Britney (album)

In May 2000, Spears released her second album, Oops! ... I Did It Again ^[5] . The singer collaborated with producers such as Rodney Jerkins , David Kruger and Max Martin ^[6] . After the release of Oops! ... I Did It Again was internationally successful and reached the first line in the US Billboard 200 ^[7] . The main single from the album “ Oops! ... I Did It Again ” became one of the best-selling singles of all time ^[8] .

During the recording of her third album, Spears wanted to “hook the older generation”, adding that she “had to go to a higher level.” Britney chose the album of the same name because most of it is autobiographical. The singer recorded twenty-three tracks for release, some of them in collaboration with Brian Kierulf and Josh Schwartz. She added that her personal involvement in writing most of the compositions made the new project “special.” The intention to “become better and grow”, to prove himself as a songwriter, motivated her when creating the album ^[4] .

She collaborated with various authors, including colleagues in pop music: with Martin and Justin Timberlake , her then gentleman and fiancé ^[4] . Britney commented that she initially felt “awkward” and “nervous” in working with Timberlake, but then got used to the process. ^[9] . Spears also worked with hip-hop producers Rodney Jerkins and The Neptunes , who made the recording more obscene and funky. In addition, she recorded songs with Missy Elliott and Timbaland . These songs were not released due to a tightly packed schedule and incompatibility with the recording plan ^[10] .

Britney entered a pop style with elements of dance pop and R&B ^[1] . The album begins with the main single “ I'm a Slave 4 U ”, an urban composition with a Middle Eastern musical touch ^[11] , with which the famous vocal with aspiration is especially exciting ^[12] -, the song was compared with Vanity 6's “ Nasty Girl ” ^[13] . Spears commented on the song’s words: “it sings about how sometimes you just want to go out, forget who you are, and have a great time ^[14] .“ Overprotected ”, a song in Euro-pop style, tells about a girl, tired of being under the influence of someone who does not want excessive control and protection. ^[15] Lyrically, “Lonely”, viewed as “the youth version of Janet “ What About? ”” ^[12] , draws in front of the listener an image of a girl who is evading painful love relationships after cheating and selfish use ^[16] . The piano ballad in the style of Sof -rok ^[12] « I of'm Not a Girl, Not by Yet a Woman », written in collaboration with the British pesennitsey singer Dido , Max Martin and Rami describes in detail the emotional stress of the girls during adolescence, touches all the strings of a young virgin souls ^{[17 ]} . “ Boys ”, combining R&B and hip-hop ^[18] , was criticized by David Brownie of Entertainment Weekly as “a cheap copy of Janet Jackson of the 80s”, which, however, did not prevent her from becoming one of the main hits of the album ^{[15 ]} . Disco- track ^[19] “ Anticipating ” tells about friendship and partnership between women ^[20] and resembles the Madonna Holiday or the famous work of Kylie .

A cover version of Britney Spears of the legendary song “ I Love Rock 'n' Roll ”, which at one time made famous Joan Jett and the Blackhearts , brings pop-rock style to the original hard rock piece ^[21] . “Cinderella” is a song about a girl who left her boyfriend after he did not appreciate her efforts in the relationship ^[22] . “Let Me Be” presents the singer’s request to be trusted as an adult and allowed to express her opinion ^[23] . “Bombastic Love” talks about the novel “just like in the movies” ^[24] , and the penultimate track “That's Where You Take Me”, a motley mix of Middle Eastern melodies, electronic rhythms and basses ^[11] , tells about the joy that the lyrical heroine experiences from relationship ^[25] . In some editions, “When I Found You” is the penultimate track ^{[26] [27] [28]} , in the track Britney says that she found her “strongest love” in a friend, which is a complete reflection of her in all matters ^[12] . The album closes with “What It's Like to Be Me,” co-authored and co-produced by then-singer Justin Timberlake ; Spears sings that a man must “comprehend her” before “being her” ^[29] .

“I'm a Slave 4 U” was released as the main single from the album on September 24, 2001 ^[30] . The video for it, shot by Francis Lawrence ^[31] , received nominations for three awards at the MTV VMA 2002 Ceremony ^[32] . The song peaked at number twenty-seven in the US Billboard Hot 100 ^[33] and also debuted at number four in the UK Singles Chart ^[34] . “Overprotected” was the second international single from the album and the third single in the USA. His "Darkchild Remix" peaked at line eighty-six in the Hot 100 ^[33] , while the original version reached line four in the UK ^[34] . The song was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance at the 45th Grammy Awards ^[3] . Two clips for the song, one on the original version, and the second on Darkchild Remix, received great acclaim ^[35] .

“I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” was released as the main theme of the Crossroads movie, where Britney co-starred and the second single from Britney in the USA. The song reached number two on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and number twenty-six on the Hot 100 ^[33] . In the international arena, he was met with greater success - the single peaked on the second line in the UK ^[34] . A cover version of Spears on "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was released by the fourth European single, as a result of which the song did not hit the US charts, but reached the thirteenth line in the UK Singles Chart ^[34] . "Anticipating" was released as the fourth single exclusively in France; he reached the thirty-eighth line in the French Singles Chart ^[36] . “Boys” was the fifth single from Britney and reached the twenty-second position on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart ^[33] , as well as the seventh line in the UK ^[34] .

