Artist of the Month - Britney Spears (May 2023)

[Solarie]

FYC: I Will Be There

I have to say I thought long and hard on what or if I should even FYC from her debut album because frankly speaking I kinda hate it sans the singles ofc However, if there is one gem, and there is one... it's I Will Be There. It's cute af but not to the point that you wanna vomit, it features some solid vocal runs from Britney and is just a joy to the ears. This is also back from when Britney was just a kid with big dreams and honestly, you can hear that innocent in her voice. There's something super cute, pleasant, and special about this song. Definitely her strongest non-single from BOMBT and fight me on it!

[Jack]

FYC: I Will Be There

I have to say I thought long and hard on what or if I should even FYC from her debut album because frankly speaking I kinda hate it sans the singles ofc However, if there is one gem, and there is one... it's I Will Be There. It's cute af but not to the point that you wanna vomit, it features some solid vocal runs from Britney and is just a joy to the ears. This is also back from when Britney was just a kid with big dreams and honestly, you can hear that innocent in her voice. There's something super cute, pleasant, and special about this song. Definitely her strongest non-single from BOMBT and fight me on it!

Such a cute song!

[Solarie]

FYC: Outta This World

This track was a bonus from 'Blackout' and released exclusively on the Japanese edition, so not many people heard it or know about it and it's a shame... It's magical - from production to Britney's vocals. As the title suggests, it truly is outta this world. Try blasting this on your earphones - it goes heavily! It's perfection. The sad undertone of it makes it particularly haunting.

[Solarie]

FYC: That's Where You Take Me

Always loved this track a lot. It's just such capturing such a cute mixture of the innocent Britney maturing into a woman. Pretty much like most of the self-titled tracks. Oh baby, oh baby...

[Solarie]

FYC: Swimming in the Stars

Recorded during 'Glory' sessions, but did not make the final cut. It was finally released in December 2020 as an addition to the Vinyl edition of the album. It's a heavily produced electropop synth song and some may call it overproduced, but to me, it works for the track. The sound is atmospheric and kind of feels like it keeps building up during the verses, finally exploding during the big chorus. It's a dreamy track with a really positive message. I'm actually surprised that it didn't make the standard tracklist in 2016 because it's so much better than lots of the tracks that did. Wish the circumstances were different and we got a sexy, high-budget video for it.

[CitizenKian]

Looooooooooooooove that song. Well, the entire songs in Glory are gems.

[Solarie]

FYC: Touch of My Hand & Early Mornin'

'In the Zone' will probably forever be my favorite album by Britney it literally has zero fillers. If I could I would FYC the entire album, but don't really have the time for it. And already FYCE'd 'Breathe On Me' and 'Shadow'

So this time I'm posting an FYC for two thematically similar songs as they're both sensual sexy bops.

'Touch of My Hand' was actually the first track written for the album, so in fact we can probably thank this for the entire record as Britney in her own words said "

"really did provide a balance for the rest of the record. We just went from there."

The track contemplates middle eastern instrumentation and Britney fully owned and took control of her sexuality. This track along with 'Breathe on Me' got sort of a second life as Britney added them to her tour setlist and performed them at every show and Billboard Music Awards performance. ICONIC song.

'Early Mornin' is a less-known song from the record but thematically deals with the same subject - sex. And with Britney moaning in the track the mood is quite obvious It's freakin' sexy Anyway, it truly makes sense to highlight these two tracks together. I hope people listen!

[Solarie]

FYC: Anticipating

The pop perfection! 'Anticipating' is such a warm ear-candy, it's also disco influenced and kinda sounds like a Janet song sung by Britney. It truly baffles me that she would release 'Boys' or even 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' over this track as singles. But anyway, at least France got this released as a single This song is so colorful and vibrant, it's practically inescapable once you hear it, that's how catchy it is. The self-titled record is one of my favorite albums of Britney - it barely has any filler and most of the tracks slap so hard, just like 'Anticipating' or 'Cinderella' that I posted about earlier. As a body of work, it's always been waaaay stronger than her first two albums.

[Jack]

FYC: Anticipating

The pop perfection! 'Anticipating' is such a warm ear-candy, it's also disco influenced and kinda sounds like a Janet song sung by Britney. It truly baffles me that she would release 'Boys' or even 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' over this track as singles. But anyway, at least France got this released as a single This song is so colorful and vibrant, it's practically inescapable once you hear it, that's how catchy it is. The self-titled record is one of my favorite albums of Britney - it barely has any filler and most of the tracks slap so hard, just like 'Anticipating' or 'Cinderella' that I posted about earlier. As a body of work, it's always been waaaay stronger than her first two albums.

Such a fun song!

