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Music News: Britney Spears - 'Femme Fatale'
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2006
Posts: 42,086
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Despite Personal Struggles, Britney Spears Continues to Dominate Pop Music Scene
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For more than a decade, singer Britney Spears has been dominating the airwaves, surpassing most of her fellow pop princesses. But what is about Spears that keeps the 29-year-old singer at the top of the charts while so many of peers struggle to keep up?
“Britney had the biggest hits in her day, there is long-lasting good will towards her and people root for her to succeed,” Monica Herrera, News Editor of Billboard.com told FOX411’s Pop Tarts. “People find Britney relatable and her songs are good, her fans want to see her dance and be a spectacle. Dance pop is even bigger than before and she has always been a part of that.”
As far as music sales are concerned, Spears’ recently released “Hold It Against Me” immediately shot to the top of the charts, following in the footsteps of her 2008 number one album “Circus.” In contrast, Christina Aguilera’s recent album “Bionic” was a big disappointment, selling just 110,000 copies in its first week of sales. Similarly, Jessica Simpson’s 2010 holiday album debuted at a weak No. 123 on the charts.
And while she may not be on the same level vocally as Simpson and Aguilera, fans don’t seem to care. In fact, Spears infamous lip-synching hasn’t hindered her concert sales in the slightest. According to Pollster, her “Circus” tour was the third highest-grossing tour worldwide in 2009 (just behind ACDC and Fleetwood Mac) and pulled a gross of around $54.8 million.
“Aguilera obviously is a better singer, but Britney has much better songs than her. Spears works with the best producers, songwriters, even her videos are more memorable,” explained David Schulhof, Entertainment Expert and Chief Executive Officer, E2 Group LLC. “She’s more of a pop icon. The personal interest in Britney also produces sales, which is why she has sold 100 million albums while Christina has sold 50 million and Jessica has sold 20 million albums.”
But music aside, the public’s fascination with Spears adds to her overall success. Fans have watched the star at her most vulnerable moments and can identify with her stumbles. And most importantly, despite her struggles, Spears has kept to her winning formula of catchy tunes and dance songs.
“Christina and Jessica have, in many ways, alienated their original fan base. Whether it’s Christina jumping on the Gaga train with her last album or Jessica going country – fans aren’t sure what to expect each time they drop an album,” television personality and celebrity DJ Jakissa “DJ Kiss” Taylor added. “With Britney, you know what is coming – Britney! She has a formula and she sticks to it.”
And even as new stars like Lady Gaga come on the scene, Spears’ formula continues to be successful and it appears she has the chops to have a long and successful career.
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Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...p-music-scene/
The know the tea 
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Member Since: 10/28/2006
Posts: 19,048
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 #13 and #11
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Member Since: 6/5/2009
Posts: 13,743
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Originally posted by Chemist
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For once in their life as a news network
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Member Since: 11/12/2009
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Happy Birthday Anthony
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Member Since: 4/22/2009
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Fox News stans for her now because she's the lesser of the two sinners.
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Member Since: 10/28/2006
Posts: 19,048
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chemist
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 3/1/2007
Posts: 19,847
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Quote:
Originally posted by stevensaurusrex
Fox News stans for her now because she's the lesser of the two sinners. |
DEAD. 
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Member Since: 6/5/2009
Posts: 13,743
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Quote:
Originally posted by stevensaurusrex
Fox News stans for her now because she's the lesser of the two sinners. |
Ummm I mean I like people being fans of Britney but I don't really want Fox News to stan for Britney 
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Member Since: 1/27/2006
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Member Since: 10/7/2010
Posts: 1,173
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.....
