Last week was a major Britney Spears Renaissance. In the matter of a few days, the Princess of Pop released her album in full, appeared in Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, and performed live at the MTV's Video Music Awards. As such, Britney has been given the comeback narrative, although honestly she never really went anywhere. But this new Britney movement does feature a major improvement for the singer- her new album Glory may be her best yet. There's quite a few reasons why Glory was so damn glorious, and why it appeals to such a massive audience. Let's break down what Britney is doing so right.
Britney is giving real vocal performances
While Britney Spears is a pop legend who has never really been dethroned, not every song in her long catalogue has been a winner. Her last studio album Britney Jean was one of her least successful, despite her team's insistence that it was going to be her most personal album yet. And while hardcore fans still ate Britney Jean up (and everyone loved "Work Bitch"), it was shorter in length and there were some serious duds. For a few years now, Britney's music has become much more chanting and talky, resulting in the singer not doing as much actual singing. But Glory is different. Each and every song contains complicated melodies, and you can actually sing along rather than just yell "It's Britney, bitch" at your car radio. Glory opens with "Invitation" and goes straight into her first single, "Make Me", both of which contain vocal performances that we haven't heard in years.
Glory's hip hop vernacular and musical influences appeal to a broader and younger audience
Britney's new album has a sound that is very unique to anything she's ever produced, while still sounding authentically Britney. Still very much a pop album, there is a strong hip hop influence in Glory that we haven't really heard before. Many of the verses sound like they could have been written for some of the hip hop divas like Beyonce or Rihanna. The choruses; however, feel much more classic Britney- giving her a new sound that will please the die hard fans as well as a new younger audience. Additionally, there are plenty of references to hip hop culture that Britney uses during her album, only making the entire album feel more radio-worthy and current. Her lyrics in "Clumsy" are particularly current, including references like:
'Cause I'll be slippin' off this dressFooling around and then we smashAgain and again (come here, baby)ClumsyNever told a soul about what we've doneYou let it roll right off your tongueAgain and again
Words I'd never anticipate Britney saying such as "smash", and "twerk" made for surprising and exciting moments throughout the album.
She's Bringing Back Old School Britney Dialogue To Her Songs
Britney Spears had a few signature moves when she burst onto the scene in the 1990's. In addition to dancing her ass off and maintaining a pretty sexual vibe with her songs and videos, she also had another trick she liked to put into her popular songs: adding dialogue. From the strange Titanic reference in "Oops!... I Did It Again", to her winning an award in "Lucky", old school Brit always had a moment where the artist would speak or have a little scene with herself. While this was absent in Britney Jean and Femme Fatale, she brought it back for Glory, much to the joy of fans who have followed her throughout the years. She's got a pretty big chunk of dialogue in "Private Show", ends the song with a line in "What You Need" and even once again muttered the word "Oops" during "Clumsy". This might feel like fan service to some, but it's sure to please those who have been following her long career.
You Can Dance To The Entire Album
If there's one thing that Britney Spears music has always provided, it's dance worthy tracks. Her show in Vegas in highly choreographed, and she's always been known to bust out pretty intense dance moves during her tours and music videos. Britney songs have consistently been present in night clubs, and Glory delivers an entire 17 song album that people are going to be excited to dance and drink to. Seriously, if you put "Do You Wanna Come Over?" on at a party or bar, I challenge you to find a soul on the floor who doesn't feel the need to bust a move. As Britney's new song "If I'm Dancing" says, "If I'm dancing, I know the music's good". And good it is.
Homegirl is singing in tongues
What was perhaps the most unexpected aspect of Glory is how often the Princess of Pop is singing in languages other than English. Her final track in the album is "Coupure Electrique", which is french for the word blackout. Fans will know that Blackout is the title of Britney's 2007 album, which was released in the middle of her public breakdown. This is another reference for long term fans to freak out over, while also showing that Britney can sing an entire song in French. In addition, she whips out some more French in "Man on the Moon", and "Change Your Mind" has the singer dabbling in some Spanish. This will surely delight new audiences, who weren't expecting Britney Spears to use their native tongue in her album.
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