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2009 was only a decade ago, but it seems like the world back then was a very different place. The powers that be were still reeling after a surprise candidate beat out Hillary Clinton, kids would rush back home after school to catch the latest episode of Jersey Shore (yeah, Netflix wasn't a thing) and I was still recovering from a Christmas that left me ten pounds heavier and $500 more in debt. (Okay, so maybe things haven't changed so much after all.) But one thing that's definitely changed since then is the music we listen to. 2009 was the transitory space between the pop-rock that defined a lot of the early 2000s and the dance-pop that would blow up later on, and it led to some pretty interesting results. Spoiler alert: a good 70% of this list is totally unlistenable, and/or insanely annoying, but there are some real gems in there too. Are you excited yet? 10. Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say There may never have been a time in the history of civilisation where people actually wanted to listen to a Jason Derulo song, but in 2009 it seems as though people needed to if just to rid their head of this ridiculously catchy earworm. 'Whatcha Say' started out low on the charts, debuting at #54 in August of 2009, but it permeated people's brains to the extent that it managed to hit #1 three months later. It just goes to show that you don't need a song to be likeable for it to be a hit: all it needs to have is a killer chorus. 9. Jay Sean - Down (Feat. Lil Wayne) Continuing the trend of irritating douche-faces with passable bodies was the United Kingdom's answer to Jason Derulo, Jay Sean. His breakthrough hit 'Down' is basically the definition of manipulative, featuring the kinds of lyrics that only a needy teenage girl can fall in love with; and the music video, with it's endless lip licking and frat boy head nods, isn't much better. Still, the masses of 2009 must have enjoyed it, because it hit #1 on the 17th of October of that year. 8. Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You Kelly Clarkson is the queen of kiss-off anthems ('Since U Been Gone' and Ben & Jerry's are singularly responsible for getting me through my last breakup), and she proved that again in 2009 with the sassy 'My Life Would Suck Without You'. The song would never fly now - those beats are something straight off of Katy Perry's debut album and the music video features a relationship a little too tempestuous to be healthy - but at the time it was an instant hit. The track even broke the record for the biggest jump ever on the US charts when it bounced from #97 to #1 in the space of one week. #TeamKelly 7. Flo Rida - Right Round (Feat. Ke$ha) Like pretty much every Flo Rida song ever, 'Right Round' was the kind of guilty pleasure that you tapped your foot two even while shaking your head in dismay. Even Kesha (known back then by the very, very 2009 stage name Ke$ha) seemed to be a little embarrassed by the song - she refused to appear in the music video, being stood in for by a random black girl, and has never performed it live since it's release. Still, the song was likeable enough to hit #1 on the charts for six weeks straight, and even broke the record for first week sales when it sold 636 000 copies in January of 2009. 6. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody 'Use Somebody' wasn't quite big enough to hit #1, only managing to peak at #4 on the charts - but it sold enough copies to hit #14 on the end of year charts. A weird flash in the pan of a song, the track has a total classic rock vibe that would have equally suited a 1999 release, which means it's actually aged pretty well over the past ten years. That's more than can be said for Kings of Leon themselves, who have basically faded into complete obscurity at this point. 5. Britney Spears - Womanizer 2008 was a bad year for Britney Spears - think shaved head, umbrella bashing and crying in an English accent on the sidewalk - but she made the ultimate comeback in 2009 with 'Womanizer'. The track makes full use of Spears' - how should we say this? - distinctive voice and fun vocal stylings, and the music video is one of her best ever even if it is pretty much just a remake of 'Toxic'. The track paid off well for Spears commercially, too, becoming her first #1 on the charts since debut single '...Baby One More Time'. 4. Miley Cyrus - Party in the U.S.A She'd been building up to it for a while, but 'Party in the U.S.A.' was Miley Cyrus's first real "You're not even my real dad!" moment - and at the time it caused quite a stir. Hannah Montana was declared dead on arrival when Miley performed the song at the Teen Choice Awards by dancing around a pole in Daisy Dukes that were short enough for Disney to release an official statement, and Miley received her fair share of flack. Still, the song was popular enough to hit #2 on the charts in 2009, before climbing up the charts again in 2011 following the death of Osama Bin Laden. The reason? Murica! 3. Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys) It may be a total cheese-fest and a major misrepresentation of New York City's true gutter grime, but there's something so nostalgic and emotive about Jay and Alicia's 'Empire State of Mind' that you can't help but love it anyway. The song was a hit when it was first released too, becoming Jay-Z's first #1 on the charts over his thirteen year career and going on to win two Grammy's. I'm pretty sure this song and Gossip Girl were entirely responsible for giving every millennial ever the belief that they could make it in the city that never sleeps. 2. Lady Gaga - Poker Face If you're anywhere between the age of 18 and 25, you'll definitely remember that solid month back in 2009 where 'Poker Face' was literally the only thing being played on the radio (remember that thing you used to play in the car?). The song's popularity wasn't completely unfounded - it's still a little bit of a banger, if super dated at this stage - but it was definitely overplayed during it's ascension to the top ten, where it remained for 18 weeks with a week at #1. 1. The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling 'I Gotta Feeling' was by far the most overplayed song of 2009, and yet somehow people still wanted more. The track hit #1 in over 20 charts worldwide - including the US where it topped the charts for 14 weeks - and was the highest-selling song of the century until 2014 when Pharrell's 'Happy' robbed it of the title. Even though we can never imagine this kind of song working in a post-Trump era, it's nice to listen back to and remember when things were simpler. What's your favourite song from 2008? Let us know in the comments down below!

