Album Hall of Fame: Britney by Britney Spears

Mar 10
9 min read

Updated: Mar 10

POV: It's Halloween 2001, and instead of filling a pillowcase full of Tootsie Rolls, you're busting down the doors at Sam Goody to get a hold of the new album from Britney Spears. Britney is the third album by the blonde pop-star, following up the 2000 smash hit Oops!... I Did It Again. Experimenting with a new sound through dance-pop while kicking up the sex factor, Britney took the pop princess to a new level of iconic.

TRACK LIST:

I'm a Slave 4 U
Overprotected
Lonely
I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman
Boys
Anticipating
I Love Rock 'N' Roll
Cinderella
Let Me Be
Bombastic Love
That's Where You Take Me
When I Found You
I Run Away
What It's Like to Be Me
Before The Goodbye

Following the success of her debut and sophomore albums, Britney Spears decided it was time to change things up a bit and lean into her femininity. Since the music video for "...Baby One More Time" came out in 1998, a then sixteen-year-old Britney became a topic of conversation for her "provocative" nature. Certain people (specifically parents) were shocked and disturbed by the video, as it depicted Britney in a schoolgirl uniform where the midriffs were out and the stockings were thigh-high. From that point on, Britney became a target for all things sex and the intrusive behavior from the press (and audiences alike) over her sexuality and her expression of it. Looking back at her first two albums, the songs are pretty tame; sure, some of the lyrics are a bit of nonsense, just like producer Max Martin liked them, but still, they were overall just your typical (notably superior) teen pop songs of the time. Going into 2001, Britney was turning twenty and entering a new decade of her life, a decade where she wanted to amp things up a bit. Not only would her stage performances change but so would the content she'd be singing.

On September 25, 2001, the first single from Britney's third studio album was released. Titled "I'm a Slave 4 U," the change in direction for this new Britney era also meant switching up the behind-the-scenes team. Straying from Swedish hitmaker Max Martin, who produced and wrote her first two albums, Britney teamed up with rising writing and producing duo The Neptunes (consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo). Martin wasn't cut off completely; however, he did lend his hand to "Overprotected," "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," "Cinderella," and "Bombastic Love." The lead single was originally intended for Janet Jackson, who passed, and ultimately led the song to be helmed by Brit. Britney wanted the world to know things were different now; if you thought she was provocative before, wait until you saw this. The song opens with Britney talking rather than singing the line "I know I may be young, but I have feelings too, and I need to do what I feel like doing, so let me go and just listen" in a whispery, sultry tone. Then the beat drops and a synthesizer plays the tune to a sexy track all about wanting to dance and wanting to do it with (or rather on) a particular person really badly. When I listen to it, I picture a dark and crowded club where the beat is pumping so loud you can feel it in your bones, and then there's Britney in the center of the room surrounded by sweaty bodies dancing on one another. And that's essentially what the music video is! The accompanying video was directed by Francis Lawrence, who's done videos for the hit songs of Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, The Pussycat Dolls, Justin Timberlake, and so many more before he moved to directing major motion pictures like The Hunger Games. The video features Britney in a club-like room with her dancers. She wears a fuchsia bra with a matching arm cuff and cascading pieces of fabric, metallic teal (don't forget low-rise) flares with matching pink bikini bottoms over top, and pink boots. Her hair is down and has a wet look to it, giving the appearance of having been dancing for hours in a sweaty club. She also dons heavy eye makeup, adding to the overall vibe. In the second half of the song, a dance break switch-up happens during which, in the video, a choreographed routine by Brian Friedman and Wade Robson is performed. This choreography goes down on the list of iconic Britney routines that everyone was practicing in their bedrooms (including me to this day). But to really talk about the legacy of this song, we have to go back to September 6, 2001, a whole two weeks before the single dropped.

