Britney is the self-titled 3rd studio album by Britney Spears.
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Looking to transition from the teen pop styles of her earlier albums ...Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), Spears began to embrace a maturer sound with her next studio effort. Its music incorporates elements of pop with dance-pop and R&B influences and occasionally dips into other genres as well like hip hop and rock; its lyrics address the subjects of reaching adulthood and sexuality. Contributions to its production came from a variety of collaborators, including Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. Spears herself assumed a more prominent role in the album's development, co-writing five of its tracks.
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The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 745,000 copies. Its success made Spears the first female artist to have her first three albums debut atop the chart, a record she would later break again with her fourth record In the Zone (2003).She also held the second-highest debut album sales of 2001, though maintained the highest debut-week sales among female artists.
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Spears stated that she chose to self-title the album because the majority of its content describes who she is. She recorded 23 tracks for the release, several of which she co-wrote with the assistance of Brian Kierulf and Josh Schwartz. She added that personally writing the album and developing its concept made the project "that much more special", elaborating of her intentions to "get better and grow" as a songwriter.
Spears worked with a variety of collaborators, including pop colleagues Max Martin and her then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. Spears also worked with hip hop producers Rodney Jerkins and The Neptunes, who made the record "nastier and funkier". She additionally recorded songs with Missy Elliott and Timbaland, but their tracks never made the final track listing due to scheduling conflicts.
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Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave a positive review, feeling that the album "strives to deepen [Spears's] persona" and proves she "will know what to do when the teen-pop phenomenon of 1999-2001 passes for good". Similarly, a reviewer from Billboard commented that the project was "a nicely varied, wholly satisfying collection".Chris Heat of Dotmusic praised Britney for "us[ing] this opportunity to take the odd risk and adds a welcome edge to her sound."
EDIT: and too her BEST show Dream Within A Dream! Fun Festive Fact: The tour started before the album even came out... When will anybody else be that prepared?!