Britney Spears tiptoes back to No. 1

Hold Me Closer, a duet with Elton John, represents her first new music in six years.

Hold Me Closer, a duet with Elton John, represents her first new music in six years.

After Britney Spears regained control over her life and finances following a 13-year conservatorship that she described as abusive, fans eagerly wondered: Would she come back to music? And did she want to?

On Friday, she and Elton John released a song that represents her first new music in six years: “Hold Me Closer,” a club-friendly dance track. Though it’s not the soul-baring freedom anthem some might have hoped to hear, the light-hearted studio concoction mashes together previous Elton John songs like “Tiny Dancer” (1971) and “The One” (1992), repeating the formula of Mr. John’s recent hit with Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix).”

Upon release, the song quickly jumped to No. 1 on iTunes, with some fans applauding Ms. Spears’s return and others debating the track’s aesthetic merits.

Instead of a full-throated comeback single that might launch a new album or era, “Hold Me Closer” likely represents a one-off for Ms. Spears—a low-stakes trial balloon for a return to recording, music analysts say. Representatives for Ms. Spears and Mr. John could not be reached for comment.

“If she’s going to come back as a recording artist, this is a good way to do it—to dip her toes in the water, essentially—where she is the featured performer,” said Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a longtime music critic and pop-music editor at Xperi, an entertainment-technology company.

The 40-year-old pop singer has sent mixed signals about her desire to return to the stage and studio. She has discussed wanting to focus on aspects of her personal life—marriage, having more children—that she alleges the conservatorship prevented her from pursuing.

In a post on Twitter on Wednesday, Ms. Spears noted the six years that have passed since her 2016 album “Glory.” She wrote that she felt “kinda overwhelmed” that she was “singing with one of the most classic men of our time.” “It’s a big deal to me !!!,” she wrote.

Following the song’s release on Friday, Ms. Spears posted videos and pictures on Twitter, including one in which she said, in a faux British accent: “Hello, Sir Elton John, we are, like, No. 1 in 40 countries.”

“I’m about to go have the best day ever,” she added.

According to a press release from both artists, it was Mr. John, 75, who reached out to Ms. Spears about a collaboration. (She tweeted about “Tiny Dancer” in 2015.) Andrew Watt produced the track, which was released by Interscope Records, Mr. John’s label. (Ms. Spears is signed to RCA Records.)

Mr. John has a reputation for collaborating with younger artists and being open-hearted toward fellow musicians experiencing personal or career difficulties.

His most recent album, 2021’s “The Lockdown Sessions,” is a collection of collaborations, largely with newer artists. For decades, he has helped major stars like Eminem and Axl Rose reconcile with mainstream audiences following career-shaking controversies (in both of those cases, accusations of homophobia).

Tiny Dancer #EltonAlways @eltonofficial

— Britney Spears 🌹🚀 (@britneyspears) October 22, 2015

In an interview with The Guardian published on Thursday, Mr. John said that if “Hold Me Closer” is a big hit, it will give Ms. Spears more confidence. “Britney was broken,” Mr. John said. “I’ve been through that broken feeling and it’s horrible… I don’t want to see any artists in a dark place.”

“Hold Me Closer” sees Mr. John doubling down on the successful pop formula behind “Cold Heart,” which was also stitched together from previous songs and was the first single for his “Lockdown Sessions” album. That song, produced by the Australian dance trio Pnau, was a major radio hit for Mr. John, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Like “Cold Heart,” “Hold Me Closer” is a kind of career-spanning collage, combining elements of Mr. John’s “Tiny Dancer,” “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (1976) and adding a dance beat and new vocals.

Besides helping Ms. Spears, the song could further fuel interest in Mr. John’s music catalog, which he has indicated he does not wish to sell despite a wave of blockbuster deals in recent years.

Mr. John’s catalog is one of the most prized in the music business.