"Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" is a song by British singer and songwriter Elton John, recorded with Dua Lipa for the former's collaborative studio album The Lockdown Sessions (2021). It was released on 13 August 2021 as the lead single from the album for digital download and streaming in various countries by EMI and Mercury. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 John and Bernie Taupin, as well as Andrew Meecham, Dean Meredith, Nicholas Littlemore, Peter Mayes and Sam Littlemore, with the production completed by the latter three as part of the dance music group Pnau. A medley of John's songs "Rocket Man" (1972), "Kiss the Bride" (1983), "Sacrifice" (1989) and "Where's the Shoorah?" (1976), the remix is an upbeat contemporary synth-pop, dance, dance-pop and pop 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 Top 40 and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs rankings, respectively. The song received two gold and multiple platinum certifications as well as two diamond awards from the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) in France and the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV) in Poland, respectively. In 2022, it won an award in the category for the Collaboration of the Year at the American Music Awards and the Top Dance/Electronic Song at the Billboard Music Awards.
"Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" was met with a warm reception from music critics for its lyrics, sound and incorporation of John's four songs. Produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the animated music video premiered on John's YouTube 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, PS1 and The Blessed Madonna. The song was further promoted with a live performance in Los Angeles on 20 November as part of John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which was streamed on Disney+. In 2022, it was ranked among the 10th most-streamed songs globally on Apple Music and Spotify.
Background and development Due to the outbreak of the pandemic of COVID-19, John was compelled to temporarily halt his Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour in March 2020. Amidst the lockdown 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 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 melody on their respective social media 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, "[Lipa has] given 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, Bernie Taupin, Dean Meredith, Nicholas Littlemore, Peter Mayes and Sam Littlemore, with the production completed by the latter three, who form the group Pnau. 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 of and the key of B-flat minor, with a tempo of 116 beats per minute.Citations regarding the release of "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa in various selected countries:
The song is constructed in the verse–chorus form and uses the chord progression B♭m7–E♭m7–G♭-Fm7. The song was released for digital download and streaming in various countries by EMI and Mercury on 13 August 2021 as the lead single 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), "Sacrifice" (1989) and "Where's the Shoorah?" (1976). The sample of "Where's the Shoorah?" appears at the 3:19 mark, with a tempo from 116 BPM to 130 BPM and a key shifted from an E-flat major to B-flat minor. "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" is an upbeat, contemporary synth-pop, dance, dance-pop and pop song, with club, disco and house beats. The lyrics transmit the chorus 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 music critics, with many complimenting the combination of John's previous hits in the song. David Smyth from Evening Standard characterised the song as a "particularly slick updating of classic Elton". Annie Zaleski for Variety declared the result of the mashup to be "relentlessly modern, a seamless (and savvy) [fusion] of eras". Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone highlighted that the songs received a "groove-tipped refresh" in the song. Lars Brandle from Billboard 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 wrote that the song "does a terrific job [combining] 'Sacrifice' and 'Rocket Man', giving both a tendon-twanging freshness". Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri from Firstpost 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 commented that the mashup "may seem like a chaotic choice [but] Pnau [...] pull it together seamlessly". Robert Moran for Sydney Morning Herald 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 labeled the song as a "perfect dancefloor singalong". Charlie Dukes from Renowned for Sound marked the song as a "modern anthem" that "the world never knew it needed". Gary Ryan for NME inscribed that the song "imperiously drapes itself over the disco-revival chaise longue". Will Hodgkinson of The Times 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 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 [John's] legendary patronage of younger artists and represents a new concept in mainstream musical reinvention". Terry Staunton of Record Collector was less impressed, deriding it as "awkward" and "a little out of step".
Some criticised the performance, such as The Mix Review, which commented it was boring and an excuse to cash in.[ https://themixreview.org/reviews/cold-heart/ "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)by Elton John & Dua Lipa"], The Mix Review. January 21, 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2026
Accolades In 2022, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" won an award in the category for the Collaboration of the Year at the American Music Awards 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 and the Best Collaboration and Song of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2023, the song received nominations for the Best Collaboration and Dance Song of the Year at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Billboard and Los Angeles Times 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 Spotify worldwide. On the year-end lists, it was ranked as the sixth and seventh most-streamed song on Spotify and Apple, 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" (2017) and "One Kiss" (2018), and John's eighth and first in 16 years, since he was featured artist on American rapper 2Pac's posthumous single "Ghetto Gospel" (2005). John also became the first solo artist to achieve a top 10 single in six different decades, spanning from the 1970s to the 2020s. In April 2023, the song received triple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (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 for 10 consecutive weeks as well as number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart 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" / "Candle in the Wind 1997" in 1997. Also in 2022, it garnered a ten-times platinum certification from Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ) in New Zealand for selling more than 300,000 units. In Australia, it was certified fifteen-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 1,050,000 equivalent units.
In Canada, "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100 in the issue dated 8 January 2022, having spent a total of 12 consecutive weeks.Citations regarding the number one positions of "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" by Elton John and Dua Lipa in the Canadian Hot 100 ranking: