Britney (album)

''Britney'' is the third studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. It was released on October 31, 2001, by Jive Records. Looking to transition from the teen pop styles of her first and sophomore studio albums '' ...Baby One More Time'' (1999) and '' Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000) respectively, Spears began to embrace a significantly more mature sound with ''Britney''. The record incorporates genres of pop and R&B with influences of electronic dance and occasionally dips into elements of disco, hip hop, rock, and electronica. Its lyrics address the subjects of coming of age, adulthood, control, and sexuality. Contributions to its production came from a variety of collaborators, including Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. Spears herself assumed a more prominent role in the album's development, co-writing six of its tracks.

''Britney'' received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented Spears's musical progression but criticized her increasingly provocative image. Regardless, the album was a global success, topping the charts in seven countries and reaching the top ten in over 25 territories. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 746,000 copies, making Spears the first female artist to have her first three studio albums debut atop the chart, a record she would later break with her subsequent releases. With global sales of 10 million copies, ''Britney'' is one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. To promote the album, Spears embarked on her fourth concert tour, the Dream Within a Dream Tour, which began in November 2001 and continued until July 2002. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 45th annual ceremony.

Six singles were released from the album. " I'm a Slave 4 U" reached the top ten in several countries but reached only number twenty-seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Spears's first lead single not to peak within the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Overprotected" and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" had alternated as the second and third single of the album, respectively, both of which performed similarly internationally by reaching top ten in several countries, while the Darkchild remix of the former peaked at number eighty-six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", as well as the following singles "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", "Anticipating" (which was released exclusively in France and Taiwan) and "Boys" did not chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100; however, all of them except for "Anticipating" reached the top ten in several countries albeit in less than its preceding singles.

Background and development

In May 2000, Spears released her second studio album '' Oops!... I Did It Again''. Spears collaborated with producers including Rodney Jerkins, David Kreuger, and Max Martin. Following its release, ''Oops!... I Did It Again'' became an international success and peaked at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200.

While recording her follow-up album, Spears wanted an "older generation to pick up on it", adding that she "had to change it up and pray people think that's cool". She stated that she chose to self-title the album because the majority of its content describes who she is. Spears recorded twenty-three tracks for the release, several of which she co-wrote with the assistance of Brian Kierulf and Josh Schwartz. She added that personally writing the album and developing its concept made the project "that much more special", elaborating of her intentions to "get better and grow" as a songwriter.

Spears worked with a variety of collaborators, including pop colleagues Martin and her then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. She commented that she initially felt "awkward" and "nervous" working with Timberlake, saying that she was accustomed to the process being "like work". Spears also worked with hip hop producers Rodney Jerkins and the Neptunes, who made the sound "nastier and funkier". She was additionally set to record songs with Missy Elliott and Timbaland, but they never worked with Spears due to scheduling conflicts.

Music and lyrics

''Britney'' is a pop and R&B record with dance influences. The album opens with its lead single " I'm a Slave 4 U". The song features an urban influence and Middle Eastern flavor, amid breathy, emotive noises, and it has been compared to " Nasty Girl" by Vanity 6. Spears commented that its lyrics are "about me just wanting to go out and forget who I am and dance and have a good time". "Overprotected" was noted for having Europop styles, and addresses a girl who is tired of being manipulated. Lyrically, "Lonely" sees a girl moving on from a troublesome romance after being lied to and manipulated. It was considered "a teenage version of Janet Jackson's "What About?". The soft rock piano ballad "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", co-penned by English singer-songwriter Dido, Max Martin and Rami, details the emotional struggles that teenage girls experience during puberty. "Boys" incorporates R&B and hip hop styles, and was criticized by David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' as "cut-rate '80s Janet Jackson". The disco-inspired track "Anticipating" discusses the friendship and camaraderie between women, and it's reminiscent of adonna's'Holiday' or Kylie in disco mood."

