"Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" is a song by English singer and songwriter

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and English and Albanian singer

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

from the former's 32nd studio album, '' The Lockdown Sessions'' (2021). It was released on 13 August 2021 as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from the album for

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

in various countries by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

and Mercury. Created during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the collaboration between the artists was a testament to their friendship, which was established in November 2020. The song is a medley of four songs written by Elton John and

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English lyricist and visual artist. He is best known for his songwriting partnership with Elton John, recognised as one of the most successful partnerships of its kind in history. Taupin co-wrote th ...

, as well as Andrew Meecham, Dean Meredith, Nicholas Littlemore,

Peter Mayes Peter Mayes (born 5 October 1976) is an Australian musician and producer. He is widely known for being a leading member of dance act Pnau. He is a longtime collaborator with Nick Littlemore and has produced and mixed many of his projects, most ...

and

Sam Littlemore Sam Littlemore (born 2 February 1975), also known as Sam La More, is an Australian record producer, songwriter and recording artist working in Sydney and Los Angeles. Littlemore, a member of dance music trio Pnau, is best known for the internat ...

, with the production completed by the latter three as part of the dance music group

PNAU Pnau, stylised as PNAU, is an Australian Electronic dance music, dance music trio originating from Sydney, Australia, Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, produ ...

. Interpolating John's songs " Rocket Man" (1972), " Kiss the Bride" (1983), "

Sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

" (1989) and " Where's the Shoorah?" (1976), the

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

is an upbeat contemporary

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song describing the decline of a relationship. "Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" reached the top position in the United Kingdom and marked Lipa's third and John's eighth chart-topping single on the UK Singles Chart. The song achieved number one in the rankings of 12 other countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It also entered the top 10 in an additional 22 countries, including Ireland, South Africa and the United States. It peaked atop the Canadian AC, CHR/Top 40 and Hot AC as well as the US

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

and

Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (formerly Dance/Electronic Songs) is a record chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is their first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according ...

rankings, respectively. The song received two gold and multiple platinum

certifications Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

as well as two diamond awards from the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

(SNEP) in France and the

Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry The Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (; ZPAV) is the trade organization that represents the interests of the music industry in Poland, and the Polish chapter of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Founded ...

(ZPAV) in Poland, respectively. In 2022, it won an award in the category for the Collaboration of the Year at the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

and the Top Dance/Electronic Song at the

Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...

. "Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" was met with a warm reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

for its lyrics, sound and incorporation of John's four songs. Produced during the pandemic, the

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

premiered on John's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on 13 August 2021, with the aspiration of crafting a celebratory and joyful galaxy. It traces the adventure of John and Lipa together with four other animated characters as they explore the colorful and nature-filled psychedelic landscapes. An acoustic version and three additional remixes accompanied the song: renditions by

Claptone Claptone(born 30 September 1982) is a German DJ and producer who specializes in House music, house and tech house genres. He is recognizable by the Plague doctor costume, plague doctor-style golden masks, which serve to intrigue the public as w ...

, PS1 and

The Blessed Madonna Marea Renee Stamper (born October 22, 1977), better known by her stage name the Blessed Madonna (formerly the Black Madonna), is an American DJ, producer and musician. ''Mixmag'' named her the DJ of the year in 2016. She founded her own record l ...

. The song was further promoted with a live performance in Los Angeles on 20 November as part of John's

Farewell Yellow Brick Road Farewell Yellow Brick Road was the forty-ninth concert tour by English musician Elton John. It began in Allentown, Pennsylvania, US, on 8 September 2018, and ended in Stockholm, Sweden, on 8 July 2023. It consisted of 330 concerts worldwide. Th ...

tour, which was streamed on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. In 2022, it was ranked among the 10th most-streamed songs globally on

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Background and development

Due to the outbreak of the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, John was compelled to temporarily halt his

world tour in March 2020. Amidst the

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

caused by the pandemic, the singer pursued a series of collaborations, one of which was "Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" with Lipa, as part of his upcoming studio album. The album's songs were recorded over an 18-month period, either remotely through

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...

or in compliance with strict health and safety regulations. Leading up to its release, John and Lipa previewed their collaborative effort by publishing cartoon representations of themselves, while dancing to a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

melody on their respective

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

accounts on 10 August 2021. The following day, the artists confirmed the song's title, "Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" and announced its release date set for 13 August. The collaboration between the artists on the song was a testament to the friendship forged between the two, which was established through John's participation in Lipa's Studio 2054 livestream in November 2020 and further strengthened by Lipa's performance at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in August 2021. John stated, " ipa hasgiven me so much energy. She's a truly wonderful artist, and person, absolutely bursting with creativity and ideas. The energy she brought to the song'just blew my mind." Lipa further added, "It has been an absolute honour and privilege to collaborate on this track with him. It's so very special ..I loved being part of such a creative and joyous experience."

