(Hills, Washington, Hilson, Araica)
Album: Break the Ice – Single / Blackout
Blackout yielded several slices of pop perfection, and among the best is this dark electro-R&B thumper. “It’s been a while,” Spears says at the top of the track. In the context of the song, she’s acknowledging her lateness to a love interest, but it could have just as easily been announcing her return to music after a brief hiatus. And what a welcome return. Cue the choir, add some synths, and drop a thumping beat, and you’ve got one of Spears’s strongest (if lesser known) singles she’s ever released. The single is so solid, in fact, that the argument has been made it should have been the lead single, especially considering how the intro sounds like a re-introduction to the pop superstar. “Break the Ice” showcases her vocal versatility, with her voice initially rolling along with the synth in her lower register before the rapid-fire bridge where she leaps into her falsetto. There are clips available online of the recording of “Break the Ice” boasting some impressive raw vocals that are a fascinating look into her recording process. Like several Blackout tracks, an early version of the song leaked prior to the album’s release and was an object of major intrigue, signaling that Britney would be ushering in a new sound with her upcoming record. Though it did officially get the single treatment as the third release from the record, as with much of the Blackout era, Spears’s complicated personal life hindered any active promotion. For a woman who had previously executed some of the most massive (and effective) promotion campaigns for previous albums, it was a stark contrast when the Blackout era took place largely without its spokeswoman. The anime-inspired music video accompanied the song was well-received and has garnered a cult following of its own but emphasized Britney’s absence. Luckily, at the moment where Spears essentially left her art to speak for itself, she was crafting some of her best pop offerings.
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