"Make Me..." Britney Spears ft. G-Eazy
It's all too easy these days to have no expectations for Britney Spears. It's been years since the woman who gave us some of pop culture's most iconic moments truly surprised us, and the brief hiccups when she seems poised to put some effort into her career again always flicker out as she retreats to Las Vegas to become a mother who's a pop star on the side. So even after umpteen listens, the squiggly chime of synths that announces the arrival of Spears' new single, "Make Me...," can take you aback. By the time the sultry guitar gives way to a pulsing clap and her woozy come-ons explode into an ethereal rain of
oohs, you may be left wondering if this is really the same woman who, just a year ago, was playing cheerleader with Iggy Azalea.
Indeed, against all odds, Spears has given us a version of herself that we've never heard before in her nearly two-decade career—and it is divine. Sleek and mature, "Make Me..." feels like the yearning girl from
In the Zone just discovering her orgasm finally grew up and found deliverance. Minus a pointless, mood-killing guest appearance by G-Eazy (are we in for collaborations with successively less famous white rappers on each lead single from now on?), this is perhaps the first Spears sex jam that someone might actually add to their bedroom playlist. If she’s going to continue well into motherhood with nothing more on her musical mind than clubbing and copulation—and, at this point, that certainly seems to be the case—then this is the way to do it: elegant electro-R&B, with the year’s most heavenly climax.
A-