Spears's cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", made famous by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, infuses pop rock styles into the original hard rock rendition. "Cinderella" reflects on a girl who left her boyfriend after he failed to appreciate her efforts in the relationship. "Let Me Be" sees Spears ask to be trusted as an adult and be afforded her own opinions. "Bombastic Love" discusses a love where Spears feels that the romance will happen "exactly like in a movie". Similarly, the penultimate track "That's Where You Take Me" details the joy she gets from an emotionally fulfilling relationship, amid Middle Eastern chimes and a collage of electronic beats and drum programming. In some editions, "When I Found You" is the penultimate track. On the electronica track, Spears tells she has found her "deepest love" in her soul mate who is essentially a reflection of herself. The album closes with "What It's Like to Be Me", which was co-written and co-produced by Spears's then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake; Spears sings that a guy must "figure erout" to "be erman".

Release and promotion

On January 28, 2001, Spears performed at Super Bowl XXXV. Shortly after, she appeared on ''Total Request Live'' to premiere new material from ''Britney''. On September 6, Spears premiered " I'm a Slave 4 U" at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards; the performance was criticized for her use of a yellow python as a stage prop. Four days later, she performed "I'm a Slave 4 U" on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show''. Spears was scheduled to perform and hold a press conference in Australia on September 13; however, she cancelled the event in light of the September 11 attacks two days prior, saying that holding the conference would have been inappropriate. The following month, Spears performed at ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''.

''Britney'' was first released in Japan on October 31, being released in the United States on November 6, by Jive Records. An accompanying video album, titled '' Britney: The Videos'', was released two weeks later. It included a selection of her earlier music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, commercials, and notable live performances. The video peaked atop the US Top Music Videos on December 8.
Spears had already begun her Dream Within a Dream Tour in Columbus, Ohio five days before ''Britney'' was released in the US; the tour ended on July 28, 2002 in Mexico City. Shortly after it began, she performed in her first HBO concert special from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas; Cher was supposed to join Spears onstage for the song " The Beat Goes On", which Spears covered on '' ...Baby One More Time'', but was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts.

On December 4, 2001, Spears performed at the 2001 ''Billboard'' Music Awards in Las Vegas. On January 9, 2002, she performed "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" at the 2002 American Music Awards. Later that month, Spears gave interviews to ''The Frank Skinner Show'' in the United Kingdom and ''The Saturday Show'' in Australia. ''Crossroads'' premiered in February, allowing Spears to simultaneously promote both the film and her album. On February 2, she was featured as both the host and performer on ''Saturday Night Live''. A week later, she performed "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" at the NBA All-Star Game and ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. Spears also appeared on ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', '' The View'', and the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as the German talk show '' Wetten, dass..?''.

Singles

" I'm a Slave 4 U" was released as the album's lead single on September 25, 2001. Its accompanying music video was directed by Francis Lawrence, and received three nominations at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. The song peaked at number twenty-seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart.

"Overprotected" was released as the album's second single internationally in December 2001 and the third single in the United States in April 2002. Its "Darkchild Remix" peaked at number eighty-six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while the original version reached number four in the United Kingdom. The song was nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2003 Grammy Awards. Two variations of the music video were released, one for the original and the other for the Darkchild Remix.

Staggered to fit the varying release dates of ''Crossroads'' internationally, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was released as the theme song of the film and the second single for ''Britney'' in the United States. The song charted at number two on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, an extension of the twenty-five songs that failed to make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was met with more success internationally, peaking at number two in the United Kingdom.

Spears's cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was released as the fourth Australian and European single. Consequentially, the song reached number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart. "Boys" served as the fifth single internationally, and it peaked at number twenty-two on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, and reached number seven in the United Kingdom. "Anticipating" was released as the sixth and final single from ''Britney'' exclusively in France; it reached number thirty-eight on the French Singles Chart.

Critical reception

''Britney'' received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Britney'' received an average score of 58, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 13 reviews. David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' found Spears's increasingly provocative image to be unnatural, noting "virginal vamping in an awkward adolescence" and "a few tentative new moves". ''PopMatters'' Nikki Tranton complimented the production of the songs, but questioned if Spears was ready to establish herself as a grown woman in the music industry. Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant Magazine'' agreed, writing that although "''Britney'', he album fills her role of guilty pleasure (the disc certainly satiates more than the stunted growth of last year's '' Oops!...I Did It Again''), it's time for Spears to quit being such a cock-tease and cook something up that will satisfy the ever-vacillating hype-machine."