Music and lyrics

"Cold Heart (PNAU remix)" was written by John, Andrew Meecham,

, Dean Meredith, Nicholas Littlemore,

and

, with the production completed by the latter three, who form the group

. ''Note: Click on the three dots on the right of the track to display the credits.'' The song has a duration time of three minutes and 22 seconds and was composed in the

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of and the key of

B-flat minor B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-s ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 116 beats per minute. The song is constructed in the

verse–chorus form Verse–chorus form is a musical form going back to the 1840s, in such songs as "Oh! Susanna", " The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", and many others. It became passé in the early 1900s, with advent of the AABA (with verse) form in the T ...

and uses the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

B♭m7–E♭m7–G♭-Fm7. The song was released for

and

in various countries by

and Mercury on 13 August 2021 as the

from John's 32nd studio album '' The Lockdown Sessions'' (2021). Paying homage to John's career, it interpolates his songs " Rocket Man" (1972), " Kiss the Bride" (1983), "

" (1989) and " Where's the Shoorah?" (1976). The sample of "Where's the Shoorah?" appears at the 03:19 mark, with a tempo from 116 BPM to 130 BPM and a key shifted from an

E-flat major E-flat major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D minor). The E-fla ...

. "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" is an

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

, contemporary

and

song, with

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

, disco and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

beats. The lyrics transmit the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

from "Rocket Man", which includes "And I think it's gonna be a long, long time 'til touchdown brings me 'round again to find / I'm not the man they think I am at home", and verses from "Sacrifice", such as "Cold, cold heart / hardened by you / Some things look better baby / Just passing through". They describe a relationship that has taken a turn for the worse due to the hardening of the singer's heart.

Critical reception

"Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" was met with a warm reception from

, with many complimenting the combination of John's previous hits in the song. David Smyth from ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' characterised the song as a "particularly slick updating of classic Elton".

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' declared the result of the mashup to be "relentlessly modern, a seamless (and savvy) usionof eras". Althea Legaspi of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' highlighted that the songs received a "

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

-tipped refresh" in the song. Lars Brandle from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the mashup as "expertly created". ''Billboard'' Stephen Daw thought that "Dua Lipa's voice sounds like butter as she croons the iconic chorus 'And I think it's gonna be a long, long time,' while the production from PNAU never goes over-the-top, only complementing John's original visions." Helen Brown of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' wrote that the song "does a terrific job ombining'Sacrifice' and 'Rocket Man', giving both a

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...

-twanging freshness". Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri from ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' elaborated that the song "blends iconic portions of 'Sacrifice' and 'Rocket Man' to create a number that puritans will grudgingly admit is addictive at best, sacrilegious at worst". Emily Lee for

iHeart iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeartM ...

commented that the mashup "may seem like a chaotic choice utPnau ..pull it together seamlessly". Robert Moran for ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' dubbed the song "ubiquitous", commending its blend of "Lipa's vocals on the hook and Pnau's atmospheric house sound and signature chants". Daniela Avila of ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' labeled the song as a "perfect dancefloor singalong". Charlie Dukes from ''

Renowned for Sound ''Renowned for Sound'' is an Australian online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print ...

'' marked the song as a "modern anthem" that "the world never knew it needed". Gary Ryan for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' inscribed that the song "imperiously drapes itself over the disco-revival chaise longue". Will Hodgkinson of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote that the song "sounds cheesy as hell, yet the end result is so vibrant that you cannot help but be cheered by it". Jordan Robledo from ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' praised John and Lipa's "incredible" vocal delivery that are "sure to leave fans yearning for their own trip to the dance floor". In conclusion, Jem Aswad for ''Variety'' found the song "a living example of ohn'slegendary patronage of younger artists and represents a new concept in mainstream musical reinvention". Terry Staunton of ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' was less impressed, deriding it as "awkward" and "a little out of step".

