Maps of Music

Britney Jean (2013)

Where the lyrics of Britney Jean take you, and where it was really made.

The title merges Britney Spears's first and middle names, Britney and Jean, and the record was made across studios in several countries.

Key places

Recording at the Record Plant (2013)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album's recording credits name the Record Plant in Los Angeles as a place where it was recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at i85 (2013)

Recording site i85 (Westlake Village) — The album's recording credits list i85 in Westlake Village. The pin marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Glenwood Place Studios (2013)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The album's recording credits list Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank. The pin marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at DAZMO Music Studios (2013)

Recording site Piccolo — The album's recording credits list DAZMO Music Studios in Montreal. The pin marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Guerilla Studios (2013)

Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — The album's recording credits list Guerilla Studios in London. The pin marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Piano Music Studios (2013)

Recording site Piano Music, Power Sound — The album's recording credits list Piano Music Studios in Amsterdam. The pin marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at KBK Studios (2013)

Recording site Master Plan — The album's recording credits list KBK Studios in Stockholm. The pin marks the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Britney Jean: eighth studio album by American singer Britney Spears
• Released 29 November 2013 by RCA Records
• Second self-titled record after Britney (2001); the title combines her first and middle names
• First major activity since her longtime label Jive Records was dissolved in 2011
• Spears has described it on numerous occasions as the most personal record in her catalog
• Co-wrote every track and worked with songwriters and producers including Sia and will.i.am
• Guest vocals from Jamie Lynn Spears, T.I., and will.i.am
• Musically contains strong elements of EDM and pop

Background

• Spears's break-up with ex-fiancé Jason Trawick is cited as a reason she wrote more personal songs
• Early stage: producer Scoop DeVille worked with her, and a hip-hop direction was planned
• Spears recorded an unused song titled Police with rapper Wiz Khalifa
• Naughty Boy and William Orbit were announced as working on the record in May 2013
• will.i.am was confirmed as executive producer later that month
• In July 2013 she spoke of writing a special song with Sia, later revealed as the ballad Perfume
• Spears reportedly travelled to the Lake District in the United Kingdom in August 2013 to continue work with Naughty Boy and Orbit
• Charli XCX said in a 2022 interview that she wrote material for the album, but none of it was used

Recording

• The singer began recording material in May 2013, continuing into October that year
• will.i.am described the sessions as building trust and comfort with Spears
• Spears said she wanted will.i.am to be a central figure in the album

Cover

• Neon-style typography, compared by a HuffPost writer to the cover of Miley Cyrus's Bangerz
• A colorized version of the cover became the primary visual for the standard edition on 4 November
• The original cover became the primary visual for the deluxe edition

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi; American singer known as the "Princess of Pop".
• Began in the early 1990s in the musical Ruthless! and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.
• Signed with Jive Records in 1997; debut single "...Baby One More Time" topped the US Billboard Hot 100.
• Debut album ...Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!... I Did It Again (2000) are among the world's best-selling albums.
• Credited with driving the late-1990s revival of teen pop.
• Sold an estimated 150 million+ records; one Grammy, six MTV VMAs, seven Billboard Music Awards.
• Placed under a conservatorship; it was terminated in 2021 after her testimony.
• Announced leaving the music industry in 2024; catalogue reportedly sold for about $200 million in 2026.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews were described as generally mixed or negative upon release
• Jason Lipshutz of Billboard gave a favorable review, calling it a transitional record as her first album released in her thirties
• Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly said he treasures Spears and said will.i.am's production happily indulges EDM festival fantasies
• Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called it a concept album about the loneliness of pop life
• Chicago Tribune said the hype about her most personal album begins with the album title, which promotes intimacy the songs never quite deliver
• The Atlantic called it her most disappointing release yet and said it was dull
• Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph said the production kept the record from coming across as a genuinely personal effort
• The New York Times described the album as about as personal as an airline preboarding announcement
• Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave a mixed review and criticized the dated production and vocals
• Barry Walters of Spin criticized will.i.am's production for replacing melody with repetition and familiarity, but praised Spears's vocal on Don't Cry

Reappraisal

• Metacritic: average score of 50, which indicates mixed or average reviews, based on 21 reviews
• Some critics felt the album was impersonal despite its marketing
• Some critics labelled Don't Cry her best vocal performance on the album

Records

• US: debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 107,000 units, Spears's lowest studio album debut
• US: fell to number 22 in its second week, her first album to spend only one week in the top ten
• US: 280,000 copies sold as of May 2020
• UK: debuted at number 34 on the UK Albums Chart with 12,959 copies, her lowest-charting album there at the time
• Charted at number one in China and within the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Canada, and others
• Certified gold in Canada, Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela
• Work Bitch debuted and peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100
• Perfume charted at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100
• Alien charted at number eight on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 without being released as a single

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album title was announced on 15 October 2013 during an appearance on Capital London, and was described as a nickname used by her family and friends.
• A report from ABC News Radio likened the use of her middle name in the title to Janet Jackson's Damita Jo.
• Britney Jean marks the third album artwork from RCA Records to use a neon-style typography design.
• The album leaked online on 20 November 2013, and Spears addressed the leaks by saying she made it for her diehard fans.
• The record carries the Parental Advisory label affixed by the RIAA to identify explicit content.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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