Britney Spears released a new song just over a month ago and is rumored to be working on a new album. While all that activity is certainly exciting, her fans are still showing an impressive level of interest in one of her older songs. This week, she achieves a notable accomplishment on a Billboard chart, showing that even after many years in the industry, she can still create long-lasting hits.
Spears’s song “Hold Me Closer,” a collaboration with Elton John, reaches a milestone that not many songs manage on any Billboard chart. The song has now spent 52 weeks on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, marking a full year of being on the list. This chart ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs in the U.S. each week. It considers factors like streams, sales, and radio play to determine rankings.
Interestingly, although “Hold Me Closer” is one of the most popular dance songs in the country, it doesn’t seem to be performing exceptionally well in any of the three formats that feed into the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The single is not found on the specific dance/electronic streaming or radio lists. It does appear on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, but at a low No. 25 position, indicating weaker sales.
It’s not common for a tune to hold on and spend a year on any Billboard chart, and the feat is typically reserved for only the biggest of hits. It is becoming more common, based on the listening habits of the public and the influence of streaming platforms, but it’s still a huge win for any artist when they reach that mark.
“Hold Me Closer” is now Spears’s longest-charting song on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Her next longest-charting hit, “Scream & Shout,” a collaboration with Will.I.Am, was on the chart for 29 weeks.
John, who is not typically associated with dance-pop like Spears, has now seen two tracks spent at least a complete year on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. His previous hit, “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” featuring Dua Lipa, achieved this feat and then kept going. This track’s success influenced the creation of “Hold Me Closer,” which follows a very similar formula. The Lipa/John collaboration stayed on the chart for an impressive 78 weeks before dropping off.
This week, “Hold Me Closer” not only marks a year on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart—it also continues to perform well. It rises slightly to the No. 6 position after previously reaching No. 1.
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