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Cold Heart (Pnau remix)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Cold Heart (Pnau remix)
| cover = Elton John, Dua Lipa - Cold Heart.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Elton John and Dua Lipa
| album = The Lockdown Sessions
| released =
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Disco-pop
| length = 3:22
| label = * EMI
* Mercury
* Interscope
| writer = * Elton John
* Bernie Taupin
* Nicholas Littlemore
* Peter Mayes
* Sam Littlemore
* Andrew Meecham
* Dean Meredith
| producer = Pnau
| chronology = Elton John
| prev_title = It's a Sin
| prev_year = 2021
| next_title = After All
| next_year = 2021
| misc =
}}
"'Cold Heart (Pnau remix)'" is a song by English singers Elton John and Dua Lipa, produced by Australian trio Pnau, and released through EMI and Mercury Records on 13 August 2021 as the lead single from John's collaborative album, 'The Lockdown Sessions'. The song became John's first UK number-one single in 16 years. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 42nd Brit Awards, but lost to "Easy on Me" by Adele. It won Top Dance/Electronic Song at the 2022 'Billboard' Music Awards. The song was also nominated at the 2022 Ivor Novello Awards for PRS Most Performed Work but lost to "Bad Habits" by Ed Sheeran.
Release
Rumours of a possible collaboration between Elton John and Dua Lipa began in August 2021 following news from insiders. John also commented on Lipa's Instagram that he was excited for something happening between them the following week, in which Lipa responded that she was excited too. On 10 August 2021, the two singers began teasing the collaboration by posting cartoon versions of themselves dancing to a disco melody, to their social medias. Both tagged Pnau and Lipa using the hashtags "#coldheart", "#justpassingthrough" and "#newmusic". At the same day, Pnau confirmed they wrote a song with "the biggest pop star of yesterday" and "the biggest pop star of today" and that it would premiere the following Friday via their Essentials Playlist. Pnau and John had previously collaborated in 2012. The following day, John and Lipa formally announced the single and its release date. It showed a snippet of the song, including Lipa singing John's 1972 single "Rocket Man". The song was released through Virgin EMI and Mercury Records on 13 August 2021, alongside an animated music video that's been called "wildly trippy".
Following remixes by Claptone and the Blessed Madonna, an acoustic version of the single was released digitally worldwide on 12 October 2021.
Music and lyrics
In "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)", Pnau mashes up John's singles "Rocket Man" from 1972, "Sacrifice" from 1989, "Kiss the Bride" from 1983 and the album track "Where's the Shoorah?" taken from 1976's 'Blue Moves'. The "Where's the Shoorah?" sample comes 3 minutes into "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)", with a slowed-down tempo and a key shifted from an E-flat major. The song is in the key of B-flat minor.
Critical reception
'Evening Standard' reviewer David Smyth described "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" as "a particularly slick updating of classic Elton". Similarly, Annie Zaleski of 'Variety' regarded it as "chic" and "a seamless (and savvy) mashup of eras". In 'The Independent', Helen Brown wrote that it "does a terrific job of mashing up old songs 'Sacrifice' and 'Rocket Man', giving both a tendon-twanging freshness." 'Billboard' Stephen Daw thought that "Dua Lipas voice sounds like butter as she croons the iconic chorus 'And I think its gonna be a long, long time,' while the production from PNAU never goes over-the-top, only complementing John's original visions." Barry Divola of 'The Sydney Morning Herald' deemed the song a "hand-waver" which suited the objective of 'The Lockdown Sessions', while 'The Arts Desk's Liz Thomson cited "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" as among the album's two most memorable tracks. Terry Staunton of 'Record Collector' was less impressed, deriding it as "awkward" and "a little out of step". 'Billboard' included "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" in its list of the best songs of 2021 at number 44.
Commercial performance
In August 2021, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" debuted at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, selling in 11,557 units in its first week. In its ninth week on the chart, the song climbed to number one with sales of 63,298 units, including 5,057 CD single copies which accounted for a 25.5% increase in its weekly sales. It marked Lipa's third UK chart-topper, and John's eighth and first in 16 years; he last reached number one in 2005 as a featured artist on 2Pac's "Ghetto Gospel". John became the first solo artist to score a top 10 single in six different decades (1970s2020s), and at age 74, became the second-oldest person to top the chart after Captain Tom Moore. In April 2022, the song was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for track-equivalent sales of 1.2 million units.
In Australia, "Cold Heart" debuted at number seven before reaching number one in its twelfth week. "Cold Heart" stayed at number one for ten non-consecutive weeks. It became Elton John's first number-one single in Australia since "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" in September 1997. At age 74 years, 8 months, 4 weeks, and 1 day, John became the oldest artist to hit the top of the ARIA Singles Chart. "Cold Heart" also became Dua Lipa's first number-one single on the chart, after eight previous top ten entries and surpassing "Don't Start Now" which peaked at number two for ten non-consecutive weeks in 20192020.
