Get excited that Britney Spears is back . bitch.
Blackout (Oct. 30, Jive) was released amid a paparazzi feeding frenzy of which Spears has been chief prey, proves that Spears still has whatever it is musically that catapulted her to super-stardom in the late ’90s.
The first radio release, “Gimme More,” peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 3 during the eight weeks since the song’s premiere, and sits this week at No. 16.
The single might not be enough to encourage listeners to buy the rest of the album, as the repetition of the namesake lyrics over and over is drawn out. Not that anyone was expecting a lyrical Walt Whitman, but the single is dull in comparison with to some other tracks.
“Radar,” or “raiduh,” as Spears pronounces it, makes me want to have a musical battle at night in the street with a group of crouched down dancers snapping their fingers while slowly approaching some dance enemy, a la “West Side Story.” The chorus, however, is monotonous and, like in “Gimme More,” a synthesized chorus follows Spears’ lyrics. If sped up a few notches, “Radar” would make catchy house music.
We all might have an answer to the title of the quizzical last track on the album, “Why Should I Be Sad” (sans question mark, perhaps so that we don’t suggest our own answers), but this track specifically poses the question about Spears’ relationship with K-Fed. Hilarious lyrics like “I sent you to Vegas with a pocket roll of paper” and “Even got the drop Ferrari / Filled up our garage for you,” stab at Federline’s coattail ride to fame and fortune.
This closing track is slow, but interesting lyrics with long, detailed verses set this tune apart from the other tracks and their repetitive choruses.
It is a shame to say it, but Spears’ crooning in “Why Should I Be Sad” is reminiscent of Prince’s emotional vocals in his slower songs like “Purple Rain.” Although there are plenty of reasons for Spears to worry, ditching ex-husband Kevin Federline was probably not one of them, and she croons the dismissively about their relationship.
Other tracks are more of the same dance beats, including “Hot As Ice,” co-written and arranged by T-Pain (which features a baby-bird sound chirping in the background) and the snare drum infused “Toy Soldier.” “Hot As Ice” highlights Spears’ natural voice-no, really-reminiscent of old hits such as “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” and, although it sounds infantile at times, she carries a confidence and sexuality in her voice.
Blackout is definitely a nice addition to any Spears collection, and it shows Spears’ progression from bubble-gum pop to sometimes-dirty dance music.
The haters don’t want Blackout to succeed. Rolling Stone reported that Spears’ former bodyguard, makeup artist and backup dancer, among other “friends,” have teamed up to create a website, “Be Proactive to Help,” which encourages fans not to buy the album so that Spears can become “better.”
The site is actually a MySpace page that gives no factual information about its creators.
Blackout will likely not be hindered by the website and, hopefully, critiques of Spears’ music can be separated from mistakes she’s made in her personal life. The self-proclaimed “Britney Shameless” has made a dance album that features the unique sound Spears has been developing since we hit her, baby, the first time.