On January 28, 2001, Spears performed at Super Bowl XXXV ^[37] . Immediately after that, she appeared on Total Request Live to first introduce new material with Britney ^[38] . On September 6, Spears first introduced “ I'm a Slave 4 U ” at the MTV Video Music Awards ; the performance was criticized by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) organization for invoking exotic animals, in particular, the yellow Burmese python , which the singer put on her shoulders. This performance was one of the most memorable of all Britney's career, in August 2008 MTV Network called it the most memorable moment in the history of VMA ^{[39] [40]} . Four days later, Spears performed “I'm a Slave 4 U” at The Rosie O'Donnell Show ^[41] . She was supposed to speak and hold a press conference in Australia on September 13, but canceled the event in the light of events that happened two days before the scheduled date, September 11 , saying that the conference would not be appropriate ^[42] . The following month, Spears performed at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ^[43] , and in November held her first HBO concert specifically at the MGM Grand Garden Arena ; Cher was supposed to join the show on the song “ The Beat Goes On, ” Spears recorded a cover version for her debut album , but Cher was unable to do this because of her busy schedule ^[44] .

In December, Spears performed at the 2001 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas ^[45] . The following January, she sang "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" at the 2002 American Music Awards ^[46] . Later that month, Spears was interviewed at The Frank Skinner Show in the UK and The Saturday Show in Australia. ^[47] Crossroads was released in February 2002, allowing Spears to use the premiere to promote the album ^[48] . On February 2, she was both the host and performer on Saturday Night Live ^[49] , a week later she sang “I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” at the NBA All-Star Game and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ^[46] . Spears also appeared on Live with Regis & Kelly , The View ^[49] and the 44th Grammy Awards in the USA, as well as Wetten, dass ..? in Germany ^[50] .

In November 2001, Spears went on a Dream Within a Dream Tour in Columbus ; ^[51] , it ended in June 2002 in Dallas. ^[52] A video titled Britney: The Videos was released on November 20, 2001 on Jive Records . Having become available less than three weeks after the release of Britney , The Videos peaked on the first line in the American Top Music Videos chart on December 8, 2001 with very good sales ^[53] , as it included a selection of Britney’s early clips, video footage from stage, advertising and the most outstanding live performances ^[54] .

On Metacritic , which is rated on a 100-point scale, Britney got an average score of 58, which means “mixed or average reviews” ^[55] . Entertainment Weekly's David Brownie found Spears' extremely provocative image too oversimplified, noting the image of a “virgin seductress in a ticklish puberty” and “some uncertainty about new steps” ^[15] . Nicky Tranton from PopMatters praised the songs, but wondered if Spears was ready to consolidate her status as an adult woman in the music industry ^[12] . Sal Cincemani of Slant Magazine agreed, writing that although “ Britney reveals his creator’s vicious desires (the disc has definitely grown compared to the last Oops! ... I Did It Again ), it's time for Spears to stop being such a speaker and concoct something that will satisfy the ever-changing fashion. " ^[eleven]

AllMusic Steven Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave a positive review: “The album aims to enhance the young singer’s personality in modern music and proves to us that she knows how the miracle of Tin-Pop 1999-2001 is. can change forever, transform into a fatal seducer ” ^[1] . A Billboard reviewer found that "the album is quite diverse." ^[57] Dotmusic's Chris Heath praised Britney for "the big risk and adding the long-awaited audacity to the sound of the songs." NME 's Ted Kessler praised Britney’s third studio recording as an “adult album” and added that he “is the best dance music rhythm in modern music” ^[59] . Stephen Thomas of The AV Club , on the other hand, sharply criticized the album, expressing its opinion about the quality of the material: “[not] attractive” and “being neither a girl nor a woman, Spears provokes her anger at growing up” ^[56] .

Britney debuted on the first line in the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 745,000 copies. ^[62] At the same time, Spears became the first woman to have her first three studio albums debuted at the top of the chart ^[39] . Her second album, with the highest sales debut in 2001, was on the second line after Celebrity 'N Sync with 1.88 million copies, and yet remains the highest selling debut among artists ^[62] . After fluctuating within the top 20 on the chart in the following weeks, Britney was sold 3.3 million copies by 2002 ^[63] .

Britney debuted at the top of the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 44,550 copies. ^[64] Later it was sold out in 316,944 copies in the country, much smaller than ... Baby One More Time and Oops! ... I Did It Again ^[65] . The album peaked on the fourth line in both the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart ^[34] . Later, it was certified platinum for selling 300,000 copies. ^[66] As for Europe, Britney debuted on the first line in Germany ^[67] , Austria ^[68] , and Switzerland ^[69] . In 2002, it was certified twice platinum according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for the sale of two million copies across Europe ^[70] . The album also peaked at number four in Australia, and was certified twice platinum in the same place ^[71] .

Notes

• ^↑ means vocal producer

Notes

• ↑ К маю 2012 альбом был распродан 4,400,000 копиями в США согласно Nielsen SoundScan ^{[125] [126]} , с дополнительными продажми 588,000 на BMG Music Clubs ^[127] . Nielsen SoundScan не подсчитывал продажу альбомов через клубы, как BMG Music Service, что было очень популярно в 1990-х ^[128] .