On this fateful night at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, Britney debuted "Slave 4 U" with a musical performance at the MTV VMAs. Approximately ten million people were watching the broadcast that night and had no idea that they were about to watch what would be one of the most talked about performances of all time. On the roster that night were performances by Alicia Keys, *NSYNC featuring Michael Jackson, Eminem, Janet Jackson, JLO, Missy Elliott, Christina Aguilera, and more. It was a jam-packed night full of seriously good music from the '00s. I mean, the performance of "Lady Marmalade" alone was enough to take the crown for the show, but no, Britney had something up her sleeve to take the cake. To set the scene, the curtain (or metallic Connect 4-looking curtain, more accurately) rises where dancers made to look like jungle animals fill the stage. There's fog and lasers and a backtrack of a stormy night and animal noises. Then all attention is captured when the cage-looking cube at the center of the stage turns and the beat of "I'm a Slave 4 U" starts up. Inside said cage is Britney herself, and behind her is a live tiger. Britney busts open the cage door as she sings the opening lyrics (note the subtle metaphor being depicted there) and walks out in head-to-toe body glitter. She twirls, she struts, she dances in an outfit of green, gold, and blue. The ensemble was designed by Alina Campbell, who worked numerous times with Spears throughout her career. Campbell was picked by Britney's styling duo Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller (known as Kurt & Bart), who were looking to revamp Britney's aesthetic for her new era. Alina designed a green bralette top with a bejeweled pendant in the middle and two on the straps; teeny-tiny shorts with a glittery blue and green butterfly at the center; green and blue fabric with gold appliqués making a sort of skirt on the back of the shorts with all sorts of sparkly jewels making a belt overtop; and nude stiletto boots with even more embellishments on the shoes (i.e., a snake made of sequins curls around her calf). For accessories, Britney wore a dangly jeweled bracelet and matching earrings, her signature belly button ring, rhinestone body jewels on her chest, a pink rhinestone 'Britney' mic, and, like I said, lots of body glitter. Simply put, no one has ever looked so good literally ever! Then, halfway through the performance, Britney turns to one of her fellow performers, who hands her a 7-foot-long yellow Burmese python. Britney struts down the stage and even dances with the serpent draped across her arms. From that point on, both the performance and the song have been a notable piece of pop culture history.

Along with "Slave 4 U," the other songs that got music videos were "Overprotected," "Boys," "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" (the Joan Jett & the Blackhearts cover), and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." In 2001, Britney's feature film Crossroads was released and featured "Overprotected," "Rock 'N' Roll," and "Not a Girl." The film starred Britney alongside a young Zoe Saldaña, Kim Cattrall as Britney's mother, Dan Aykroyd as her father, and Taryn Manning. It's a story about a trio of girls who were once childhood best friends but grew up to fit in different social cliques and stray from one another. They find their way back to each other on a cross-country road trip where sisterhood prevails and also a love interest for Britney's character, Lucy. Critics hated the film, and to that I say, F*CK YOU CRITICS! The movie is so ridiculously good, an easy five stars, and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased to Britney! It's genuinely such a good story with such an important meaning; if you haven't watched it, please, please go do so ASAP!

At this time in her life, Britney was also in her notorious relationship with Justin Timberlake. The pair donned their famous matching denim-on-denim red carpet looks for the AMAs. She embarked on her Dream Within a Dream Tour, which ran from November 1, 2001, to July 28, 2002. During which Britney closed the show with a performance of "...Baby One More Time" while it poured down rain as she wore a diamond bra designed by Bob Mackie and a clear cowboy hat. This performance gave inspiration to fellow blonde pop diva Sabrina Carpenter when she performed her song "Tears" at the 2025 VMAs during which it rained and she wore a diamond bra. Britney also made a guest appearance during the 2001 Super Bowl Halftime show. The show starred Aerosmith, who brought out surprise guests Mary J. Blige, Nelly, *NSYNC, and Britney. It's safe to say that Britney was everywhere in the year 2001 and making nonstop history everywhere she went.