Accolades

In 2022, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" won an award in the category for the Collaboration of the Year at the

and the Top Dance/Electronic Song at the ''Billboard'' Music Awards. It was nominated for the Song of the Year at the Brit Awards, the Most Performed Work at the

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

and the Best Collaboration and Song of the Year at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

. In 2023, the song received nominations for the Best Collaboration and Dance Song of the Year at the

iHeartRadio Music Awards The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platf ...

. ''Billboard'' and ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' included "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" in their year-end lists of the best songs for 2021. John and Lipa were further recognised as the "Hitmakers of the Year" by the American magazine ''Variety'' in 2022, for the charting success of their collaboration on the charts. During the summer of 2022, the song was ranked as the 19th most-streamed song on

worldwide. On the year-end lists, it was ranked as the sixth and seventh most-streamed song on Spotify and

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

, respectively. The song was also the most "shazamed" song of the year on Shazam worldwide of that year.

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" debuted at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart in the issue dated 26 August 2021. The song reached number one, having spent three consecutive weeks at number two, with sales of 64,000, including 5.9 million streams and 5,000 copies on limited edition CD single, in its ninth week on the chart on 21 October. It represented Lipa's third chart-topping single in the UK, after "

New Rules "New Rules" is a song by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa from her Dua Lipa (album), eponymous debut studio album (2017). The song was written by Caroline Ailin, Emily Warren, and Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer), Ian Kirkpatrick. Kirkpa ...

" (2017) and " One Kiss" (2018), and John's eighth and first in 16 years, since he was featured artist on American rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

's posthumous single "

Ghetto Gospel "Ghetto Gospel" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur, which was released as the lead single from his 2004 posthumous album ''Loyal to the Game''. The song was produced by American rapper Eminem and features a sample from Elton John's 1971 so ...

" (2005). John also became the first solo artist to achieve a top 10 single in six different decades, spanning from the

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

to the

2020s The 2020s (pronounced "twenty-twenties" or "two thousand ndtwenties"; shortened to "the '20s" and also known as "The Twenties") is the current decade that began on 1 January 2020, and will end on 31 December 2029. The 2020s began with th ...

. In April 2023, the song received triple platinum certification from the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for shifting more than 1,800,000 units in the UK. In Australia, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" reached number one on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for 10 consecutive weeks as well as number one on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

in New Zealand. The song marked Lipa's first chart-topping single in Australia as well as John's first one since "

Something About the Way You Look Tonight "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" is a song by English musician Elton John, taken from his 25th studio album, ''The Big Picture (Elton John album), The Big Picture''. It was written by John and Bernie Taupin, and produced by Chris Tho ...

" / "

Candle in the Wind 1997 "Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a threnody by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song " Candle in the ...

" in 1997. Also in 2022, it garnered a sextuple platinum certification from

Recorded Music New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

(RMNZ) in New Zealand for selling more than 180,000 units. In Australia, it was certified 12× Platinum by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) in 2024, for selling 840,000 equivalent units. In Canada, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" reached number one on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

in the issue dated 8 January 2022, having spent a total of 12 consecutive weeks. The song also reached the top position on the Canada AC, CHR/Top 40 and Hot AC rankings, respectively. In October 2022, it received a septuple platinum certification from

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

(MC) for shifting more than 560,000 units in the Canada. In the United States, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 81 on 28 August 2021 and rose to number 32 in its fifth week, giving John the longest span of top 40 Hot 100 appearances, excluding holiday fare. The song reached its summit at number 7 on the ranking issue dated 15 January 2022, earning Lipa's fourth top 10 single on the chart and John's 28th entry. Topping the

and

rankings, it further peaked at number one on the

chart, logging its 34th week at the top on 11 June. In May 2022, the song garnered a double certification from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in the US for selling more than 2,000,000 units. "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" reached the top position in Bulgaria, the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS), Croatia, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine and

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

. Top 10 positions were also achieved in Austria, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador,

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay. The song received a gold

from

IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece, or simply IFPI Greece, is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification b ...

in Greece and IFPI Switzerland in Switzerland. It was certified double platinum in Denmark, Mexico and Norway as well as triple platinum in Austria, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden, and six-times Platinum in Spain. The song further garnered a diamond certification from the

(SNEP) in France and the

(ZPAV) in Poland.

