Released on November 6, 2001.
Peaked at #1 on the US Billboard 200 // #4 on the UK Albums Chart.
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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 genres of pop and dance-pop with influences of R&B and occasionally dips into elements of disco, 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.
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Upon its release, music critics complimented the progression from Spears's earlier works, but criticized her increasingly provocative image. The album debuted at number one 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).