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I'm one of the lucky few who have -- through a certain LA journalist -- been able to listen to the full record. Spear's team really missed the ball on the second single. This is a monster, and should've been it. Wait until you hear it in high quality! The guitars on the actual chorus are fantastic, and the bridges are reminiscent of Mariah's fast-singing on her big hits like "Touch My Body" and "Shake It Off." "I Wanna Go" is a definite standout, but I can't help but wonder if it will ever see the light of day on radio because it's basically just a poppier, more radio-friendly, and more-melodic version of Till The World Ends with more Britney-like lyrics. Not only that, but it's actual hook is far stronger, and the whistles alone will stick with people forever -- remember Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks"? Moreover, it has almost the exact same medley. It's like they gave that track to Kesha to listen to, made it darker, and took out half the substance. Till The World ends makes sense as an album opener - it's perfect for that - but it wasn't the right single choice. I'm very familiar with radio, especially today, and have a good ear for a hit: this is it. And I'm kind of shocked that they had so many tracks and kept going back to record more because the newer ones don't have any more (infact, much less) single potential. That being said, the sampler I heard had 12 songs. As for the Will.I track, while the snippet he posted was promising, in actuality the song is quite possibly his weakest production to date. More importantly, the only melody you hear in the track is at the beginning and in the middle -- the rest is cheap casio chords void of any pleasantness with worthless lyrics and terrible vocal processing. It's the only BAD track on the record. Don't get me wrong: this is a really solid album, and given that I've only heard it once, maybe I'll appreciate it more fully on repeated listens. But this is no Blackout Part II, and it's not because of the production. Aside from the Will.I.Am track, it's easily Dr. Luke and Max Martin's most innovative work to date. As for Britney, well, there's a lot of auto-tune, and I'm familiar with studio trickery (lots of layering where you don't hear it - making a lead vocal sound like a single lead vocal that's actually three vocals), but her real voice, which does shine through much more on this record than on the last two, sounds much stronger. On Blackout it was obviously used for pitch-correction -- while there's some of that on here, it seems here like more of an aesthetic to fit the type of music she's doing (think of Katy Perry's vocals on her latest record -- although since Spears's higher register naturally sounds more "bubblegum pop," so it's slightly more obvious). But for the most part, she's given up on that breathy/nasal sound and sounds better than she has in years. What really hinders this album and probably will take it from a lot of 10s to 6s or 7s, is the lyrical content: whoever wrote a lot of this stuff was writing for an 16-year-old, not Britney Spears. Sure, she's allowed to sing about partying, sex, booze, and the like, but a lot of the lyrics seem like teenybopper diary entries thrown together, and ruin songs that potentially could've been much more effective with stronger lyrics ("Seal It With A Kiss," "Criminal," "Drop Dead Beautiful," and "Trouble For Me"). This record has it's fair share of filler, like Circus, whereas Blackout almost sounded like a Greatest Hits. It's more cohesive than Circus, but much less cohesive than Blackout, aside from the Max Martin/Dr. Luke songs using a lot of the same synths and drum machines. What's great about it, though, is it contains three of the best songs of her career: "Hold It Against Me," "I Wanna Go," "Inside Out," (arguably the best track on the record) and "How I Roll" (the clip posted here does the song absolutely no justice). I'd say Fatale is a definite step-up from Circus, and about on par with In The Zone, but given the amount of silly lyrics, it's less mature than both. Dr Luke/Max and Britney Spears Managing Co., if you're listening, mad respect for a solid pop album, but don't make the same mistake of releasing a single without gauging a better reaction from a more diverse group of listeners (i.e. crazy fans that will love anything, and bloggers who prefer instant gratification as opposed to a song that will actually stick with people). The big heads will be pleased regardless. The obvious singles remaining on this record are "Inside Out" (Is there any other option for the third single? This is the best thing she's done since "Toxic"), "I Wanna Go" (shame this didn't go as planned second), and either "Trip To Your Heart" or "How I Roll." Given her track record of singles from the last two records, they'll probably screw her over and go with stuff like "Beautiful" and "Seal It," but despite the fact that they're catchy and feature stellar production, they seriously fall flat when it comes to substance. They're fun, but they come and go. Britney needs more "career hits" like "Baby One More Time" and "Toxic" that define her career as opposed to novelty releases that wear thin after their three month shelf life. The aforementioned three tracks ("Inside Out," "I Wanna Go," and "How I Roll") are those tracks.
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Member Since: 2/26/2006
Posts: 62,897
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According to Paul Grein's blog: 
Britney Spears' "Till The World Ends" debuts at #20.
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Member Since: 8/3/2010
Posts: 71,871
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Quote:
Originally posted by Green
According to Paul Grein's blog:
Britney Spears' "Till The World Ends" debuts at #20. |
I was just going to say this, what's up with that?
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Member Since: 7/26/2009
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Member Since: 11/12/2009
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Quote:
Originally posted by Adz
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Sounds good, funny how this person says the lyrical content is so silly but britney keeps saying how it's her most mature work to date  Anyways, loving the I wanna go and Inside Out praising  Those are probably the two I'm most excited for  geez, I need this in my life NOW, I'm so buying.
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Member Since: 3/3/2011
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Member Since: 9/11/2010
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Singles will be:
1. Hold It Against Me
2. Till The World Ends
3. Inside Out
4. I I I Wanna Go O O O
5. How I Roll
I hope  I'd have to hear them in full 
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 3/1/2007
Posts: 19,847
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Quote:
Originally posted by Adz
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OMFGGG!
I'm sooo ready for "Inside Out", "I Wanna Go", and "How I Roll". 
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Member Since: 12/17/2010
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Member Since: 8/6/2003
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ivan_brit
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It's ok though, it's what everyonw was expecting considering the sales and still small airplay.
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