Album C-View: Britney Spears - "Blackout"

[00:00:00] Viewer discretion is advised. Your fave will be criticized. With love, CCTV crew, today we are going track by track through Britney Spears' fifth studio album Black. And this is our second Britney episode, so make sure you check out our review of In the Zone

[00:00:15] after this. And special shout out to our Patreon users Lily, Lily, Emily and Juliet. Lily chose this album for us to review. Thank you so much. We've been trying to do it for the longest time.

[00:00:26] So Blackouts. Very excited to talk about this. It was released in October 2007 and the album was created and released amidst the very public personal drama that Britney was going through at the time.

[00:00:52] So though she had a lot going on in her life, she poured her energy into Blackout as the executive producer and it's the only Britney album where she's actually listed as executive producer. The collaborators on the album have since praised Britney's contributions,

[00:01:05] noting that she gave it her all and had amazing work ethic and professionalism. Which is great to hear. But acting like she was I mean she was partying with Paris Hilton and Lindsay

[00:01:14] Lohan but still she showed up to the stew okay. And they also noted that her intention behind the album was for it to be fun and danceable, not alluding to too much of everything going on in her personal life. Aside from a couple tracks which we'll talk about.

[00:01:28] But yes the album was actually scheduled to be released in November but it was quickly moved up two weeks due to leaks. The label eventually sued Paris Hilton for posting the songs on his

[00:01:39] blog and the album then peaks at number two in the Billboard album chart so it could have gotten to number one if all those weeks didn't happen. I know it's the first album after in the

[00:01:49] we had this five album run number one, number one, number one then number two. Oh boy. I mean it's not bad but the sales although weren't huge at first the singles weren't actually really well promoted

[00:01:59] Blackout is still often referred to as Britney's best project and one of the best pop albums of the time. So now we will go track by track and discuss the production, vocals and lyrics

[00:02:11] and give our ratings for each song. Starting off with Gimme More which was done by Danger, Jim Beans, Harry Hilsen and Marcella Arika and this was released in August 2007 as the album's lead single and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and also had chart

[00:02:29] success all over the world and she did perform it at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards which prompted extreme backlash. Honestly it's giving a little bit but I feel like retrospect hindsight with all the footage we have now that was not it wasn't that bad. It really wasn't.

[00:02:48] Yeah it wasn't like Britney you know years prior no absolutely not but for a woman to have like two kids like back to back that wasn't bad I don't care for the outfit and everything else with

[00:02:58] her hair. Yes I mean she was clearly not fully present she didn't seem very comfortable in it but you know she was hitting her mark you know she was doing the choreography when she was supposed

[00:03:08] to maybe not extremely full out right you know but it was fine like we've seen much much worse at these award shows. The worst part is the cameraman like I don't know who was calling camera but they

[00:03:19] did not film her when she was actually doing the dance for the choreography so all like she was doing was pedestrian oh my god I mean better just better. They have there have been some

[00:03:27] like dress rehearsals and stuff that has leaked where she did do a bit better yeah so yeah just a shame but let's talk about the song first before we get back to that. We're going back in our

[00:03:35] bodies. Yes okay so it's Britney Fish it's so iconic oh my god because I don't think she really was like you know on that B ever so I think that was really good that she did that I don't think

[00:03:46] she's ever done that but yeah having that B like her statement ooh I love that like it's iconic at this point. I like that throughout the song she's singing in her head voice it feels like

[00:03:56] a siren call you know like it's pouring you into the club to shake your ass. I remember not being a fan of the song when I was younger and I do believe it may have been because of the music video like

[00:04:09] I didn't like how cheap it looked I don't know really like oh I wasn't into it and maybe with all the fanfare around her I was just like I don't like who is that woman like I didn't

[00:04:18] understand I didn't like get the vision that she had at the time I didn't like what I was seeing so I think I was a little bit like now I hear the song but now like I said I've grown

[00:04:26] to like it I feel like it's a solid pop track I think it's one of those songs where it's simple enough but effective the repeating of the give me give me more I feel like at first I was like

[00:04:37] I don't I don't get it but as I've gotten older it's just something I've meant to stick in your head meant to be repetitive. I do wish that there was a bridge for this instead of the vamping

[00:04:47] and her saying over and over again and then danger chatting about not going anywhere no please go away give us a bridge I mean like Carrie definitely shout out to her because she can write

[00:04:56] a dang song. Carrie did what she had to do throughout the whole song so I do wonder if there was a bridge that just got tossed away I definitely appreciate the the iconic synths and the slappy

[00:05:05] percussion like it's perfect for the club um I think again Carrie is still on the background vocals people still kind of shout out but oh I think I hear it I think I hear it yeah so I

[00:05:14] appreciate that her vocals were still on the song to kind of compliment Britney's and didn't sound like you know someone else on the track I think it just made it sound a little bit more full

[00:05:23] and I love the whole thing all together now has become a song that I really appreciate I don't know if it's like wow is it the best Britney thing ever but coming off to end the zone I think it's solid.

[00:05:35] Yeah I also remember when the song first came out I did like it I think that it's Britney bitch was instantly iconic this you know yeah despite everything going on at the time her

[00:05:45] music was still respected like even with all that still chart at number three and so it is good with all that happening that she still put out good music as well but yeah so though the song is

[00:05:55] super sexy in the way it's produced and the vocal execution I do love how there is in the lyrics it's not just about sex like you know the lyrics about the cameras and it's obviously also

[00:06:07] referencing the media and just how relentless they were with her she's kind of egging it on a little bit it's kind of cheeky in that way which I appreciate the production yeah super great very

[00:06:17] relatively simple actually I will say this I think with a lot of this album the vocal layering and the harmony and the mixing of the vocals itself the background vocals and everything that's what

[00:06:28] really gives it all the dynamism as you love to say and the depth and it really relies on the vocals to kind of harry it and really give this song a ride because the backing track itself

[00:06:40] doesn't really do that much like there aren't that many elements to it and doesn't build that much but it relies on kind of the vocals to do that so I appreciate that I agree with you on danger it's

[00:06:49] kind of like last part I don't think it's like fully necessary however I do like how they mix the chorus with him doing some of the mores yeah it's fun because it's not just the same gimme

[00:07:02] gimme more gimme yes just over and over again like each one's yes different and then also adds like an extra layer of kind of just creepiness and darkness to it that just works with the song

[00:07:11] overall you're sure yeah I love this one and I think I love it even more now than I did at the start as well so yeah the music video you talked about a little bit but I guess looking

[00:07:21] back what do you think of it from what she mentioned was on the internet but also what she mentioned in her book the video was meant to be a little bit more more yeah no really really

[00:07:34] I forgot the name of the director I do apologize for not getting his name for this video but I remember there being a like not a beef but they were they were not seeing eye to eye because my boy was like

[00:07:43] you're not getting this footage because apparently there's like a funeral version of this too and someone uploaded some clips of her like actual footage from the video walking in her black garb not the paparazzi video y'all to look for that forgot the name of the youtuber but yeah

[00:07:57] I think the video had the potential I think Brittany as a brunette black haired whatever would have been amazing if they would have just followed through with the concept and the look in

[00:08:08] the image I just feel like the video looks so cheap the overexposure I was a little bit sad about it it was just wasn't good it just felt a little too indie for me like I said it kind of turned you off

[00:08:18] of the song when I was younger so now I went when I watch the video I'm like I don't I don't remember this happening in the video because I didn't watch it I was like I couldn't

[00:08:26] get jiggy with it honestly what about you I feel like you're a little bit more cognizant at the time what was going on with her no I mean I was still you know a teenager at the time

[00:08:34] I also was like what is going on and I was also I was caught up of course you know in all the paparazzi drama that was going on at the time you know everyone around was saying you know she's

[00:08:46] not mentally stable and everyone was openly making fun of her you know so it was hard to take her seriously and this music video unfortunately didn't really help I think that

