Hold me closer, Brandon Flowers.
Glastonbury fans hoping to see Elton John and Britney Spears sing their “Tiny Dancer” remix at the British music festival were stunned when the Killers frontman traipsed on stage to accompany John instead.
The “Baby One More Time” singer had dropped Instagram hints in the lead-up to John’s closing headline set that suggested she could be in the U.K. (or was, at the very least, thinking of Britain). On Friday, Spears posted a picture of an oil painting featuring McDonald’s food and a vase of roses with three Union Jack flags in the caption. In another now-deleted post, she reportedly told fans she was heading to London this week, claiming it was for a shopping trip.
Some held out hope that Flowers — whom John introduced as a close friend — might hand over to Spears to finish the song, but hope quickly faded as the track wore on. (Spears’ absence at least didn’t faze one couple in the audience that 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 her first since the end of her headline-making conservatorship battle. Nonetheless, a Glasto cameo was always going to be a tall order for the concert-shy Spears, who didn’t make an appearance for John’s farewell Dodger Stadium concert in November despite being based in Los Angeles.
So, where was Spears during John’s set? Evidently, on Instagram. The singer — who frequently posts self-shot dancing videos — served up another home video of herself busting a move to a Michael Jackson song. She followed up minutes later with a video of Justin Bieber that was simply captioned “I like his song !!!”
Of course, Spears’ wasn’t the only missing cameo appearance: Dua Lipa, who collaborated with John on “Cold Heart,” was also a no-show at Glasto. John went ahead with the song but explained that since Lipa “isn’t here,” the audience should sing her part.
The “Rocket Man” singer brought out an array of special guests for his set, which closed out 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 delivered high praise for newcomer Steven Sanchez, who was brought on to sing his own hit song, “Until I Found You.”
“When I chose my guests for this show I wanted to have newer artists, save for one person, and this boy I heard last year on the radio,” said John, who accompanied the Nashville singer on piano. “I’ve asked him to come to Glastonbury to do his song and he’s an amazing young talent.”
The concert marked John’s final performance ever in England. He has been playing shows around the world as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour since 2018. The tour will conclude in Sweden in July.
“I will never forget you. You’re in my head, my heart and my soul,” John told the thousands gathered at Glasto’s Pyramid Stage. “Thank you so much, Glastonbury. Thank you so much, England. I wish you love, and health and happiness.”
