(Lundin, Carlsson, Martin)
Album: Oops!... I Did It Again
If you were worried the second half of Oops!... I Did It Again had become a bit of a snooze fest after some absolute bops in the beginning, “Can’t Make You Love Me” swoops in to make you a believer again. And more importantly to get you on her feet. If “Lucky” made allusions to her own fame, this Max Martin penned track was one of Spears’s first to acknowledge her own superstardom outright, a theme she took to the max with 2007’s Blackout. Though the perspective here is a much different one here: yes, she is a star, but gosh, wouldn’t it be great if that cute guy paid her any mind? Even if we have trouble suspending our disbelief here that any guy could ignore Britney, this song makes up for it by being absolute fire. She kicks the track off with the song’s constant refrain: “I’m just a girl with a crush on you,” and then the guitars kick in and you’re in for a ride. The only pause comes at the middle eight where a much more ethereal vibe sets in while Britney reflects on her current situation before the beat drops again, then it’s pedal to the metal. This is the perfect Spears song to keep us dancing while delivering content that seemed especially relatable to her teen-dominated fanbase at the time. An underappreciated bop.
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