[00:08:56] like dirty club vibes were right for the song I think it matches it in that way and I think the idea of pole dancing was good but it just wasn't executed well like no there's no actual

[00:09:07] choreo and she doesn't actually like do any like tricks or anything so she's just kind of running around it in circles for the most part yeah and doing hair flips she does a great

[00:09:15] hair flip don't get me wrong but you know because she had those like two dancers with her at one point I was like even if they were kind of up there doing some tricks around her something

[00:09:23] that would have added something a little more to it so yeah this is not a music video I ever watch back and it does do the song a disservice for sure I feel like obviously music video and the

[00:09:36] VMAs performance was just poorly styled and filmed but in Vegas oh my gosh it's better in terms of styling I feel like engagement was higher I think the best performance was like the performance where she was wearing was it like the little panties the green panties and the

[00:09:51] little top with the ponytail like she was giving me something I forgot what the performance I was but yeah she was giving us something like it was yeah almost like 10 years nine years had passed

[00:10:01] but yeah I feel like as she's performed the song it's gotten a little bit more of a like she's in it to win it kind of yeah so I appreciate that she kept performing the song

[00:10:11] considering I know I remember when it didn't make the circus tour set list I was like oh she's never gonna perform this again because I think part of me was kind of hoping at that time that

[00:10:21] was like she kind of redeemed herself a little bit and I think the performances then have been good but it hasn't fully been redeemed I don't think oh yeah I think the femme fatale version was really

[00:10:31] good like with the kind of Egyptian one oh yeah it's epic and yeah shout out to Simon Ellis for doing the music direction on that and of course with the Vegas one we had that you know iconic

[00:10:41] thing where fans started shouting who is it before she said it's Britney bitch and I did that too when it went to Vegas now so I have to shout that out but yeah I feel like it wasn't as epic as it could

[00:10:53] have been like it was her but I do wish I mean one day if she ever decides she wants to perform again like if she just came back with this song on some big award show and gave it this huge

[00:11:04] epic performance just like redeemed everything like that would be so iconic that is what happened in my hop dreams yeah I know we can only wish but you know the song was on

[00:11:15] as like iconic I mean even TXT's songwriter used give me more as part of their hook should have been the an official sample I think oh yeah it should have been but still

[00:11:23] I you never let whoever wrote that song was like it's Britney bitch and wrote the song so being said I am ready to give my score okay it's sitting at 8.5 only because Danger's Outcher

[00:11:36] was a little too long and there's no bridge and the song just feels a little like there's more to give so give me more 80 points okay I will give it a 9 not too far off right no not my favorite

[00:11:48] Britney song but up there you know right all right up next we have piece of me done by Blood Shine Advent and Klaus Alland and this is released as the second single from the album and piece of me

[00:12:00] was the final song recorded for the album and was written as a response to all the media scrutiny that Britney was experiencing at the time oh boy she was getting it yes she was

[00:12:11] so yeah this is one of those songs that does actually reference kind of everything going on I remember I was reading that when they submitted the song they weren't sure if she would

[00:12:20] appreciate that or not but she actually loved it so that's why I kind of got added to the album kind of last minute thanks so yeah I actually remember not loving the song the first time

[00:12:28] I heard it and it was actually one of my least favorites on the album for a while because you know it doesn't really have a melody I actually didn't love that all these other vocalists

[00:12:38] were in there kind of saying some of the lines and I think it's cool that Robin is one of those vocalists but yeah I didn't actually love the way that was done and even since then when she's performing

[00:12:48] she always lip syncs over the other vocalists too and it annoys me so much because it's like you don't even know which part you're singing like what's going on anyway yeah I since come to

[00:12:56] appreciate that it's actually just more conversational right oh yeah you know I think the lyrics clearly are the best part of the song like if this it was the same song and melody with different

[00:13:05] lyrics that didn't elude so greatly to kind of everything going on like it would not be a good song in my opinion yeah production wise I enjoy how much silence there is like didn't silence

[00:13:18] didn't you know it's like it's like very staccato in that way it just makes it a little more dramatic yeah I appreciate the confidence of the lyrics like I said but I think the vocal

[00:13:27] execution isn't as sassy as I want it to be to kind of match those lyrics and she can do that you know she does that throughout the rest of the album so yeah maybe they're kind of going for the more

[00:13:37] just like nonchalant like an emotional thing which I get also but I don't know it could have just been a little sassier in my opinion so yeah I think the song is good don't get me wrong but

[00:13:48] like not my fave on the album I don't know if I didn't like this song when I was younger but I remember the music video and how I didn't care for her outfit I think because at the time

[00:13:59] her visual identity was just so iconic that when you watch the video you learned the song it wasn't like learn the song get the video it was just like I watched it and I remember being like okay

[00:14:09] she's blonde again okay cool all right she's dancing in a bathroom okay like I just you know it was just giving the Paris Lindsey thing which I think is probably why the video

[00:14:21] looked the way it did I did appreciate the kind of like headline kind of like the cover of the tabloid magazine and I mentioned all this because the lyrics and the way the song is obviously geared

[00:14:33] toward all that and I think it's interesting because the way this song described like the whole piece of me thing you're right I think she did need to be a little bit more sassy

[00:14:40] because in the video she was kind of being a little bit more aggressive with her movements so nothing crazy but I think in terms of vocal delivery she could have gave as much as she

[00:14:50] was giving in the video checking me for the egg though I guess I think the vocal sample of the oh yeah it's definitely from corn I don't know I don't think it's definitely but I thought it's not credited

[00:15:03] but no it's just one of those things where I just heard it I was like what the heck is that so I was like it's an interesting vocal top to having a song I don't know for sure if it's

[00:15:10] some corn I'm joking but I thought it was funny because I was like what the heck the chain coin like percussion is the interesting texture in the track so like you said I think

[00:15:19] a lot of the bag sounds what the heck that was I enjoy those parts and I think those kind of sounds it what sticks out to me especially like in the last refrain there's like this weird little synth

[00:15:30] that's very high pitched that I can think about when I hear this song lyrically I like the American dream miss american dream line that's so bold and in the other last part the first verse she

[00:15:40] says something about like being a mama with a kid on her arm but she's an exceptional earner and I was like yes girl yes but it's not listed in the lyrics I think is so weird I don't know why

[00:15:49] like if you watch the official music video on her page it doesn't put exceptional earner it just says exceptional and then lyrics that doesn't get listed it's so weird no it's definitely in there I'm

[00:16:00] go I'm on genius it's on there thank you okay this I get for looking at google but I was like I love those lines I think it's cute that there was a dance break with the

[00:16:09] yeah wiry synth again at least it's there I think this song is just better performed honestly the melody of it is catchy enough and the rhymes that they use are you can latch on to them which

[00:16:20] I appreciate throughout the chorus but overall I think it's okay fine we're not terrible it doesn't need to do but I'm glad she was kind of like shouting out or calling out people who are

[00:16:29] kind of hating on her not really hating on her but trying to expose her she was kind of sassy I don't think she ever really was like sassy yeah well I don't think she would ever have

[00:16:37] written this song do you know what I mean oh yeah that's what that's what I'm saying like I feel like this is kind of like the first like oh yeah exactly you know but maybe she would write something more

[00:16:48] like that now you know oh yeah true the music video is fine it's better than gimme more you know she's definitely given it the attitude like you mentioned she's having fun and her solo

[00:16:59] it seems it all just looks slightly trashy which I hate that word that's the word yeah that is the word yeah I mean obviously she is going in on the paparazzi but like I kind of wish she went in more

[00:17:10] on the paparazzi like it's all just like a little lighter than I think it needs to be like I would just like go in those are being terrible to you we did get some choreography right which at least

[00:17:21] is it we which was terrible I think I was reading earlier and someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think she choreographed that as well okay well no not her best not her best yeah the