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave a positive review, feeling that the album "strives to deepen pears'spersona" and proves she "will know what to do when the teen-pop phenomenon of 1999–2001 passes for good". Similarly, a reviewer from ''Billboard'' commented that the project was "a nicely varied, wholly satisfying collection". Chris Heat of ''Dotmusic'' praised Britney for "us ngthis opportunity to take the odd risk and adds a welcome edge to her sound." ''NME''s Ted Kessler recognized the release as a "coming of age album" and joked that it "works best when making a good pop cheese and dance sandwich". By contrast, Stephen Thompson of ''The A.V. Club'' panned the album, opining that the music "just sn'tcatchy" and that "though neither a girl nor a woman, Spears inspires grown-up anger on her own". Craig Seymore of ''Spin'' recognized that she "sound almost human," but criticized that "the rest of the record is as coldly anthemic as ever."

Accolades

Commercial performance

''Britney'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 745,750 copies, which was the second highest first week sales by a female artist at the time behind Spears' own '' Oops!... I Did It Again'' which sold 1.3 million copies in its first week. In doing so, Spears became the first woman to have her first three studio albums debut atop that chart. She also held the second-highest debut album sales of 2001, behind ''Celebrity'' by NSYNC with 1.88 million units moved and was the highest debut-week sales by a female artist of the year. After fluctuating within the top 20 of the chart in the following weeks, ''Britney'' sold 3.3 million copies by March 2002. As of March 2015, ''Britney'' has sold 4.4 million units in the United States alone and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Internationally, ''Britney'' debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 44,550 copies. It later sold 316,944 copies in the country, a significant decline in relation to the sales of '' ...Baby One More Time'' (1999) and '' Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000). The album peaked at number four on both the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan and the UK Albums Chart. In the latter, it was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 300,000 copies to retailers. Across the rest of Europe, ''Britney'' debuted at number one in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2002, it was certified double platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipments of two million copies throughout Europe. The album also peaked at number four in Australia, and was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). ''Britney'' was the fifth best-selling album of 2001 globally, selling seven million copies. As of January 2003, the album has sold ten million copies worldwide.

Track listing

Notes
* "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a cover of the 1975 Arrows single later made famous by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in their 1982 cover of the song.
* signifies a vocal producer.

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.

*Max Martin – producer, engineer, mixing, guitar, background vocals
*Rodney Jerkins – producer
*The Neptunes – producer
*Rami Yacoub – producer, engineer, mixing
*Wade Robson – producer
*Justin Timberlake – producer, vocal arrangements, background vocals
*Andrew Coleman – engineer
*Brian Garten – engineer
*Brad Gilderman – engineer
*Pablo Munguia – engineer
*Michael Tucker – engineer
*Yasu – engineer
*Jaime Duncan – assistant engineer
*Richard G. Johnson – assistant engineer
*Marc Stephen Lee – assistant engineer
*Charles McCrorey – assistant engineer
*Daniel Milazzo – assistant engineer
*Tim Roberts – assistant engineer
*Ryan Smith – assistant engineer
*Rich Tapper – assistant engineer
*Jill Tengan – assistant engineer
*Tom Coyne – mastering
* Stephen George – mixing
*Serban Ghenea – mixing
*Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing
*James Biondolillo – string arrangements
*Mark Suozzo – string arrangements
*Britney Spears – vocals, background vocals, concept, writer
*Sue Ann Carwell – background vocals
*Tyler Collins – background vocals
*Albert Hall – background vocals
*Damion Hall – background vocals
*Nana Hedin – background vocals
*Jennifer Karr – background vocals
* Maxayne Moriguchi – background vocals
*Jeff Pescetto – background vocals
*Jason Scheff – background vocals
*Chris Thompson – background vocals
*Jeanette Olsson – background vocals
*Chad Hugo – featured musician
*Pharrell – featured musician
*Thomas Lindberg – bass
*Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar
*Nile Rodgers – guitar
* Steven Klein – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also

* List of best-selling albums by women
* List of best-selling albums of the 21st century
* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2001

Notes

References

External links

*

{{Authority control

2001 albums
Britney Spears albums
Jive Records albums
Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins
Albums produced by Justin Timberlake
Albums produced by Max Martin
Albums produced by the Neptunes
Albums produced by Rami Yacoub
Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios
Contemporary R&B albums by American artists