Britney Spears Flaunts Toned Abs In A Tiny Black Crop Top

Singer Britney Spears is back on Instagram on the same day that the first song that she released following her 13-year conservatorship - "Hold Me Closer" with Sir Elton John - turned one year old!

The 41-year-old pop star might have been feeling nostalgic about the occasion, as she took to Instagram to share a single snap that featured her flaunting her toned abs in a black crop top.

On Saturday afternoon, the “Toxic” singer took to Instagram to share a throwback photo that featured her posing in front of the camera in a strapless black crop top and a floral skirt that she is holding in both hands. Her toned abs are on full display as her long blonde hair is blown back out of her face for this photo shoot.

She credited photographer Herb Ritts for the photo, but in the caption, she asked, “NEXT B*TCH 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ ???” Comments on this Instagram post were disabled, so fans couldn’t ask what she meant in her caption, but fans are looking forward to her “next” big song following the release of her July 2023 collaboration with will.i.am called “Mind Your Business.”

Fans have been taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their excitement for "Hold Me Closer," which was released on August 26, 2023.  "One year ago today, Britney Spears released Hold Me Closer with Elton John. The track marked her first single release in 6 years and immediately topped the iTunes charts in 51 countries," one fan account tweeted.

"It debuted at #1 in Australia, #3 in both the UK and Canada, #6 in the US, and has amassed nearly 300 MILLION streams on Spotify. She joined an elite league of just 12 artists who have achieved a Top 10 hit in the US across four or more decades, becoming the youngest to do so," they continued. "Additionally, the song gave Elton his highest Hot 100 position in 25 years."

The last time that the Princess of Pop released an album was in 2016, so it makes sense that she was feeling nervous about the release of "Hold Me Closer" - which marked the first song following her conservatorship and her first single in six years. As previously reported by The Blast, the "Oops!...I Did It Again" singer admitted on Twitter shortly before the song's release that she was feeling "overwhelmed" by the pressure.

“Okie dokie … my first song in 6 years 🎶 !!!! It’s pretty d— cool that I’m singing with one of the most classic men of our time … @eltonofficial 🚀!!!!” Britney wrote at the time. “I’m kinda overwhelmed… it’s a big deal to me !!! I’m meditating more 🧘🏼‍♀️ and learning my space is valuable and precious !!!”

“I’m learning every day is a clean slate to try and be a better person and do what makes me happy … yes I choose happiness today,” she continued. “I tell myself every day to let go of the hurt bitterness and try to forgive myself and others to what may have been hurtful.”

“I want to be fearless like when I was younger and not be so scared and fearful,” she added. “I pray there actually is truth to the Holy Spirit and I hope that spirit is with my children as well !!! Yes … I choose happiness and joy today ☀️ !!!”

Although she was feeling overwhelmed, the "Rocket Man" singer could not have been more excited to be working with Britney Spears. In an August 2022 interview with The Guardian, he expressed hope that the popularity of Britney's new single would give her more confidence in her ability to release new music going forward into the next stage of her career.

“I'm so excited to be able to do it with [Britney] because if it is a big hit, and I think it may be, it will give her so much more confidence than she's got already and she will realize that people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy,” he said at the time. “She's been away so long – there's a lot of fear there because she's been betrayed so many times and she hasn't really been in the public eye officially for so long. We've been holding her hand through the whole process, reassuring her that everything's going to be alright.”

Fortunately, there are reports that Britney is planning on releasing a new album around the same time as her memoir, “The Woman In Me,” hits bookshelves on October 24, 2023.