[00:17:33] performance is though she has performed this she did it on the circus tour she did it in Vegas what did you think of some of those fan camps the circus tour cage is so cool I love that I think

[00:17:42] obviously because there's a circus like you know but like the cage is a perfect kind of vessel to have someone in there being saying I want a piece of me you know her sitting it on the

[00:17:53] door and doing the leg extension out the out the top of the cage I appreciate that she opens up that gymnast that gymnast's hip and just lifts the leg the biggest performance was fun with the green

[00:18:03] bodysuit I feel like that performance in terms of like her not having props is like the most natural old britney because like I think she gets the whole cheekiness of the song so I feel like she

[00:18:14] leans into it a little bit I do wish that there was more of like a reno remix but like something a little bit more aggressive production for a live performance you know what I'm saying

[00:18:22] because the song is could be more like but and not that I mean she's always been saying she wished she could have remixed her songs right for the shows so that was not her choice

[00:18:33] but yeah I agree circus tour performance in that cage she is giving her all in that like so so good people don't remember I think actually how good she was on that circus tour and it's so annoying

[00:18:45] to be never got it like properly recorded but shout out to the fans who've been doing the band can dvd and stuff because some of them are really really good so thank you shout out for that

[00:18:54] also remember like the femme fatale performance where she's just like sitting on like on that thing it's so oh my gosh it's like there's just no energy with that one but yeah this is one of those

[00:19:05] songs where I like it because it's britney oh yes like the bias comes through and like when it comes on you know I'm still like yeah yeah yeah so like yeah like I will give it an eight but my bias

[00:19:17] is very clearly in that rating that is so bad I was like oh yeah that is he said it yeah totally I agree yeah I'll give it an eight too it was sitting a little bit lower but I could literally sing this

[00:19:27] whole song to you taught to bottom so I'm not even gonna you know but oh yeah I'll sing that part too we're trying to be objective but it's hard to with her okay so moving on to radar which was done by

[00:19:40] and this was actually planned to be the third single from blackout but then I guess fans voted for break the ice so that didn't happen then the fourth single but then that was canceled because there was just

[00:19:59] too much going on but it was believed or it is believed that the label had made a deal with the producers that the song would definitely be a single and so the song was included on

[00:20:08] Britney's following album circus and it was released as its fourth single in 2009 which is bizarre that is so weird I can't even recall another situation like that for another artist but yeah there we go

[00:20:20] no literally I remember watching the video and I was like what album is on yeah I even remember when they put it as a bonus track on the circus album everyone was like what is happening

[00:20:32] and I don't even know if this whole label deal situation is correct but that's just what people were like why else would they have done this you know yeah no it's weird it's so weird because I

[00:20:41] think I was like just almost coming out of elementary school in the song campus I was sitting but yeah I was too young I understand for sure but yeah no what the heck we know you would have been

[00:20:51] like a teenager no yeah 13 14 yeah I was like oh yeah wow this song I like this one is so flirty and fun but yeah I just remember it being weird that it came out because I didn't hear on the

[00:21:01] album this was my first time actually listening to the full album and not realizing about a lot of these songs that I've heard in and out of like pop culture coming from this album or even like

[00:21:10] influences and stuff from other people being from this album I feel like lyrically I am so glad they didn't lean too much into like you know like a battleship kind of thing it was just kind of like

[00:21:20] I'm peeping you like I see what you're doing right now you know saying that like I'm just so glad that they didn't try to lean into this whole like I'm coming for your ship or like

[00:21:29] you're my target it wasn't that and I also like the vocals on this I feel like what the demo is online thank goodness I shout out to Candice Nelson for sure but I like the choice of adding the

[00:21:43] filter on her voice to give it a digital coolness because sometimes with certain vocal filters you lose the warmth from the vocal or but this song didn't need warmth it just needed cool edge and

[00:21:52] it gave it and I like that it makes the um got you on me get you it makes you really buzz in your ear I like at the last chorus that that that that that that that that that that that it is like I like

[00:22:05] that is not words I was just sitting there like that's that's basically people do they don't know the words is make up those little sounds and I really appreciate it and the background

[00:22:14] vocals like you said earlier are really well mixed really add to the song without taking away from who she is as an artist because Britney's not known for like harmonies left and right right

[00:22:24] she's not that girl but this means she can't be and it was done in such a nice tasteful pop-ish way because like the background vocals for like the pre hook I don't thank you no no I love that so

[00:22:38] yeah I love that uh Candice really padded the song nicely with sweeteners and subtle harmonies so yeah I think this song is like solid and it's unfortunate that it wasn't released within

[00:22:48] the proper time frame because it's a good song yeah I mean at least it was a single because it definitely deserved to be one because I also love this track there's something about it that feels just

[00:22:59] very signature Britney to me yeah like this is her sound you know it's sultry it's sassy and fits her voice really well like they use that kind of nasally thing just really well so I agree

[00:23:11] with you like the the choices they made with the processing and stuff are just perfect for it yeah I think the overall structure as well is also just perfect pop song structure you know

[00:23:21] like every little moment is a hook the music video though it's interesting you know because like you said you know if someone just gave me this song and I had seen you know the other music videos

[00:23:33] on this album I would have been like oh they are gonna do like a battleship situation or like or in a submarine or something I don't know yeah something like that on the but no they went with

[00:23:45] an homage to Madonna's take a bow and did a question in a whole situation for cheating not cheating but like I guess just making a choice with a different man than you know I don't know

[00:24:01] you're right I guess it's like the rich guy was courting her the prep you always courting her and then the pauper was just the hot one with the zacker fun here so like that was such a scandalous

[00:24:11] little video I did not I was like watching it I was like what's entertaining oh yeah I was like oh snap I was in the bushes with her you know looking at the guy I was like oh girl oh good

[00:24:21] can you imagine you've spent maybe six to seven figures on a necklace oh and you know specifically other riffs it off because they want to sit there and pinky pinky with some

[00:24:30] with the plaid with the help oh yeah the opponent right what's he the helpers the opponent right listen he was in the stable maybe a less rich potentially a less rich just because he had

[00:24:41] shaggy hair right that's what I was saying wasn't he the stable boy wasn't he when they walked past she's like come on baby you know and he's looking at her come on you're right he was the help

[00:24:52] and the opposition it's interesting ops you won't sit there and go with the off okay I'll joke aside though video super solid glad it wasn't on the nose song super solid what do you rate wait the performance I need to talk about performance because the circus tour performance

[00:25:10] is one of my favorites actually of that whole tour because again she is giving it yeah but she likes a pole this time we do get the pole this time he does a little bit more with it there's

[00:25:21] choreo that goes along with it I love the way they use the circus platform just to roll her around the 360 stage and some of the choreo is so good especially that last chorus with like the

[00:25:32] I don't know if she hits it really hard yeah it's just a song I always point to this one as one of like the best performances on that tour I wish it would have made an appearance on Vegas actually

[00:25:41] because I think the song is good enough to make like the greatest hits show I think at least we got that you know yeah yeah okay I feel like she likes this song like we do I think she loves

[00:25:52] this album right she said yeah true very true what's your rating I will give this one a nine how about you know it is a nine for me as well it's pretty high up there I will say of next is break the ice

[00:26:05] and this was done by Jim Beans danger Kerry Hilsen and Marcella Arika and this was released as to third single from the album with an animated music video this is undoubtedly my favorite song

[00:26:16] during this era just to kind of like side note it's so interesting to kind of hear danger on this because his history with Timbaland and then like you have Kerry Hilsen who also worked with him

[00:26:26] you can totally hear it because I thought Timbaland produced when I was younger because I was like a Timbaland fan at the time so I was like oh yeah this is like well I like yeah I'm sort of jigging

[00:26:35] around I didn't know danger had done it and I definitely didn't know that Kerry Hilsen as a child did not know she wrote it yeah but this song is like really oozy and like sexy it's

[00:26:43] like it's like dry ice you know like for lack of a better example but it's just like it's smooth like you know you shouldn't touch it like it feels like that it feels a little dangerous

