Britney Spears and Sir Elton John' s new single has leaded online ahead of its release.
A snippet from the pair's duet, Hold Me Closer - a reworking of Sir Elton's 1971 hit Tiny Dancer - was shared across social media on Thursday night, with fresh Britney vocals heard for the first time in six years.
Fans were divided on whether to listen to the unauthorised audio, after it was rumoured the mum-of-two's big musical comeback was due to be officially released within a matter of hours.
"When Renaissance was leaking the Beyhive didn’t listen to it, they patiently waited out of respect for Beyoncé but a lot of Britney fans can’t even give Britney that respect for Hold Me Closer? Insane," one fan angrily tweeted as the leak trended online.
Another agreed and refused to listen, writing: "Ruining the release of Britney's first single as a free woman in 15 years is honestly disrespectful. I can't believe even Britney's fans are spreading leaks. It's not like we have to wait whole other years for a new song. STOP SPREADING LEAKS OF HOLD ME CLOSER."
Many Britney fan pages urged others to report any account they see sharing the unconfirmed snippet of Hold Me Closer, and vowed to wait until the song of officially released with the singer's consent.
However, many couldn't resist getting an early listen in, with one Britney fan tweeting: "Hold Me Closer it's perfect, isn't it?"
"Omg i just heard Hold Me Closer and It's perfect @britneyspears ily," another added, while a third wrote: "Hold Me Closer is beautiful. The perfect toe dip back into music for Brit."
There is no official release date for the mash-up yet, but it's heavily rumoured Britney and Sir Elton's duet will be available to stream and buy before the end of the month.
"I know, it’s going to be iconic. I just heard it a couple days ago in Ibiza and it is… it’s insane," Britney's pal Paris Hilton said earlier this month, just days before the single was officially announced.
Britney's long-awaited return to the charts comes as she deals with ex-husband Kevin Federline's recent comments regarding her relationship with her two children.
Earlier this month, former backup dancer Kevin, 44, shared footage of ex-wife Britney, 40, arguing with their sons on Instagram, telling the award-winning singer: "The lies have to stop."
The footage - filmed and shared without Britney's consent - comes after the global icon claimed her teenage sons Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15, had acted "hateful" towards her when they visited.
During during a live Q&A with fans on Tuesday, singer and rapper Nicki Minaj leapt to Britney's defence - just days after the star's lawyer revealed Kevin had created "various legal issues for himself" following his Instagram stunt.
"Do you understand what kind of a clown you have to be to be a whole, grown f****** man, and as soon as you see somebody happy and getting married and moving on and being free and feeling good in their own skin, to do the very thing that you know is going to attempt to break them down?" Nicki said with her lengthy passionate speech earlier this week.
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