Back to the album, there were the expected mixed reviews over the themes sung about and the "message" Britney was sending... *eye roll*. But there was also the timing, as the tragic events of 9/11 happened just weeks before the album dropped. Though it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and helped her achieve becoming the first female artist to have her first three albums debut at number one, it dropped in sales compared to her previous album, with approximately 745,000 copies sold. In comparison, Oops!... sold 1.3 million copies in its first week, which also broke the record for the first female artist to sell over one million copies in the first week (a record that was held for fifteen years). Even now, Britney is more of a cult favorite, with only "Slave" being the definitive song on the album for the general public. But as it is that I'm writing this, for me personally, this is my favorite Britney album next to Blackout (another album that marked a definitive change in Britney's career).

My connection to Britney is one I could go on about for hours, but I will narrow it down to focus solely on this particular album. Growing up as a competitive dancer, I spent every competition with my headphones in backstage warming up to almost solely Britney with a mix of other Y2K favorites thrown in (Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, The Pussycat Dolls, etc.). I distinctly remember blasting "What It's Like To Be Me" on loop for an entire comp. weekend in Iowa. Britney and her music have always been able to transport me to my idealized lifestyle. Confidence, sexiness, and attitude are all the things I feel when listening to her music. Britney is the first album of hers to really capture those ideals. So songs like "Like To Be Me," "Slave," and "Boys" all make me want to embrace feeling feminine and powerful. Notably, Justin Timberlake infamously beatboxes and lends his vocals on "Like To Be Me," as well as helping write the song alongside Wade Robson. Timberlake was really into beatboxing... He liked to freestyle during *NSYNC tours as well as on their song "Pop," and his "talent" is, well, something. My other favorites include "Lonely," "Cinderella," "Let Me Be," "Anticipating," and "Overprotected." All of these being the most upbeat songs on the album, it's no surprise they are my favorites. I genuinely think these are some of the best songs in her discography, and that's saying something! On "Lonely," Britney references her song "Don't Go Knockin' On My Door" from Oops!... while singing about feeling free and definitely not lonely after breaking up with someone. She doesn't need a man; she's better off alone, and she's not about to let him back in. A girl's night anthem, I think. "Cinderella" is about not believing in fairytales after her guy blinded her with lies and acting out the part of Cinderella when she runs away, but in this version, she doesn't go back to the prince. It's a fantastic melodramatic belter. In "Let Me Be," Brit sings about needing her partner to, you know, let her be her and do so on her own. If you noticed, there's a bit of a pattern here where Britney is over her beau thinking she can't stand on her own. This is a bit ironic considering she was deep into her relationship with Justin during this time. As for "Anticipating," this is another one that I think is perfect for a night out with the girls. To me, this song has a similar vibe or is a good song to accompany "All For You" by Janet Jackson (another one of my favorites). The bridge on this one is one of the best parts of the song! Lastly, "Overprotected" is a commentary, similarly to "Like To Be Me," about society and everyone treating her like an innocent little girl who has to be so "damn protected." She wants to be able to make mistakes and learn who she is, but how is she supposed to do that when her life is so overprotected? Britney performs this song during the credits of Crossroads.

If you just look at the pictures of her during this time, Britney in a lot of ways was at her peak, for better or for worse. Some of her most iconic looks and moments came from this era. That's what makes it even more interesting that the album that accompanied this time has not had the same legacy that some of her other albums have. With that said, there's no denying the commercial success and lasting impact Britney has had, especially on someone like me. There are many more Britney albums I hold on a pedestal, but I felt it was right to start with this one. Now I'm going to leave you with your homework: watch the "I'm a Slave 4 U" VMA performance, watch Crossroads, and listen to the album, of course!

Sources:

Real, Evan. “Exclusive: Meet the Designer behind Britney Spears’ ‘era-Defining’ Crop Tops.” Page Six, Page Six, 21 Jan. 2022.