Panic Industry

Britney is the third studio album from American pop singer Britney Spears. The album was released on November 6, 2001 in the United States and Canada, on November 12, 2001 in Japan, and on November 5, 2001 around the world. Spears supported the album with the Dream Within a Dream Tour.

Britney is most notable for Spears' own increasingly prominent role in the songwriting. The record boasts aids from producers such as Max Martin, The Neptunes and others.

The album fared well with critics such as All Music Guide, who gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars describing the album's title tracks as being "pivotal moments on Britney Spears' third album, the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney." In contrast, Rolling Stone said of the album: "Britney belabors the obvious: Spears is one month away from entering her twenties and clearly needs to grow up if she's going to bring her fans along."

Chart performance

Britney debuted at number-one on both the Canadian and U.S. album charts, knocking out Invincible, the then-newest album by one of her idols, Michael Jackson. In the U.S., Britney sold over 746,000 copies in its first week. Next week, Britney went down to No. 2 on a 55% decline with sales of 337,000 units. Sales are generally inflated during the holiday season, which explained the third-week boost given to Britney Spears' self-titled album, which had an increase of 34% to 451,000 units, yet dipped to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 behind the two new entries at the top of the chart that week.

This number-one debut on the Billboard 200 made her the only female artist in SoundScan history to have their first three albums debut at number-one. Although the album has sold 4.9 million copies in the U.S. (including Nielsen Soundscan and Club sales), it was considerably less successful than Spears' first two albums, ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again.

In Japan, the album debuted at number four on the Oricon charts, selling 66,900 units during its first week. Britney has since sold 191,130 copies to date and earned platinum certification there. It has also been certified 2x Platinum in Australia, where the album reached a peak of number four.

In 2002, Britney was certified double-platinum by the IFPI for shipments of two million copies inside Europe. Britney is Spears' lowest selling studio album to date in the UK, selling just 462,000 copies. The album eventually spent a total of 36 weeks on the UK Albums Chart. The album also debuted at number-two in France, where it has since sold over 425,000 copies. The album has sold 15 milion copies worldwide as of 2007.

Track listing

Original release

1. "I'm a Slave 4 U" (Hugo, Williams) — 3:23

2. "Overprotected" (Max Martin, Rami) — 3:18

3. "Lonely" (Jerkins, Kierulf, Schwartz, Spears) — 3:19

4. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Max Martin, Dido, Rami) — 3:51

5. "Boys" (Hugo, Williams) — 3:26

6. "Anticipating" (Kierulf, Schwartz, Spears) — 3:16

7. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (Hooker, Merrill) — 3:06

8. "Cinderella" (Max Martin, Rami, Spears) — 3:39

9. "Let Me Be" (Kierulf, Schwartz, Spears) — 2:51

10. "Bombastic Love" (Max Martin, Rami) — 3:05

11. "That's Where You Take Me" (Kierulf, Schwartz, Spears) — 3:32

12. "When I Found You" [Non-U.S. edition only](Elofsson, Hill) — 3:37

13. "Before the Goodbye" [Non-U.S. edition only] (Kierulf, Schwartz, Spears, Transeau) — 3:50

14. "I Run Away" [Non-U.S. edition only] (Kierulf, Schwartz) — 4:04

15. "What It's Like to Be Me" (Robson, Timberlake) — 2:50

Limited edition

16. "Overprotected" (The DarkChild Remix) — 3:07

17. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Metro Mix) — 5:25

18. "I'm a Slave 4 U" (Thunderpuss Radio Remix) — 3:19

Bonus DVD

1. "Britney Talks: Part 1"
2. "I'm a Slave 4 U" [Music video]
3. "Britney Talks: Part 2"
4. "Overprotected" [Music video]
5. "Britney Talks: Part 3"
6. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" [Music video]
7. "Britney Talks: Part 4"
8. "Overprotected (The DarkChild Remix)" [Music video]
9. "Britney Talks: Part 5"
10. "Making of Pepsi: 'Right Now (Taste the Victory)'"
11. "Britney Talks: Part 6"

 

Singles

#	Title	Date
1.	"I'm a Slave 4 U"	September 2001
2.	"Overprotected"/"Overprotected (Darkchild Remix)"	January 2002 (UK) — April 2002 (U.S.)
3.	"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"	January 2002 (U.S.) — April 2002 (UK)
4.	"Boys"	July 2002 (UK and U.S.) — November 2002 (Europe)
5.	"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"	June 2002 (Europe) — November 2002 (UK)
6.	"Anticipating"	June 2002 (only France and Brazil)
7.	"That's Where You Take Me"	2003 (only Phillippines)

