(Brown, Hall, Riley)
Album: My Prerogative – Single / Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
With a few covers already under her belt by 2004, we’ve finally reached the first that is an improvement on the original. Originally a Bobby Brown hit in the late 80s, lyrically there has nary been a more relevant song for Spears’s celebrity status. Bloodshy and Avant’s production puts percussion at the forefront, combining synthpop and rock elements that replicate a formula used to great effect in “I’ve Just Begun (Having My Fun)” and “Toxic.” Spears’s especially throaty vocals exude the “I don’t give a f*ck” attitude required to make this song work. A welcome addition to the track is its empowered spoken-word intro that is especially relevant to Spears: “People can take everything away from you, but they can never take away your truth. But the question is can you handle mine?” There are many elements of this track are borderline eerie in retrospect given the twists and turns her life has taken since then. Another highlight of the song is its middle eight where Spears sings “Why can’t I live my life without all of the things that people say,” before a brief adlib to a fadeout, followed by a pulsing guitar that interrupts the silence and sends us rocketing back to the chorus. Fresh off a knee injury, the music video doesn’t offer any new choreography, but it is one of her more cinematic clips. It also features soon-to-be husband Kevin Federline who lives in infamy within the Britney-verse. No shade at all to Bobby Brown who wrote a fine piece of music here, but Britney’s version slaps harder. Critics didn’t know what to make of it then, but it’s one of Britney’s most slept-on singles to date.
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