The pop star last shared new original music in 2023 with the will.i.am collaboration “Mind Your Business”
NEED TO KNOW
- Britney Spears shared her previously unreleased song “She’ll Never Be Me,” which was originally recorded in 2001 for her third album, Britney
- The song was left on the cutting room floor but is included on Britney (25th Anniversary Edition), which arrives Nov. 6
- The pop star last shared new original music in 2023 with the will.i.am collaboration “Mind Your Business”
New Britney Spears music is here for the first time in three years.
On Friday, Oct. 9, the “Toxic” pop legend, 44, unleashed “She’ll Never Be Me” — a song originally recorded for her self-titled third album, 2001’s Britney. Spears and her team pulled the song from her vault, giving fans a chance to hear it officially ahead of the release of Britney (25th Anniversary Edition).
Spears co-wrote the song with a trio of collaborators, including then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. They were joined by Bradley Daymond and Alex Greggs with Riprock ‘n’ Alex G tackling production.
“You know I’m one of a kind,” she sings on the self-assured anthem, which sees her calling out an ex for moving on with her doppelgänger. “There’ll never be another me / Can’t get you out of my mind / You’re lost in your own fantasy / And when you look in my eyes / Is it hard for you to realize / She’ll never be me?”
“She’ll Never Be Me” is the first of five songs that Spears is releasing for the first time on the deluxe reissue of Britney. The track list also includes “Am I a Sinner,” “When I Say So” and “My Big Secret.” Rounding out the new music is a studio recording of “Right Now (Taste The Victory)” from a 2002 Pepsi commercial.
Following the breakout success of ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again, Britney introduced a more mature version of the Princess of Pop.
Credit: Larry Busacca/WireImage
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She offered a first taste of the project by premiering its lead single — “I’m a Slave 4 U” — with a live performance at the 2001 MTV VMAs, where she famously danced with a large python wrapped around her shoulders while joined by a horde of dancers in a jungle setting.
The lead single peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was followed by “Overprotected,” “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” a cover of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and the Pharrell Williams-assisted “Boys.” Her one other collaboration with Timberlake — “What It’s Like to Be Me” — closed out the original album.
Spears supported the album by embarking on her Dream Within a Dream Tour. While on it, she filmed Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas, a concert film originally released on HBO and recorded at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
While recorded in 2001, “She’ll Never Be Me” is the first new song Spears has released since she joined forces with will.i.am on 2023’s “Mind Your Business.” The musical pair previously worked together on 2012’s “Scream & Shout,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100.
Prior to that, the hitmaker collaborated with Elton John on “Hold Me Closer.” Released in 2022, it’s her most recent song to chart on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 6. The duet combined John’s previous songs “Tiny Dancer” and “The One,” repackaging them over a refreshed production and featuring Spears’ vocals.
Credit: RCA Records
The Britney (25th Anniversary Edition) arrives on Nov. 6.
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