Britney Spears - Britney
NME.COM feature on Britney Spears - Britney album including album review, artwork, tracks, listen now, tour dates, discography and more.
Album Review
Release date: 01 July 2002
...Baby One More Time
We seem to have reached crisis point: pubescent pop is now so rife that 17-year-old Britney 'lizard-lounge' [B]Spears[/B] is already halfway through her lucrative showbiz career...
We seem to have reached crisis point: pubescent pop is now so rife that 17-year-old Britney 'lizard-lounge' Spears is already halfway through her lucrative showbiz career having, lest you forget, earned a place in Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club at the tender age of 11, not to mention off-Broadway and commercial work prior to that. Now she finds both her debut...
- Mar 6, 1999
Tracklisting click track to read more
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Britney Spears - Britney: Wikipedia Album Entry
The title says it all — that this third album is where it's all about Britney. Actually, the titles say it all: Britney is "Overprotected," she pleads "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman," tries to let us all see "What It's Like To Be Me." All three songs are pivotal moments on Britney Spears' third album, the record where she strives to deepen her persona (not the same thing as her character, of course), making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. That much was evident from the selection of the first single, "I'm A Slave 4 U," a sultry Neptunes-produced salute to Prince that is so far removed from the big, glitzy Max Martin productions that are her signature that at first it sounds awkward, even wrong. As it grows, it sounds like one of her best singles — a skittering, spare funk number that is a perfect next move for her teasing, unformed sexiness. Such a departure seems to signal a full album of surprises like that, especially when teamed with the aforementioned title, but Britney isn't that bold — after it opens with The Neptunes' retro-future funk, it delves right back into Martin territory with "Overprotected." At first, that's a disappointment, but then the small, yet significant, changes become apparent. Rhythmically and melodically, the whole album is sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums. While there's no denying that this reinvention and statement of dogged individuality is no doubt a calculated move (and a brilliant, timely one at that), there's no denying that it's effective, in large part because Spears is committed to making this record work. She's co-written more songs than ever before, and these are strong selections, whether it's the hard-edged "Lonely," the sweet "That's Where You Take Me," or, especially, the neo-disco "Anticipating," one of the pure delights on this record. These are small steps forward — really, the most overt steps forward are the collaborations with The Neptunes on "Slave" and "Boys," which are the sexiest sounding cuts she ever did — but most of the Martin productions sound fuller (particularly the Dido-written ballad "I'm Not a Girl"), and Rodney Jerkins offers some welcome rhythmic invention on many of his contributions. This isn't a perfect record — Martin stumbles on "Bombastic Love," Jerkins drops the ball on "I Love Rock N Roll" (this year's entry of the now obligatory cringe-inducing classic rock by Ms. Spears) — but it does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet (and rivaling Mandy Moore's eponymous album as the best teen-pop record yet released). It's enough of a reinvention to suggest that Britney will know what to do when the teen-pop phenomenon of 1999-2001 passes for good.
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Britney Spears - Britney Lyrics
Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U Lyrics
I know I may be young
But I've got feelings too
And I need to do what I feel like doing
So let me go and just listen
Britney Spears - Before The Goodbye Lyrics
Layin' here in your arms and you hold me tight, tight
Tryin' not to watch the clock
Tick-tickin' as the time goes by
Britney Spears - Intimidated Lyrics
Ooh, I see you over there
Don't be shy come here, um
You got that thing that I can't deny
Britney Spears - When I Found You Lyrics
I believe
We all have one true love
Somewhere in this world
I do
Britney Spears - What It's Like To Be Me Lyrics
Do you know what it's like?
Come on
Come on
Britney Spears - That's Where You Take Me Lyrics
Oh baby, oh baby
Oh baby, oh baby
In love no believe I never found inside of me
Britney Spears - Bombastic Love Lyrics
I, I'm here to testify that you're the only one I belong to
I don't know where to start, it turned into an art
Not to show the world that it was you
Who made me realize not to compromise
Britney Spears - Let Me Be Lyrics
You try to read me
You try to figure out
You try to breathe me
But you can't blow me out
Britney Spears - Cinderella Lyrics
I used to be your girlfriend and I know I did it well
Oh yes, you know it's true
You called me Cinderella, all you had to do was yell
And I'd be there for you
Britney Spears - Anticipating Lyrics
Top down, on the strip
Lookin' in the mirror and
I'm checkin' out my lipstick
Girlfriends up in the back
Britney Spears - Boys Lyrics
For whatever reason, I feel like
I've been wanting you all my life
You don't understand, I'm so glad
We're at the same place at the same time
Britney Spears - I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman Lyrics
I used to think, I had the answers to everything
But now I know that life doesn't always go my way, yeah
Feels like I'm caught in the middle
That's when I realize
More Britney Spears - I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman Lyrics
Britney Spears - Lonely Lyrics
To think I'm so naive
How dare you play with me?
I gave you heart an' soul, yea
Tell me baby, please
Britney Spears - Overprotected Lyrics
(You need time)
I need time
(Time)
Love
Britney Spears - I Love Rock 'n' Roll Lyrics
Hey, is this thing on?
I saw him dancing there by the record machine
I knew he must have been about 17