[00:26:53] I think Kerry Hilsen's demo is actually floating online like there's a full bridge of this song and I think honestly not probably not hear me say this for the rest of this album this song is better off without the bridge and the repeated phrases and definitely the

[00:27:06] don't be skirt line that she does in the demo I am so glad that Brittany was like let me say that no I'm glad she didn't the top line of the song is so good to me it goes fast it goes

[00:27:16] slow like I said it oozes and then it goes into a head voice for the chorus oh man it just brings the songs like a not a crescendo but it brings it to like a a head before it freezes essentially and

[00:27:28] gets really cold it's like oh it's so nice it just hits it a little bit harder for me so by the time that comes in again it's just these are the kinds of things I want to hear when I listen

[00:27:40] to pop music when I listen to any kind of song there's a story okay if there's not a story there's dynamism in the song that makes me feel like I'm getting pushed and pulled

[00:27:49] and I really do like it makes you want a chest pop makes you want a body roll like the in this back of the song is kind of like crunkish and pop such a good mix such a good mix and

[00:27:59] apparently according to Kerry in danger Brittany came to record the song three weeks after her second child was born so shout out to her for using that diaphragm and go with it

[00:28:08] what part does she ate this up that's all I got that's all yeah I agree with you yeah this is definitely one of my favorite songs in this album for sure I love the drama of it like the

[00:28:20] operatic background vocal yeah and there's something very powerful about the backing track and kind of how piercing it all is and then the way they did her vocals they are very kind of icy

[00:28:30] and cold so yeah just the production of it is just absolutely perfect I will say the pre-chorus is actually my favorite part of it like a lot of tension building her vocal execution is so good

[00:28:41] with the transitions being her like head and chest voice again yeah the chorus I agree with you super catchy the exhales are perfect for her of course we have to shout out the I like this part

[00:28:50] moment yeah yeah and it reference right so you know we love that like I always actually thought like this could have made a great Janet song oh don't tell me don't tell me you know so imagine

[00:29:01] do them together doing this would be insane but yeah and I think I was reading that with danger that he also actually was influenced a lot just in general by Janet like in his career so

[00:29:12] that makes sense the lyrics are also really good in this song like super super well written like the whole ice analogy is used throughout it but it does not feel too forced or cheesy or anything like it's all

[00:29:25] very well done what did you think of the animated music video I liked it because at the time I was like really into anime and I think a couple years prior Kill Bill had come out so I was very

[00:29:34] into the whole femme fatale concept I think it was probably the coolest thing to me at the time and I feel like a lot of like 2000s pop girlies were definitely doing like little anime videos

[00:29:44] because Tony Braxton had one for I think making me high was Alia did it for her ad for the red album so it was a lot of like just fun things to use like if she had done the video I don't

[00:29:55] know if she would have been like really into it and they're like yeah you know what I'm saying and then toxic already happened so it just felt like the video don't need to do shout out to

[00:30:03] the Korean team that did it because I saw some like as an adult now like is that Korean not like oh is that an alien language as a child like it's crazy but yeah shout out to them for making the

[00:30:12] video just really iconic and I like that the whole thing was her just being her she's like I'm the real thing I'm gonna fight through whoever whatever just to destroy some clones that's

[00:30:21] pretty badass because there will never be any honey never had to be another look yeah I think the whole concept was well done like the continuation of the toxic character was the

[00:30:32] right choice and it fits the song and yeah I do appreciate that it is a proper animation like it's a proper short animated film you know because I think I do think some of the other animated

[00:30:43] videos that other artists did at the time like they felt cheap or you kind of tell them because the budget wasn't there or yes the artist didn't have time but in this case it's you know given

[00:30:53] all the circumstances and everything and they actually had the resources to make something really good I remember when I went to the circus tour because at the end of the day the circus tour was

[00:31:01] basically a blackout tour like there were way more blackout songs on it than circus songs on it I remember being so sad that Brave The Ice wasn't in it so very glad it did make it into the Vegas

[00:31:11] show at least as part of medley kind of thing like it was like a two minute kind of thing yes right but you know she did a good job with it like she the choreo I think is a little awkward

[00:31:20] actually and it wasn't great because she has an injured knee right and it like relied a lot on like bending your leg properly and the footwork and stuff and I was like oh like this

[00:31:29] was not choreographed for her capabilities at the time which I love but I was just really glad that made it in there yeah all right so like I said this one is my favorite so it was no guess

[00:31:40] that I gave an 11 I gave it a 10 too like I always include this as like one of my top five top 10 Britney songs actually that was so cool yeah so love it okay moving on to

[00:31:51] heaven on earth and this one is done by Cara Dioguardi Frisha Coco Moriair Nick Huntington and Michael McGroth the oh wow moving on during her interview with Ryan Seacrest Brittany actually did this note that this track is one of her favorites or actually her favorite

[00:32:08] on the album so that's interesting I like how metallic it all is yeah you know yeah it almost feels like she's an alien or robot or something singing this but then it's also kind of ethereal

[00:32:19] as well yeah yeah yeah I don't know it's like an interesting dichotomy because then it makes slightly creepy like it's like kind of ethereal but it's metallic so it's like who are you singing

[00:32:27] this and it's like I've also been watching baby reindeer which is like this huge trending show and it's right now and it's about like that's a stalker and I was like oh this is like kind

[00:32:37] of giving stalker vibes too because like in the lyric she's kind of questioning it a little bit too yeah so deeply like almost blindly in love yeah there are moments where she's like

[00:32:48] not entirely sure if the other person like feels that way too like it's like will you be there like a phone kind of thing just kind of interesting and then of course with her execution too like she

[00:32:58] naturally sounds quite innocent as well yeah she kind of goes between the two like it's either very sultry or it's kind of like innocent and this one more innocent so then again it makes the

[00:33:08] lyrics even slightly more kind of like dark in a way I don't know it's yeah interesting vibe so yeah I appreciate the production like there's a lot of like whispering and extra backing vocals

[00:33:18] and ablution stuff throughout if you get a little you know soulful britney at the end with those like trails and stuff which is always fun I actually appreciate this one I this is another one that

[00:33:28] has grown on me a lot as I've gotten older you know this one kind of reminds you of like Kylie only because of the boom and I was like okay when I heard this one I was like yes I like this

[00:33:42] because I like 80s music I know this goes all the way but like I like 80s music I like the cheesiness I like the power ballads I like all of it and this kind of fits that retro whole sating kind of 80s

[00:33:53] music that I enjoy I feel like this is the closest we're going to get to a love song on this album and I use that very loosely it's not like oh my god I love you I mean she does say I'm

[00:34:02] in love with you but I feel like in terms of just lust this one's out of like out of 50% you know I'm saying maybe 70 because that anatomy roll call in the beginning is hysterical

[00:34:13] it reminds me of the anime and he actually put the button to the phone or that's not their song but my point is it just reminds me of that you put the neck bone connected

[00:34:21] to the S what it felt like without being that goofy but yeah and I like that intro I kind of wished it was like still in the song I kept looking for it but then at the last chorus it's

[00:34:30] in there as a whisper as like a lower layer and I'll say there it is there it is I was excited I enjoy the imagery throughout the song I think the fall off the edge of my mind and

[00:34:38] the repetition of it makes it feel so hypnotizing toward like the end of the song she's like follow the age another says it over and over and over again I'm like oh yeah so it does have

[00:34:48] that creepy thing that you're talking about but I don't mind it I feel like this song is a little break from all the hanky-panky inspired tracks I appreciate it a little bit more I can see why

[00:34:56] she liked it because if she's like a romantic girl at heart then I get it it's romantic it's just really sexy romantic it's like a smitten sex kitten song so what do you rate it

[00:35:05] I gave it a 8.5 it's not like 9 but it's pretty I will go in 8 by the way if you've made it this far into our episode be sure to smash that like button and smash the subscribe button we don't

[00:35:19] ever say smash here but definitely feel free to give us a follow and leave us a comment letting us know what your ratings are so far all right up next we have get naked I got a plan and this

[00:35:29] was done by danger Cortez Ellis Jim bees in Marcella or Reika what are your thoughts about this song because I feel like this is the one I never fully got until I saw her perform it interesting so I

[00:35:42] actually like it now I think because of that but definitely not a favorite on the album I think as a dancer I have learned choreography and stuff to this and it's super fun right so it's like

[00:35:54] made to be performed too I think so when you think about it in that way I think it makes me like it a bit more but yeah danger kind of being almost a duet partner in this case I don't love

[00:36:06] the kind of like auto-tune vocal theory opera he's doing put on him okay yeah I agree the way the melody is like it's dragged out I mean I think it's supposed to be kind of like creepy yet again

[00:36:19] but it just doesn't sound nice you know what I mean so it's like all right it gets a little better like when you get into the chorus and she's at least like kind of doing those little though what you're

[00:36:29] trying to do like little like head voice stuff okay that at least that makes it sound like a little better but like the chorus doesn't really do anything for me like definitely the least favorite

[00:36:37] part of the song because I think the verses and everything are like really dynamic the post hook is fun you know getting me okay yeah okay and then of course the circus tour helps that

[00:36:47] you know she does all the chess pops during that okay she's loving her best life during that performance so yeah I like it kind of as a performance track and I think it had this space on

[00:36:58] this album like it makes sense on this album when I heard this song I was like oh there's a guy on this album finally it's not a feature I thought it was a feature like you like you mentioned

[00:37:06] is it probably feels like it yeah but yeah I was just like okay it's a little buffer danger's bridge about being respectful of her single status is um not as fluid as I would hope

[00:37:17] because I think I forgot about that little bridge there yeah a little wrap is it a wrap my thing is I feel like again that's when that timbaland danger like interwoven things have because

[00:37:30] Timbaland is a lot of stuff like this throughout a lot of the singers that he works with so for me I'm just like it's not as effective and I don't want to compare the two but it's difficult

[00:37:40] when they work so like they were married as a co-producer couple at one point or another and it shows here and I feel like it's not as effective as if Tim would have done it or

[00:37:49] he would have done something a little bit more funkier as opposed to this kind of drunken guy in the club thing can you imagine guys I couldn't get a quiver and you imagine you're

[00:37:59] soon to try to dance it's am I letting go yeah but she's into it though she's like yeah he's just as drunk man okay I just feel like it's not as fluid as like her other male vocal

[00:38:14] like guest spots like right for real with the boys it was complimentary his voice is a little bit more he's not a strong vocalist or he wasn't at the time was a strong vocalist so it kind of made

[00:38:23] sense but this is kind of just like a like Phantom of the Opera where it's like whoa and she's like you know like it was just giving like like it was giving that another name right now so sorry guys I think for me this is a good kickoff

[00:38:39] to the second half of the album like for Back Out Brittany because it's getting darker now we're getting to the point where she's like take your clothes off but not like in a mean way

[00:38:46] it's kind of just like very urgent like at this point like I don't want to talk anymore take them off so it's not more demanding it's about a hook up and it feels a little bit more

[00:38:52] sinister and it feels like a little bit of a sequel to give me more but just like the sloppiness after give me more like yeah we're in jr. at the club and now it's like we're gonna play

[00:39:05] that's what it feels like that's right yes yeah okay so what do you rate it I gave a seven to i okay yeah I'll go a little higher 7.5 I still like it again that bias is coming through

[00:39:17] because honestly if anyone else sang this song and be like no no she said I can't with that drunk man okay moving on to freak show which was done by Brittany bloodshed I in a vaunt

[00:39:30] Patrick JQ Smith and Ezekiel Lewis all right freak show this one is interesting because you have all these fuzzy wamping synths and claps like that's all I hear in the song which is good

[00:39:42] like I guess the production's meant to kind of be like spotlight stealer in a sense but I'm just like okay I think that's like my most the part that I think about the almost like I think

[00:39:51] interesting it kind of feels like pulsating and stuff so I feel like it's a little like interesting in that sense I think I even hear like if you're like a Kim Petrus fan they do

[00:39:59] like this little slap clap yeah for their slo-er pop I'll say slo-er pop for their kind of bimbo pop that they make so it makes sense in that kind of realm of bimbo pop but that's kind

[00:40:09] of it the song feels a little fillery for me I feel like I appreciate the theme and I think the song could have gone like that extra mile had been a little bit more self-aware as opposed to

[00:40:18] like let's give it something to look at yeah let's get okay we've done that already but I feel like it could have been a little bit more like Brittany discussing how she feels like a freak

[00:40:26] like another piece of me but just leading a little bit more into the take a picture of the last song or you want to watch the freak show then this is you know I'm saying as opposed to another

[00:40:35] dance with me and sweat with me and we're sexy like I get it but I feel like lyrically this could have been something else I feel like the concept could have been explored a little

[00:40:43] bit more further lyrically and sonically though too so there's a little bit of both aside from that and I have anything else muster really stood out to me I just feel like this could have

[00:40:51] been a song that was a little bit more deep not like exposure sold everyone but a little less like club lyric and more just like you're watching me be a freak then enjoy the show you know so

[00:41:02] that's just me though I think the song again thinking about just like the overall concept I think this probably was Brittany because she is a writer on this one like kind of just coming in

[00:41:10] and just being like I want to do a song that has this concept to it and they kind of just went with it kind of thing but yeah I totally agree with your point there I agree also that it does

[00:41:20] seem a little more fillery compared to the rest of the album but I do think it sets up the next part of the album well because I think like you mentioned like get naked is kind of the darkest

[00:41:30] moments like grungiest moment probably and then now we're getting into a territory with this song and kind of the next couple songs that are a little lighter a little sillier just a little

[00:41:41] less serious I think some of the songs you've heard before so this is kind of the start to that I think makes sense again I think her execution is good like this had that sass right yeah that

[00:41:51] yeah it didn't the vocal layering in the chorus is it's super full I again kind of love just kind of all the background vocals and harmonies and stuff that are in there there's a male octave

[00:42:01] in there too that oh yes it might just be her kind of like and a pitch down oh but he just adds like another dimension and then you have the kind of that whole almost conversational

[00:42:10] like me and my girls want to get whatever oh yeah that was fun again though I think this song feels like it is made to be performed like it obviously has a very visual aspect to it but it just doesn't

[00:42:21] really go anywhere like after kind of the first chorus it just kind of is what it is but yeah of course you know the song was a staple in her vegas set you know she would bring up an

[00:42:30] audience member which would often be a celebrity to leash and like make them crawl down the runway so you know she always seemed to have fun with it obviously like as a dancer you know I always

[00:42:42] would notice how the dancers would be blocking themselves and making sure that the guest was like always at least like two or three people away from Britney so they could like there was no

[00:42:52] opportunity for any interaction that britney which of course makes sense right yeah I get it like obviously like in a show like that but it's like you're just risking asking these potentially

[00:43:03] crazy people to do all those stuff you know there have been some fun guests in the past that kind of were called up so it played a role but I was always kind of like oh this is a wasted slot in the set list

[00:43:16] that's valid that's valid oh that being said what's your school I'll go at seven how about you 6.5 for me all right up next is twice soldier and this was done by bloodshed and oven and

[00:43:31] shan garet especially everybody else that pinned it yeah he said that so many times on boa song I did it for love I was in tears I was like why what is he doing there I think this song is interesting

[00:43:44] because I feel like the draft announcement in the beginning of the song is wild I don't think it's real I hope it's not real no definitely sets the scene so well I heard it I was like I mean y'all

[00:43:54] know how we are right here the miracle is going on all over the world what not but I heard it I was triggered or I was like what the heck is going on I like the filter on her vocals it gives

[00:44:03] like this radio effect almost like a bullhorn announcement so I was like oh I like the way it's again vocally produced shout out to shan garet because the demo is online I found the one by

[00:44:12] britney exposed a lot of the demos that I'm referencing are from britney exposed so shout out to them for uploading a lot of these blackout demos even the ones that did not make the album

[00:44:20] thank you thank you thank you and also when I grow up the original version before it went to pussycat dolls it was uploaded by I think by britney who sang that it was the guys who did the demo

[00:44:30] who did it it was like okay okay you know the lyrics were not great the top line was great but the lyrics weren't it was about britney being like michael jackson and like being hard people laughing at

[00:44:39] her yeah it was interesting I was like this which I'll wrote out of said no to but it went to the right group shout pussycat dolls going back to the vocal production I think Sean's trace of

[00:44:48] melodies harmonies twangs and certain words and other flourishes in the song are great and although britney doesn't typically stray away from the way the demo is presented to her she

[00:44:58] has such a distinctive voice that the song does then become hers so I think even if the song wasn't specifically meant for her she has such a distinct voice that it's like oh it's a britney song you

[00:45:08] know i'm saying because I don't think he was like yeah this is for britney you wrote a damn good pop song and britney ended up with it and I think what's interesting about this song is this is

[00:45:16] one of the songs that I've heard dance to or I've seen dance to wow that's why I heard it like so you think you can dance the australia version this duo actually did like a hip hop dance

[00:45:26] to this song so I remember hearing it and I think it came from like a binge watching session like years ago on youtube but yeah I think this is why I might have a slight attachment to it the production

[00:45:36] is good it's not too on the nose I feel like it is on the nose with the military thing but not so much so where it feels cheesy and I love the snare drums and the pre hooks like

[00:45:45] the overall the song builds up like this little world and I appreciate it it's not cheesy sexy it has interesting like I said twangs and whatnot so I think it's it's just interesting

[00:45:57] because britney kind of sounds bratty in the chorus I think those kind of like there's like I said there's so many textures in her vocals throughout because what shawn did and that's kind of

[00:46:04] why I'm like I don't love but I don't hate it but like I like it it's just like this weird song that fits in my memory you know yes yeah I have a lot of the same thoughts as you

[00:46:16] but I actually love this song I think it's so much fun and kind of what like what you just said it does toe the line between kind of being super catchy also being kind of annoying because it is

[00:46:28] that like bratty nests and patty nests and like she's almost whining a little bit so yeah I need a soldier like I love like as she's kind of being annoying about it but

[00:46:39] she makes it work and I think because the verses are done so differently than the chorus when the chorus hits that you've built up to that yeah I think the whole song was kind of sung in the

[00:46:50] same way the chorus is it would be too much so oh yeah I think it was really smart the way they did all that I do think this actually could have been a single like I think yeah it does

[00:47:00] represent this kind of just more fun side of the album yeah and obviously the music video concept is right there you know like you do so much with this whole idea and yeah I agree with you like the way

[00:47:11] they kind of just allude to the soldier kind of military theme of it all is really good like it's not too cliche the military march is there the percussion but it's not super obvious like it's

[00:47:22] not so yeah like you said like super cheesy like it's just a reference there and lyrically too like obviously I love the toy soldier just analogy and again it's the yeah I agree with you like just

[00:47:34] not too cliche like they did do a really good job with writing the lyrics too so yeah I love this one I think it's a highlight on the album for sure yeah I don't know it was tough I was like I don't

[00:47:42] know if it's like as good as break the ice but it is sitting where radar is for me okay yeah I almost gave it a 10 but then I was like do I realize there's always because I have nostalgia

[00:47:53] given 9.5 okay I will go in nine yes okay moving on to hot as ice which was done by Jim beans danger Marcella arica and T-Pain how random and T-Pain sings some of the background vocals on this

[00:48:08] too which is yeah what do you think of how does ice hmm this one's interesting right because it has like this wonky wiry synth I like the percussion like I don't dislike that it's quirky

[00:48:20] it's something that I wouldn't expect with the subject matter and I'm not probably sounds a little funny but I just feel like this song is a little like quirky and what it sounds like kind of almost

[00:48:29] alien it's like kind of sounding it I think it's interesting that she's singing in her chest voice yes the devil is on YouTube and she's not doing any vocal fry or like the baby voice

[00:48:40] is just straight up chest voice and I think I'm glad that she went for the extra mile to present another part of her voice but I will say that I think that part of her range is under

[00:48:49] utilized or was at the time and because of that it was being held together with a little bit of digital magic and I noticed it here and there and it's tough because it's like yeah we know

[00:48:58] there's melodyne or at the time auto-tune or if you want to call it the editing software that they were using I can hear it trying to shove her vocals within the note and I feel like oh

[00:49:07] that's kind of like a shame it's not so bad where it takes me away from the song because the song already sounds a little digital and alien ish itself but I can hear it kind of quiver

[00:49:15] a little bit but it's not to say that she is a terrible singer I just think that the vocal silent was just one that she didn't practice as much but again I appreciate her going for it

[00:49:24] and actually giving us like assertiveness in her vocal performance about the verses and I think for the chorus it's interesting because it kind of goes da da da da da da da

[00:49:34] da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da

[00:49:36] I think that kind of gives like this little like V five folk I don't know something about it just feels like high level low level high level low level and I like that so it's catchy in that sense

[00:49:44] it's out to T pink so I feel like that definitely feels like something he would have written he's slept on in terms of like vocal ability and like songwriting style but I think the song is

[00:49:53] effective for what it is like you said it's kind of more brighter as opposed to the former half of the album so I do like it and it's a nice little percussive quirky thing right after

[00:50:03] twice older so it fits I think in terms of like trap listing too so not bad I appreciate the effort yeah I appreciate like you said that it's different from the rest of the album

[00:50:13] I was actually reading that she actually did say like when she was reporting this it was really high for her to kind of be singing it like this she's belting the whole thing I will say

[00:50:22] she does sound more stable than I would have thought she would actually no valid um I agree with you it just it gets something different it's nice to hear something different in her voice

[00:50:32] there I will say the song is one of the best lyrics on the album for her to like living legend you can look but don't touch they make full use of that line when she performs on the circus

[00:50:40] tour too yeah she seemed to have a lot of fun with this one yeah I just appreciate that this one is just kind of fun like it's nothing more than that that's or no huge concept like it's just

[00:50:52] her having fun in the studio yeah and you know I always say this is kind of like a part one to that song what you need that was on the glory album because they're kind of very similar

[00:51:01] in that way and she uses again this kind of just more chesty kind of singing style I guess yeah but yeah this was also just fun to sing along to as well like the melody like that this is

[00:51:11] kind of demonstrated there that's just fun to sing you know yeah it is yeah so I just appreciate it on this album I think I think it gives like you said just a bit more of a brighter note

[00:51:21] there yeah it does connect with the next song well and they did perform them as medley on the circus tour as well so yeah I always kind of pair the two together as well how nice kind of

[00:51:31] similar but we'll get to that in a second because what do you rate hot as ice this one it was kind of low for me at first when I first heard it and it grew on me so I think it says

[00:51:41] somewhere just right below like radar and toy soldier okay like I eat it's not bad I don't hate it okay yeah I'll give it an eight I like it yeah so yeah up next is baby and it's done by Britney

[00:51:54] Fred Wreck Cara de Guardi and Eric Jesus Gomez I gotta let you know Cara said that this song was not just influenced by like you know like a lover but also by Britney's connection with her son

[00:52:07] which I think is so strange like she said because she looked at how Britney and yeah touch me and become alive yeah yeah and like you're inside of me with you know my baby but it's just I get what

[00:52:18] she means it's just very strange hearing that song where it was like you know what this will make a good song like ooh baby not the best thing this says because this is it's just it's a mess

[00:52:26] I'm like the feeling me up feeling me up as like girl no wait stop because now I'm thinking about the baby oh like it's being inside of me oh you know I'm saying like things like that that's what

[00:52:37] bothers me a little bit like I know what she means like it kind of sparks the influence and the inspiration for you like oh this would be a hotline not it's about the baby so I want to clarify that it's not

[00:52:47] her being like yeah I thought about this when I was thought about your baby when I was writing this it was more just like oh that'd be a hotline for this it makes sense so just to kind of say

[00:52:56] that real quick this song is interesting because when I heard it I was like why does it sound so familiar scratching my brain and then I was like you know what let me double check because the flamenco

[00:53:07] guitar I was like it kind of sounds like a song I know and then the drums almost sound like a song I know it blends the beat of Gary Glitter's rock and roll from 72 1972 and the melody of happy together

[00:53:18] by the turtles so happy together me and you I was like that's what it is so that's why the song feels familiar but also fresh so I appreciate that because I'll say why does it sound like some old

[00:53:31] rocker song I think the song isn't bad it's just okay ish I think what takes me a little bit like out of it is the dynamic of the song just kind of being shy of its potential for example she's

[00:53:45] talking about how this lover is doing all these things for her and you hear that you feel in me yet feel in me yet it cracks me up that line but it's not terrible to explain like how you're

[00:53:55] feeling with someone how they make you feel and what they're actually doing to your body as they're you know so it's nice right the second verse harmonies are nice too like there's some

[00:54:02] sweetener vocals here in there there's some ooze in the chorus it reels all this night's tension and like what I will say after that sexy needy bridge like the baby bait her repeating it over

[00:54:12] and over again Brittany attempts to give us like a belt but then it's so far in the mix like boo oh my god boo boo boo boo boo like an oops there's a belt that may or may not be her I

[00:54:24] know I think it's her right in the not so innocent it's her right but it's a little bit more forward in the mix this one I can't tell if it's Cara or Brittany because it's so far in the effing mix

[00:54:34] and I'm like dang I can understand if it was someone else them not putting the not putting it forward I get it if it sounds bad or for what someone else not putting it

[00:54:43] forward but I feel like for the song was building for like this basic climactic moment for it to be in the back it was just like dang it was swelling for it to burst it kind of

[00:54:53] not you know that's why I feel like the song like I don't hate it I like it but I just feel like it falls a little short of what it could have been if they would have just kind of done certain

[00:55:02] choices differently maybe certain different choices or like bring that ending up a little bit more for me okay it's not bad song though so I'm bad song yeah I like the song I think

[00:55:10] it's good album track that makes sense yeah yeah totally like it could never be a single but I think it does its job and again deserves a spot on the album we do get a guitar in it like

[00:55:20] you mentioned and it's kind of nice because everything else has been very electronic kind of this entire album so to have something just a little more organic obviously there's a ton of effects on it but just nice to hear it's just something sonically different in the production

[00:55:32] itself but yeah I feel like this is very classic Britney in a way also like the verses are very sexy you get that kind of like low breathiness and the execution the chorus is super catchy

[00:55:43] like the oo-hoo baby is such a simple hook but it's yeah very memorable going back to the repeated baby baby baby yeah that is so much fun you can tell she was having fun singing it

[00:55:55] and then you know of course the last baby you know baby yeah which you know that word she just owns that word totally hers the performance on the circus tour is also really fun like with all the magic

[00:56:07] tricks and stuff like I still don't know how she did all that like I remember going that show and being like oh my god because there's a part where she like disappears on this thing

[00:56:17] and then she goes up on the other side of the stage to start hot as ice yeah that's right so cool you know like oh my god like this was such a fun moment in that show so I think because of that

[00:56:28] this song has grown on me a lot because I connect that oh valid okay yeah yeah but I think it's fun again like hot as ice it's just fun to sing yeah just the fun pops up like nothing more than that

[00:56:39] yeah yeah I like that part so I appreciate it for that so yeah I'll give it an eight same score oh nice I gave it eight as well again I feel like it could have been a freaking higher something

[00:56:49] like 8.59 ish again if just certain things would have happened like give me my belts give me like a crescendo at the end if we're talking about being filled fill me okay on to the next

[00:56:59] song we have perfect lover which was done by Jim beans danger Harry hilsin and Marcella all right and this one is now bringing it back down a bit more serious yeah think of perfect lover

[00:57:12] you know I like this one am I wrong to say it feels kind of like yeah it could go on in the zone you know because I just think of like me against the music like like the things like that I just

[00:57:22] think she's gonna breathe and can I just say that like whoever writes these breaths in here whoever it was Carrie thank you I appreciate because it sounds so good and again we're

[00:57:33] being brought back to the breath stuff yeah I think I haven't written down like for the umth time here dangers vocal choices are very much what I would expect Timbaland to do on a track sorry

[00:57:42] but yeah it's just I'm glad that he didn't do like a lot of those songs on this album but I'm also glad that he was on this album because in the zone we had some kind of like R&B influences

[00:57:53] with the freaking song that made her bust her knee in the first place and we have other songs on the album that kind of lean more toward like R&B are kind of playing with it kind of you know

[00:58:01] flirting with the idea of doing R&B but danger brought that R&B to this album and I feel like it's definitely shown and again Carrie Hosen when she writes for Britney it either ends up on the

[00:58:13] track on the album or as like a little deluxe bonus and I think they just it just fits chorus wise it's not strong I will say yeah the breath I like in the drums and the extra

[00:58:23] flourishes there in between those like choruses kind of shows its potential but again it's just shy of so now at the end of the album I'm just like you have nothing else to pull out now damn

[00:58:33] that sucks I will say that the Oz in the chorus feel very euphoric so all that tension that this album has been building has I feel like it's now being released in a sense I do like the vocal layers

[00:58:41] of her head voice though I think it's a nice change from the baby voice vocal fry because it shows off the other textures in her voice it's going back to break the ice chorus it's

[00:58:49] going back to give me more verse so it kind of sandwiches the vocal stylings a little bit and it feels like a good kind of second to last ending for the album so I

[00:58:58] ultimate yeah yeah thank you that's the word appreciate you I feel like if this album would have ended on this song I'd been fine with it I'm actually gonna change my score a little bit

[00:59:06] but yeah I feel like this is a decent song and it goes out the album pretty well fairly decently just looking at the sequence of the album it does make a great bridge from ooh baby to

[00:59:18] why should I be sad because otherwise it's like a really dramatic change so this kind of bringing the energy a bit down again you know like you said using her head voice almost throughout the whole

[00:59:28] thing like it kind of just brings it all down so you're kind of just more prepared for the last song so I appreciate it in the context of the album but it is one that I tend to forget about

[00:59:38] to be very honest most I think of this album this is not a song that I ever really want to choose to listen to do you know what I mean like I think there are nice elements here

[00:59:47] it is very delicate and still kind of sultry I think the bridge is probably my favorite part because the energy kind of picks up a little bit there's a quick cadence to it yeah the harmony

[00:59:55] stack in there is nice but yeah the chorus is not very memorable like I know it just because I've listened to this album so many times but not my favorite I would say yeah for sure yeah

[01:00:07] yeah but I think the lyrics are actually written really well like it's actually quite poetic this one so yeah I appreciate it in the context of the album but kind of Britney's

[01:00:15] dystrography definitely not one that I ever think about valid the potential is just just shy of which is why my score is actually a seven point five if we're there's one okay yes I will go slightly lower

[01:00:29] and do a seven the chorus could have been something oh what a waste all right the last song of this album the standard edition of this album is why should I be sad it was done by Pharrell Williams

[01:00:41] and the nepto this one hit you know it definitely sounds like for you know it does it does um is that a good thing for you no okay um listen I was a nevtunes fan like I listened to the unreleased

[01:00:56] stuff and it definitely falls in that realm of unreleased songs with like other vocalists but see the thing is no T no shade or dip the shade in the tea that makes you feel better whatever

[01:01:09] but I appreciate the honesty of the track but that's it like the song is really in Pharrell's old singing style and his vocals were not that good back in the day so some of the vocal choices were

[01:01:19] a bit meh and as I mentioned Britney and a lot of artists even Rihanna they have a tendency to follow the singing to the letter like if you listen to Diamond by the sea aversion demo yeah

[01:01:32] Rihanna singing the same way but because both Rihanna and Britney voices are so distinctive however it will still be their song as opposed to Beyonce is an extreme example but it's the first

[01:01:41] one I come to four plus four by the dream the dream is not amazing singer Beyonce took it and ran with it right so Pharrell when he would work with vocalists Britney is a singer and not like

[01:01:50] a vocalist I mean she's terrible but my point is they would actually judge up Pharrell's vocals because the choice is more cleaner in terms of runs and a little bit more to like fit that

[01:02:01] their vocal stylings and I feel like for Britney doing some of Pharrell's runs were not my favorite like she goes um heaven knows like why that's something Pharrell would do and I'm just like

[01:02:12] he's not a talented man he wasn't then either but like it just wasn't the greatest thing especially when you want this R&B-esque record production that's going on here it just doesn't fit what's

[01:02:23] going on with Britney's voice and it sounds really cold and again I can hear the voice quivering because of all the melodyne or auditing I could hear it quivering even more so now because

[01:02:32] it's not in her wheelhouse I feel like come on you can do it just try it as opposed to let's find a note as a little bit more legato like the as opposed to whoa that's more staccato and I feel like

[01:02:42] I didn't give a good example but my point is as opposed to that staccato it should have been the more legato kind of style I feel like Britney could have done that because her vocal

[01:02:52] agility is when she's singing through verses not doing runs and trills I say she can't do it but again it's not a vocal muscle that she's really strengthened and this one is like okay for me

[01:03:03] is his production good yeah it always is he's not undoubted him and Chad we're like a dream team but I think vocally the song just takes me out because of some of the choices that were left

[01:03:14] on the track I love that she's being so honest so so shout out to her for that I appreciate the candor but the candor is not enough for me to be like this song is good

[01:03:23] so I actually really like this track like I think it ends the album really well like obviously it is about whole situation with her ex-husband at the time but I appreciate the angle that they took

[01:03:34] with it that it's not just a whoa is me kind of situation shout out to Pharrell and Neptune's for that and yeah of course the production is very signature Neptune's but I think it works

[01:03:45] and it kind of gives something different on the album while still kind of fitting the overall concept and actually like Pharrell's little interjection throughout the track yeah as well like yeah adds just kind of a nice dimension there with Brittany's execution I agree she's

[01:03:59] definitely following Pharrell's kind of enunciation and stuff to the T yeah but I think it actually works because the way it's written the words are also kind of like they almost use the

[01:04:09] enunciation to give it kind of the attitude that it needs so like she's not giving like a ton of like sass in it or like a ton of emotion in it but because she's kind of enunciating it in that

[01:04:22] piercing way that's what kind of adds to it I think the bridge is great too where it kind of gets slightly more soulful and again that's kind of very signature Pharrell as well but I

[01:04:31] think it totally works in this case and I think Brittany actually sounds good in that bridge there and yeah this is one that I didn't appreciate much when I was a kid but I've gotten to appreciate

[01:04:41] more as I've gotten older and when it shows up kind of when I listen through Brittany's discography it stands out in a good way like she doesn't really have another song like this but it's

[01:04:50] quite poignant as well for her I think it has a cool spot in that so I actually really like it yeah all right so what do you rate it yeah so I will actually give it a nine how about you

[01:05:00] I'll give it a seven point five not not for you so that ends the standard album review we will be discussing the three official bonus tracks from the album exclusively on our patreon and for our

[01:05:14] Spotify subscribers to definitely go join us over there but for now let's conclude our discussion on the standard album so we have our cut or keep section so you had to cut a song on this album

[01:05:27] what would it be and why I don't think this is a prize to anyone with song I would take off honestly I really don't think it's a prize I would remove get naked I got a plan it doesn't do anything for me

[01:05:40] I get it but you could have done something better the no offense to danger he's very talented producer but no I can do without the fandom of the opera club version okay like it doesn't do

[01:05:50] anything for the album it really does it I just want buffer on okay interesting I fan let us know what you think of this choice I think it might be controversial actually yeah so I I will cut

[01:06:02] freak show actually yeah because I think between kind of freak show hot as ice and ooh baby like they all kind of do the same thing really but I love the hot as ice ooh baby kind of duo

[01:06:17] there so sorry to freak show like I just don't really need it yeah okay so if I had to keep a track on the album when we say keep we just mean like if you could only listen to this song

[01:06:29] or if you had to choose one to like put on a playlist or something all right I think I know what you're gonna choose so I'll choose something different I will go with radar it is such an

[01:06:37] underrated single because even when it was released like it didn't do much you know so I think it's a brilliant song you know what I've been the river gotta go for that you're

[01:06:46] gonna go for something else but you listen it's no secret my number 11 I will play I repeat constantly break the ice is such a damn good song like yeah it really is it was going to

[01:06:55] actually be heaven on earth oh yeah because I like 80s music but I was like that can't be the reason like what's it you know like I could show someone that they'd like okay I'm gonna

[01:07:02] F but I could show some break the ice maybe like this is kind of fire yeah it is right shout out to Kerry Yolson writing good songs my Kerry Yolson yeah Kerry yeah Kerry shout to her

[01:07:11] all right so break me army let us know what songs you would cut or keep let us know your rating be nice in the comments because literally it's not that deep y'all it's just music but if you

[01:07:20] love it I get it but be nice in the comments y'all it's not that deep okay be nice in the name of the father the son and the britney spirit okay that is the end of our ratings and such but we have one

[01:07:30] more final score and that is the overall thoughts on this album so Chris what do you think about I mean you had the album like when you were younger right I did it was like my first time

[01:07:41] actually like I said listening to it like full through but what do you think yeah I mean I do love this album do I think it's her best no I don't think it's her best but I understand why people

[01:07:52] say that it is and I do think you know in terms of her legacy if this is what people use to kind of represent her vocally emotionally like her signature sound then stuff like it works it's it works very

[01:08:04] well for that and I'm I would be behind that for sure but yeah I still love this album I listen to it a lot actually and yeah she's amazing that's it my final score would probably be a nine for this

[01:08:15] one yeah oh nice I guess you were saying in terms of like people saying that this would be her best I think in terms of it being like her best sonically I think is the most cohesive it's not fair to say

[01:08:25] because she has cohesive albums I think this album for what it set out to do was very clear very understood very well thought out and you know some of the weaker songs on here still fit the theme

[01:08:37] it wasn't just like some random like oh we have a song we have a we have a quota to make your people and it didn't feel too much like that I was listening to this album yeah I think it's like her best one

[01:08:45] either sonically I think is the most fun I can get why people are like wow like this is great in terms of emotional depth there is none and that doesn't mean that you need emotional

[01:08:56] that's be a great album but I do believe that there's more to her than what the album was displaying even if she was trying to block all that out so yeah I think it says that at like

[01:09:03] a 8.5 for me because there are some weak songs on here that I was like it took me a while to kind of come around and even still I'm kind of like when I listen to this again outside of our

[01:09:10] review and I'm still still going through that still being like I don't know yet and that's fine that's what music is supposed to be like so 8.5 for me overall so what do you all think

[01:09:20] about the album as Gentile mention definitely give us all your thoughts in the comments and you can DM us as well at season pop on all social media if you would like priority choice on

[01:09:31] what our next episode topics are you can join the crew on Patreon and don't forget to like subscribe and turn on notifications for our YouTube channel and if you're on a podcast platform please give us

[01:09:41] a follow rating and review until next time that's Gentile that's good and we're signing off from cctv the num stop pop show