In Canada, "Cold Heart" debuted at number 55 before reaching number one in its nineteenth week. It has stayed at number one for twelve consecutive weeks, the fifth-longest stay at number one in the chart's history. It became Elton John's first number-one single in Canada since "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" in October 1997, as well as Dua Lipa's second number-one single on the chart after "Levitating" featuring DaBaby topped the chart for three weeks in 2021.
In the United States, "Cold Heart" debuted at number 81. The song then rose to number 32 in its fifth week, claiming the longest span of top 40 Hot 100 appearances, excluding holiday fare with 50 years and 10 months. The following week, "Cold Heart" climbed to number 25, his highest placement on the chart since March 1998. On the chart dated 15 January 2022, the song rose to number 7, becoming John's 28th top ten hit (and first since "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" in 1997/98) and Lipa's fourth. With this new peak, Elton John became one of only ten artists to reach the top 10 in four different decades and tied with Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder for the sixth-most top ten hits in Hot 100 history.
Track listings
*'Digital download and streaming'
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau remix) 3:22
*'Digital download and streaming extended mix'
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau extended mix) 3:53
*'Digital download and streaming The Blessed Madonna remix'
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna remix) 2:53
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna extended mix) 4:33
*'Streaming The Blessed Madonna remix Spotify single'
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna remix) 2:53
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna extended mix) 4:33
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau remix) 3:22
*'Digital download and streaming The Blessed Madonna extended mix'
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna extended mix) 4:33
*'Digital download and streaming PS1 remix'
# "Cold Heart" (PS1 remix) 2:47
*'Streaming PS1 remix Spotify single'
# "Cold Heart" (PS1 remix) 2:47
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau remix) 3:22
*'Digital download and streaming PS1 extended mix'
# "Cold Heart" (PS1 extended mix) 3:09
*'CD single'
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau remix) 3:22
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna remix) 2:53
*'Digital download and streaming Claptone remix'
# "Cold Heart" (Claptone remix) 3:03
*'Streaming Claptone remix Spotify single'
# "Cold Heart" (Claptone remix) 3:03
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau remix) 3:22
*'Digital download and streaming Claptone extended mix'
# "Cold Heart" (Claptone extended mix) 5:09
*'Digital download and streaming acoustic version'
# "Cold Heart" (acoustic) 3:15
*'Streaming acoustic version Spotify EP'
# "Cold Heart" (acoustic) 3:15
# "Cold Heart" (Pnau remix) 3:22
# "Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna remix) 2:53
# "Cold Heart" (PS1 remix) 2:47
# "Cold Heart" (Claptone remix) 3:03
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.
* Elton John vocals, songwriting
* Dua Lipa vocals
* Pnau remixing
** Nicholas Littlemore production, songwriting, drum programming, drums, synthesizer programming
** Peter Mayes production, songwriting, engineering, drum programming, drums, synthesizer programming
** Sam Littlemore production, songwriting, drum programming, drums, synthesizer programming
* Bernie Taupin songwriting
* Mark Schick vocal production
* Rafael Fadul engineering
* Josh Gudwin mixing
* Randy Merrill mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release dates and formats for "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)"
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date
! scope="col"| Format(s)
! scope="col"| Version
! scope="col"| Label(s)
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| Various
| rowspan="3"| 13 August 2021
| rowspan="2"|
| Original
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Extended mix
| EMI
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| Italy
| Radio airplay
| rowspan="2"| Original
| Universal
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| United States
| 24 August 2021
| Contemporary hit radio
| Interscope
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| Various
| 10 September 2021
| rowspan="2"|
| The Blessed Madonna remixes
| rowspan="2"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 17 September 2021
| PS1 remixes
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 1 October 2021
| CD single
| rowspan="2"|
| rowspan="2"| EMI
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| United Kingdom
| rowspan="2"| 8 October 2021
| CD with art card
| style="text-align:center;"| Citations regarding the release of the "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" signed CDs:
*
*
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| Various
| rowspan="2"|
| Claptone remixes
| rowspan="2"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 12 October 2021
| Acoustic
| style="text-align:center;"|
|}
References
Category:2021 songs
Category:2021 singles
Category:Animated music videos
Category:Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Dua Lipa songs
Category:Elton John songs
Category:Pnau songs
Category:EMI Records singles
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Mashup songs
Category:Mercury Records singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand
Category:Number-one singles in Poland
Category:Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Category:Songs with music by Elton John
Category:Songs written by Nick Littlemore
Category:Songs written by Peter Mayes
Category:Songs written by Sam Littlemore
Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in the Commonwealth of Independent States
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