• "I'm a Slave 4 U", the first single from Britney saw Britney collaborating with hip-hop duo, The Neptunes. Featuring layered vocals and a sparse beat, the track showcased Britney at her most grown up, alienating some parts of her younger fan base. The track entered the UK Singles Chart at number 4, having been premiered at the MTV VMAs; a performance which was criticized for including live animals. The accompanying video, directed by Francis Lawrence, was nominated for 3 MTV VMAs in 2002, and the track, despite not being commercially released in the U.S., reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• "Overprotected" was the second single to be lifted from Britney in the UK and Australia, and was a so-called "return to pop", produced by Max Martin and Rami. Featuring a video directed by Billy Woodruff, which is set in a warehouse, was featured in Britney's debut acting role Crossroads. Despite the fact that the international single release used the album version of the track, in the U.S., the track was remixed by Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild) and released as the third single from Britney in the U.S. (with a new video, directed by Chris Applebaum). The track was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
• "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" — the theme song to Crossroads — was the second single released from Britney in the U.S. and Europe, and the third single in the UK and Australia. The song, when it was penned, staggered to fit the release dates for the film. Written by Max Martin, Rami and UK chanteuse Dido (who was asked to give a female perspective for the lyrics, as Britney was busy filming), it was a massive hit single worldwide, just missing out on the UK number-one spot and debuting at number-two. Unfortunately, the song just missed the U.S. Hot 100 chart, following poor airplay.
• "Boys" was the fourth (in the U.S.) and fifth (in Europe and Australia) single released from Britney. Instead of the album version being released as normal, a remixed version of "Boys" was commissioned. It was featured on the soundtrack to the third Austin Powers movie, Austin Powers in Goldmember, starring Mike Myers, and in which Britney makes a cameo appearance, playing a robot version of herself. The new version — remixed by The Neptunes (who wrote and produced the original album version) — included lyrics from a male perspective, featuring Pharrell Williams performing alongside Britney. With a music video that features Pharrell and includes a cameo appearance from Mike Myers, "Boys" became another top 10 hit in the UK, and a mostly top 20 hit worldwide.
• "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was released in Australia and central Europe (excluding France, where "Anticipating" was released instead) in mid-2002, with the UK release following in November. Originally made famous by Joan Jett, the track was featured in Crossroads, with Lucy, Kit and Mimi performing the track at a karaoke bar to get money, and was released to coincide with the film release in Australia and Europe, and the DVD release in the UK; due to the scheduling of the theatrical and DVD releases, the single was never released in the U.S. The Darkchild remix of "Overprotected", released in the U.S., was used as the B-side.
• "Anticipating" was the first (and only) special "test release" for Jive Records, who released different songs in different territories to specifically target the different worldwide audiences. The '80s-influenced track was released exclusively in France and Brazil (in place of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"), becoming one of Britney's biggest hits there, reaching number 38 in the singles chart, and having a set of specially-commissioned remixes released. The track (written by Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz, and Britney herself) was promoted using the Dream Within a Dream Tour live performance of the song (which was featured on the Live from Las Vegas DVD) as the music video.

Charts and certifications

Chart (2001) Peak position Australian ARIA Albums Chart 4 Austrian Albums Chart 1 Brazilian Albums Chart 5 Belgian Albums Chart 3 Canadian Albums Chart 1 Danish Albums Chart 8 Finnish Albums Chart 19 French Albums Chart 2 German Albums Chart 1 Japanese Oricon Albums Chart 4 Irish Albums Chart 8 Italian Albums Chart 10 Mexican Albums Chart 1 New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart 17 Norwegian Albums Chart 5 Swedish Albums Chart 6 Swiss Albums Chart 1 UK Albums Chart 4 U.S. Billboard 200 1 U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums 1

Country Provider(s) Certification Sales/shipments Australia ARIA 2x Platinum 140,000+ Austria IFPI Platinum 30,000+ Brazil ABPD Gold 190,000+ Belgium IFPI Platinum 50,000+ Canada CRIA 4x Platinum 400,000+ Europe IFPI 2x Platinum 2.9 million+ Finland GLF Gold 30,000+ France SNEP/IFOP Platinum 425,000+ Germany IFPI Platinum 300,000+ Japan RIAJ Platinum 190,000+ Mexico AMPROFON Platinum 200,000+ Netherlands NVPI Platinum 70,000+ New Zealand RIANZ Gold 7,500+ Sweden GLF Gold 30,000+ Switzerland IFPI 2x Platinum 80,000+ UK BPI Platinum 460,000+ U.S. RIAA 4x Platinum 5 million+

 

Awards

Awards ceremony	Award
2002
Barbie Award	Barbie Girl
Cosmopolitan Magazine	Fun, Fearless Female of the Year
Emmy Awards	Best Direction (Britney Spears: Live from Las Vegas)
	Best Special Television (SNL)
MTV Asia Awards	Best International Female Artist
Neil Bogart Memorial Fund	Children's Choice Award
Popstar! Magazine	Poptastic Female Singer
Rolling Stone Magazine Award	Best Dressed Female
	Best Female Artist
Teen Choice Awards	Choice Female Artist
	Choice Hottie Female
Yahoo!	Top Searched Artist of the Year
2003
Glamour Magazine (UK)	Woman of the Year
Golden Music Awards	Best International Video ("I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman")
Hollywood Life Magazine	10 Most Toned in a New Hollywood
Japan Golden Disc Awards	Best International New Artist
	Best International Music Video ("I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman")
Popstar! Magazine	Poptastic Female Singer
TRL Awards	First Lady Award
Yahoo!	Top Searched Artist of the Year

 

Credits

Production Producers: Max Martin, Rodney Jerkins, The Neptunes, Rami, Wade Robson, Justin Timberlake. Engineers: Max Martin, Andrew Coleman, Brian Garten, Brad Gilderman, Pablo Munguia, Rami, Michael Tucker, Yasu. Assistant engineers: Jaime Duncan, Richard G. Johnson, Marc Stephen Lee, Charles McCrorey, Daniel Milazzo, Tim Roberts, Ryan Smith, Rich Tapper, Jill Tengan. Mastering: Tom Coyne. Mixing: Max Martin, Stephen George, Serban Ghenea, Jean-Marie Horvat, Rami String arrangements: James Biondolillo, Mark Suozzo. Vocal arrangements: Justin Timberlake.

Personnel Vocals, background vocals: Britney Spears. Background vocals: Sue Ann Carwell, Tyler Collins, Albert Hall, Damion Hall, Nana Hedin, Jennifer Karr, Maxayne Moriguchi, Jeff Pescetto, Jason Scheff, Chris Thompson. Featured musicians: Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams. Bass: Thomas Lindberg. Guitar, background vocals: Max Martin. Guitar: Esbjörn Öhrwall, Nile Rodgers.

 

References

< Prev		Next >