Music video and promotion

To accompany the release, a

for "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" premiered to John's official

channel on 13 August 2021. Created in the isolation of the pandemic, Raman Djafari of Blink Ink directed the animated and imaginative video with the aspiration of crafting a galaxy "full of celebration, dance and joy". Gareth Owen and Josef Byrne produced the video with the characters of John and Lipa being designed by Seo Young. The video traces the adventure of John and Lipa, portrayed as animated characters, together with four

claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

-described 3D characters that dance to disco music, as they explore colorful and nature-filled galaxies and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

landscapes. In a sequence, the use of hand-drawn 2D elements enhances the visual frames, imparting an ethereal atmosphere to the animation. One of the dancers draws a shooting star in the sky, while flying fish appear to radiate from the movements of their dancing shoes. At the same time, towering flowers with eyes emerge and envelop the dancers, imbuing them with a sense of nature. There is also a psychedelic countryside sequence featuring flowers with puckered petals that sway in time with the music, and clouds fashioned into the shapes of

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

s and castles. The animated characters bring their journey to a close by joining John and Lipa in a dance celebration at a garden party located on one side of the

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

. John Russell from ''

Grazia ''Grazia'' (; ; stylized in all caps) is a weekly women's magazine that originated in Italy with international editions printed in Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, In ...

'' expressed his admiration for the video, while characterising it as "gorgeous" and highlighting its animation theme. Robledo for ''Gay Times'' referred to the video as "stunning" and deemed it to be "a fun and mind-blowing experience". Paulina Vales of ''The Honey Pop'' declared the video as the year's "most iconic animated video" and commended its aesthetics and fashion, writing that " ohn and Lipa broughtus joy we were missing in our life". While being streamed by American streaming platform

, John and Lipa performed "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" live at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

as part of the former's Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour on 20 November 2022. Three remixes of the song, including a rendition by German disc jockey

and American disc jockey

the Blessed Madonna Marea Renee Stamper (born October 22, 1977), better known by her stage name the Blessed Madonna (formerly the Black Madonna), is an American DJ, producer and musician. ''Mixmag'' named her the DJ of the year in 2016. She founded her own record l ...

, accompanied the single's release between September and October 2021. The rendition by the Blessed Madonna marked the second time that she had remixed a song from Lipa, following the remix of " Levitating" (2020). Samantha Reis from ''We Rave You'' gave a favorable assessment of the remix, stating that it took the already "club-ready beat" and elevated its "clubby vibe" to the maximum. Ariel King for

Dancing Astronaut Dancing Astronaut is an American media platform founded in 2009 that primarily covers the electronic dance music industry. The website covers concerts and festivals, reports on entertainment news, reviews music, and publishes original content syn ...

also positively commented that the remix "fits neatly into a sparkling club atmosphere while maintaining Lipa's disco aesthetic". The remix was accompanied by a visualiser video as a remix of the official music video, displaying animated eyes and fantastical creatures.

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming #"Cold Heart" (

Pnau Pnau, stylised as PNAU, is an Australian Electronic dance music, dance music trio originating from Sydney, Australia, Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, produ ...

Remix)3:22 *Digital download and streaming #"Cold Heart" (Acoustic)3:15 *Digital download and streaming #"Cold Heart" (

Remix)3:03 *Digital download and streaming #"Cold Heart" (PS1 Remix)2:47 *Digital download and streaming #"Cold Heart" (

Remix)2:53 #"Cold Heart" (The Blessed Madonna Extended Mix)4:33

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *Elton Johnlead artist, composing, songwriting *Dua Lipalead artist *Pnaulead artists, remixing **Nicholas Littlemorecomposing, producing, programming, songwriting **Peter Mayescomposing, engineering, producing, programming, songwriting **Sam Littlemorecomposing, producing, programming, songwriting *Andrew Meechamcomposing, songwriting *Bernie Taupincomposing, songwriting *Dean Meredithcomposing, songwriting *Josh Gudwinmastering, mixing *Mark Schickvocal producing *Rafael Fadulengineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 songs 2021 singles Elton John songs Dua Lipa songs Pnau songs Mashup songs Animated music videos Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John Songs written by Nick Littlemore Songs written by Peter Mayes Songs written by Sam Littlemore EMI Records singles Mercury Records singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Russia Number-one singles in the Commonwealth of Independent States Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles