Hold me closer, Brandon Flowers.
Glastonbury fans who were hoping to see Elton John and Britney Spears sing their ‘Tiny Dancer’ remix at the UK music festival were stunned when the Killers frontman took the stage to accompany John instead.
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The “Baby One More Time” singer had dropped hints on Instagram ahead of John’s closing headline that suggested she might be in the UK (or, at the very least, was thinking of Britain). On Friday, Spears posted a photo of an oil painting of McDonald’s food and a vase of roses with three Union Jack flags in the caption. In another now-deleted post, she allegedly told fans she was heading to London this week, claiming it was for shopping.
Some had hoped that Flowers – whom John introduced as a close friend – could hand Spears the end of the song, but hope quickly faded as the track progressed. (Spears’ absence at least didn’t faze one couple in the audience who got engaged during the performance.)
The summer 2022 remix of “Tiny Dancer” earned Spears the 14th top 10 single of her career. The song was also his first since the end of his headline-grabbing conservatorship battle. Still, a Glasto cameo was always going to be a tall order for concert-shy Spears, who didn’t make an appearance for John’s farewell concert at Dodger Stadium in November, despite being based in Los Angeles. Angeles.
So where was Spears during John’s set? Of course, on Instagram. The singer – who frequently posts self-recorded dance videos – released another home video of herself switching to a Michael Jackson song. She followed up a few minutes later with a video of Justin Bieber which was simply captioned “I love his song!!!”
Of course, Spears wasn’t the only guest appearance missing: Dua Lipa, who collaborated with John on “Cold Heart,” was also absent from Glasto. John continued with the song but explained that since Lipa “isn’t here”, the audience should sing his part.
The “Rocket Man” singer brought in an array of special guests for his set, which closed the four-day festival. In addition to Flowers, he was joined by Rina Sawayama for “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and Jacob Lusk of soul trio Gabriels for “Are You Ready for Love?”
John also praised newcomer Steven Sanchez, who was brought in to sing his own hit song, “Until I Found You.”
“When I was choosing my guests for this show, I wanted to have new artists, except for one person, and this boy I heard last year on the radio,” said John, who accompanied the singer of Nashville on the piano. “I asked him to come to Glastonbury to do his song and he’s an amazing young talent.”
The concert marked John’s last performance in England. He has been performing concerts around the world as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour since 2018. The tour will end in Sweden in July.
“I will never forget you. You are in my head, my heart and my soul,” John told the thousands gathered at Glasto’s Pyramid Stage. “Thank you very much, Glastonbury. Thank you very much, England. I wish you love, health and happiness.
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