Review of Britney Spears’ ‘Blackout’
After four years away from the music industry, “Blackout” is Britney Spears’ declaration. She’s back, bad and hornier than ever.
“Blackout” is fast, dark, sexy and catchy as hell. Almost every track is designed for dancing at the clubs.
Spears launches the album with her current single “Gimme More,” which has already proved successful. The track is one of iTunes’ top ten downloads and is now No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Throughout the twelve-song collection, Britney experiments with distorted synthesizers, layered vocals and heavy beats.
Britney taps into the 1980s and joins the likes of Rihanna and Marilyn Manson as artists who can’t get enough of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.”
With “Radar,” Britney presents the first of three themes throughout the album: boys. The lyrics are simple: “you’re on my radar,” but the song is one that will inevitably get stuck in your head.
The second theme, Britney dealing with living in the spotlight, is highlighted in the song “Piece of Me”.
Singing “I’m Miss bad media karma, another day, another drama” before provoking “You want a piece of me?” in the chorus, the song is a direct response to all of the bad press she has received over the past year.
The blissful “Heaven on Earth” sounds like something people would expect from Britney. Her breathy vocals echo the definition of that perfect someone. This song is reminiscent of Britney’s older charming, flirtatious style compared to the sex-driven design of her later recordings.
The final theme, sex, is exemplified through “Get Naked (I Got a Plan).” Produced by Danjahandz (who also worked on “Gimme More”), it could have been produced by Timbaland. The song is a regurgitation of his style. Though this song may not be original, it has the same effect as a Timbaland project and should be destined for success.
“Break the Ice,” “Toy Soldier” and “Ooh Ooh Baby” stand out for combining heavy beats with progressive melodies. Together they create the perfect balance to groove to.
In addition to the many producers utilized on this record (Pharrell Williams, Bloodshy & Avant, and Danjahandz), Britney worked with other artists such as T-Pain, who collaborated on “Hot as Ice.”
The whole album musically illustrates Britney’s descent from wholesome pop star to fame-tainted media victim. Still, “Blackout” shows a lot of artistic growth as it successfully employs a new side of Britney – “Blackout” is Britney’s dark side.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Devon Taylor at taylordj@colorado.edu
