”
“Circus”
“Gimme More”
“I’m A Slave 4 U”
“Me Against the Music” (feat. Madonna)
“Oops!...I Did It Again”
“Overprotected”
“Scream and Shout” (will.i.am feat. Britney Spears)
“Till the World Ends”
“Toxic”
“Womanizer”
The Britney Spears Music Pack also includes a dedicated environment and light shows with a promise that Spears' memorable choreography from her music videos will make an appearance as you play.
The pack joins a long list of popular music from world-famous artists that have added their songs to Meta's standout rhythm game. The 11-track pack is priced $13.99USD or $1.99 each, and Meta is also bundling it with the core game for $39.99USD.
On the latest episode of First We Feast’s Hot Ones Versus, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor and percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan went head-to-head while fully masked up, each with a rack of spicy wings and some hot-button questions separating them.
Onto the friendship questions, Clown got Corey’s favorite musical wrong, picking the Rocky Horror Picture Show instead of his true fave, Les Miserables. Another wing down. Luckily for Corey, he did choose Clown’s favorite pop princess of all time, Britney Spears.
She’s the “real deal,” he said, “and learning more about everything with her, and still… She’s a legend.” Corey agreed adding, “she’s been through a lot and she still is.”
Watch the full clip above, and listen to Slipknot Radio on the free Audacy app for more from the inmates from Iowa. The band is currently on their Here Comes The Pain 25th anniversary tour. Take a look at their full list of upcoming dates and grab your tickets via link
Source: https://www.audacy.com/national/music/slipknots-corey-taylor-praises-britney-spears-nickelback
Donald Trump said he preferred Britney Spears to Taylor Swift after the latter publicly chose to endorse Kamala Harris.
Following the much-awaited debate between presidential nominees on Tuesday (10 September), Swift shared a rare statement endorsing the Democratic nominee.
She said: “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”
Following the debate, Trump was quizzed about Swift’s endorsement by Fox News, adding he is “not a fan”.
Trump added: “I like Britney, I think she is great, she is a big MAGA fan.”
Let's hope Britney sees 👀 this and we get her response 🙏.