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.

Produced during the 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.

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+.

[1] 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.

[2][3] 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.

[14] 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).

[17] "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" is an upbeat,[18] contemporary synth-pop,[19] dance, dance-pop and pop song,[20][21][22] with club, disco and house beats.

[11] "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.

[31] 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".

[33] 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".

[38] 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".

[20] 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".

[64] 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.

[71][72] 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.

[78] "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" reached the top position in Bulgaria,[79] the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),[80] Croatia,[81] the Czech Republic,[82] Iceland,[83] Lithuania,[84] Mexico,[85] Poland, Ukraine and Wallonia.

[86][87][88] Top 10 positions were also achieved in Austria,[89] Costa Rica,[90] Denmark,[91] El Salvador,[92] Flanders,[93] France,[94] Germany,[95] Greece,[96] Hungary,[97] Ireland,[98] Italy,[99] Luxembourg,[100] the Netherlands,[101] Norway,[102] Portugal,[103] Romania,[104] Russia,[105] Slovakia,[106] South Africa,[107] Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay.

[120] The song further garnered a diamond certification from the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) in France and the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV) in Poland.

[123] 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".

[123] 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 unicorns and castles.

[125] 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.

[133] Ariel King for Dancing Astronaut also positively commented that the remix "fits neatly into a sparkling club atmosphere while maintaining Lipa's disco aesthetic".