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Perhaps even more importantly than the accolades and the sales
figures, Britney has become an icon to millions of fans worldwide
and her infectious brand of pop/R&B has become the template
for girl pop.
Now Britney is back ready to take it to the next level. Featuring
tracks from Diane Warren, Rodney Jerkins, Mutt Lange, Max Martin
and Britney herself, "Oops!… I Did It Again" is
destined to be the album of the summer and is much more than
just a follow-up. It’s a record that shows the progress
from phenomenon to artist. A bit wiser and more confident and
self-assured, "Oops!… I Did It Again" is Britney
Spears as you’ve never heard her: sexy, sassy and solidly
in control.
Ask Britney about the direction of her new CD and she is modest.
"I'm not really doing anything different this time around
but I am really growing up, as a person and that just all flows
with the overall sound and feel of this record. There’s
no master plan! I’m just gonna be me and hope it all works
out!"
Signs are evident that it has already begun to "work
out". The title track, which deals with romantic misintentions,
was written and produced by longtime collaborators Max Martin
and Rami and has already broken the record for first week adds
at CHR/Pop radio with 155 adds. "It’s an incredible
song!" Britney declares, I think it’s even better than
"Baby One More Time!" Also incredible is the video
whose futuristic/Barbarella concept was Britney's idea.
The most noticeable aspect of the single, the video and the
album is maturity, which is just what Britney had in mind. "People
have to remember that when I did my first album I was only 16.
I had never been in the studio, it was all new to me and so before
I let people help me out and honestly I think that was because
I was just so new to the music industry, not only because I was
young. But making records and being part of the process and becoming
more in charge of my sound was something I had to experience
and grow with and on this album I’ve had the chance to do
that. This album is closer to who I am. It’s funkier!"
That funkier spirit is loud and clear on uptempo rump shakers
like "Stronger" and "Don't Go Knockin’ On
My Door" which find Britney in a frisky and fierce state
of mind. But as she proved on her debut, Britney can deliver
ballads with as much intensity as her more high energy cuts.
On the aching "When Your Eyes Say It" (written by Diane
Warren and produced by Steve Lunt and Robert Jazayeri) and the
thoughtful "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know" (penned
by Shania Twain and Robert Mutt Lange and produced by Lange),
Britney shows her depth. "I don’t want to just be some
singer who sings a song just to sing it," Britney offers
speaking to the emotional range of the album. "When you
sing a song with feeling and do your all you connect and that’s
crucial to me. Especially since I think that the songs on this
album are ten times better than on my first album, so I really
want my fans to feel and hear how much these songs mean to me."
In keeping with that need to communicate is "Dear Diary",
co written by Britney. Britney began writing melodies and songs
while on the road and she has plans to learn guitar (she is proficient
on the piano) in hopes of writing more songs in the future. "I
think I’ve always had these songs that I've been writing
in my head," Britney explains. "Now I feel ready to
let people start to hear them."
Along with her rigorous schedule and the release of her successful
2X Platinum home video Time Out With Britney Spears in late 1999,
Britney and her mother have written a book entitled Heart To
Heart. As if that weren’t enough, Britney has also created
the Britney Spears Foundation in conjunction with the Giving
Back Fund. Its first endowment is the formation of a performing
arts summer camp for underprivileged kids in Massachusetts. "I’m
so happy to be able to give kids the opportunity to learn about
amazing world of dance and music that I’ve have been lucky
enough to make such a big part of my own life."
Britney began performing at an early age, and when she was
8, she auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was
too young for the show, a producer helped her secure an agent
in New York City where Britney spent the next three years studying
dance and music. She also had bit roles in commercials, theatre
and films. When she tuned 11, Britney was old enough to earn
a spot on the Mickey Mouse Club and starred on the popular show
for two years, relocating with her family to Orlando.
After her stint on TV, Britney returned home but she still
had dreams of making it in the music industry. "I've always
wanted to be a singer," she declares. Armed with those desires
and a powerful voice, Britney went back to New York when she
was 15 and began to make the rounds of record labels. She sang
accapella for executives at Jive Records who saw and heard right
away that in the teenager from Kentwood, LA, there were the makings
of a star. Britney was signed soon after her audition and began
work thereafter on what would become "…Baby One More
Time."
One listen to "Oops!.. I Did It Again" and Britney
will make a believer out of you - one more time.
Thanks to britney.com for this biography. |