[Jack]

[Solarie]

FYC: Why Should I Be Sad

This midtempo bop was such a needed bridge and breath of fresh her on the 'Blackout' an album full of bops. As a closing track it just worked perfectly because of its lyrics and sad undertone. And don't get me wrong, I love the album as a whole but yeah, except for singles and 'Outta This World' this is probably my favorite track of it, even if this is quite an unpopular opinion. The production is perfect and sets the mood of a closure even if you still want more once it's all over. A very underrated song.

[CMBYNMafia]

Such a fun song!

Top 10 Britney.

[Solarie]

FYC: (I Got That) Boom Boom

There's always been something refreshing about this track in Britney's discography. She collaborated on it with the hip-hop duo the Ying Yang Twins. Britney originally planned this to be the lead single from 'In the Zone', but she changed it to 'Me Against the Music'. It was confirmed as a second single, but at the last minute, Britney decided to release 'Toxic' instead (rightfully so, but it shows how many choices there are on the album). It kept being considered as a single along with 'Breathe on Me' till the end of the 'In the Zone' era. However, she outrageously went with Outrageous as the fourth single then injured her knee and the era prematurely ended. This track is fire - it has a hot hip hop beat and her vocals complete it in such a nice way. Like I said, she was really on a roll for the time that 'In the Zone' era lasted.

[Solarie]

FYC: Mannequin

To be honest, I hated this track at first. I've grown to appreciate its brilliance over the years. The dancehall production in Mannequin sets it apart from the rest of Britney's discography. It's fresh, different, and dare I say ahead of its time. She did this before dancehall became trendy. Back then, I was way too young to hear it for what it is - a sort of masterpiece. Now I bop to it It is genuinely one of the most experimental songs that she ever recorded, or at least released. There were rumours (never officially confirmed) that 'Mannequin' was supposed to be the lead single of 'Circus'

[Solarie]

FYC: Private Show

I know that this might be a controversial song to post a FYC on as 'Private Show' is the kind of song in Britney's discography that you either love or hate, there's no between, and I am among the fans of it (kinda like 'Mmm Papi', 'What You Need' or 'How I Roll' and I absolutely despise all three, so do not expect those FYC ads ). I can't help but love and enjoy the chaotic and extremely positive energy of the track. I also love what Britney is trying to do with her voice on it, it's cute And the commercial she did for it is fire and beats 'Make Me' video.

[GodneySpears]

Submitted my ballot.

What a painful experience. I ended up just going with what I like lately, because I love too many of the tracks.
However, Top 3 are untouchable for me.

[Solarie]

FYC: Drop Dead (Beautiful)

This FYC might also be controversial because the lyrics are kind of... dumb af as so is Sabi verse However, I can't help but bop to this, especially in the gym. I was also really young when it came out, so I didn't really pay that much attention to lyrics at that time, so that's my excuse. All I remember is that I really really really wanted this to follow 'I Wanna Go' and be the 4th single off 'Femme Fatale'. I still think that this is a super catchy song and because Britney was on a streak of top 10's and had strong radio support that era, this would've likely gone top 20 minimum. I will always think of a 'Criminal' as the era killer. 'Drop Dead (Beautiful), 'Inside Out' and the infamous 'Criminal' were among the choices for the 4th single and fans were voting, I will never ever to this date understand why they went with 'Criminal' as it's by far the weakest single choice. Drop Dead should have followed 'I Wanna Go' and 'Inside Out' should've been the 5th and final single to close the era. Now, that would have been AN ERA

[Solarie]

Send your ballots . The deadline is approaching ! P.S I haven’t received that many

[Solarie]

FYC: Better & Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortes)

'Better' is a freakin' bop and was sooooo on trend in 2016 when it was released. I was obsessed with tropical pop/house around that time and was so happy that Britney explored that trend a little. What I was displeased with is that her team relegated it to the bonus section of the album when it slaps so hard and is so much better than 'Easy Hard to Forget Ya', 'What You Need' or 'Love Me Down' just to name a few. I've always thought that all they needed to do was to throw a popular artist on a remix and make it a single. It's so good

And since I did FYC for a bonus track of 'Glory', I thought I would make one for two different songs at the same time since they're both super catchy and much better than the aforementioned tracks from a standard edition. The second track is 'Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortes)' - this one has more of a Latin vibe, but damn... Britney really made justice to it despite having nothing to do with Latin America So yes, even if with both tracks she chased the trends of that time a little, she fuckin' excelled at it. Those two songs deserved so much better.

I also thought of making a FYC for 'Liar', but I think 'Better' and 'Change Your Mind' are vastly superior sooo

[Solarie]

FYC: Intimidated

Now, this gem is very little-known and only die-hard fans know it because it did not make the final tracklist of the self-titled album 'Britney', however, released as a B-side to 'I'm a Slave 4 U'. It's sooo good and even if I would probably re-master the verses, the chorus is a pop perfection. It just sounds heavenly

Britney should release all her b-sides and unreleased tracks at some point because there's A LOT of gems there. I do realise it might be difficult due to contract clauses and whatnot, but oh well...