(Source: RIAA) Saw it on a site and thought it was very interesting. I already imagined that 'Come On Over' should be the best selling female album on United States as it is worldwide, but i was very surprised to see the lack of albums by Madonna, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand etc. Which of these albums are your favorites? Which albums you thought that were featured here but aren't? I really stan the Shania, Britney and Jewel albums on this list

In December 2004, a 22 year old Britney Spears walked into the KIIS FM offices in Burbank carrying an unmarked CD to meet radio host Jesse Lozano. The meeting was pre-planned, but only barely; Spears had called about an hour before to ask whether she could play her new song live, a phone call that Lozano had immediately thought was a prank. “Usually, you don’t believe that,” he would later state. In other words: usually, this kind of meeting would have to be cleared by layer upon layer of managers, PR agents and radio executives before it could ever come to fruition. But on that particular day, Britney had gone rogue. Following the worldwide success of her 2003 album In The Zone, Britney had gone on to release Greatest Hits: My Prerogative the month before, and was still promoting the titular Bobby Brown cover as the album’s first single when she showed up at KIIS. But that wasn’t all that had happened in her life recently. In 2004 alone, Britney had joined the religion Kabbalah on recommendation of her friend Madonna; eloped to Vegas with childhood friend Jason Alexander only to annul the marriage 55 hours later; cancelled The Onyx Hotel Tour after breaking her knee and having to go through arthroscopic surgery; married backup dancer Kevin Federline after five months of knowing him; and announced an extremely short-lived career break to start a family. Later, Britney would backtrack from her planned “break” in a letter posted to her official fansite. “I think I should rephrase myself from my previous letters when I was talking about taking a 'break'. What I meant was I am taking a break from being told what to do [...] It's cool when you look at someone and don't know whether they are at work or play since it's all the same to them. The things I've been doing for work lately have been so much fun, because it's not like work to me anymore.” After a year of huge career highs and personal lows, Britney was headed to KIIS to take control of a situation and prove her own independence, despite what her management team may have wanted. The song that Britney played on that day was ‘Mona Lisa’, a strangely introspective and prophetic song which would go on to launch a thousand fan theories. Using da Vinci’s famous artwork as it’s subject, the song discusses a character on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “Now see everyone's watching as she starts to fall/They want her to breakdown, be a legend of her fall,” Britney sings, her voice unusually shaky, sharp and unpolished; before launching into an unexpected hymnal during the bridge. Britney’s choice to compare herself to ‘Mona Lisa’ is an interesting one, and one that she would maintain when she directed her next music video for ‘Do Somethin’’ under the pseudonym ‘Mona Lisa’ a few months later. "I kinda think she's like my alter ego whenever I feel like being mean or possibly like bustin' people around to get stuff right," she told TRL at the time. "It's kinda easier to be called 'Mona Lisa' instead of Britney." But as much as Britney stated that Mona Lisa was an alter ego, in many ways it seemed as though that was the real her. da Vinci’s artwork is one of the most well-known images in the world, yet with its with it’s enigmatic smile and mysterious backstory it's also one of the most hotly debated. Moreover, it’s one of the most commonly reproduced artworks in history, with innumerable copies being made for placement on office walls, handbags and phone cases. Britney related to ‘Mona Lisa’ as a public figure who was ready to tear down her reproductions and let people finally see the real her. This interest in “originals” and “copies” was one Britney clearly intended to explore more, as she let slip in a short interview following the ‘Mona Lisa’ premiere. “[The album is] probably going to be called Original Doll,” Britney told Lozano on air. “It’s halfway done right now.” The title of the album was a sly dig towards Britney’s management, who at the time was in the process of seeking “Britney Spears types” for an up-and-coming girl group, The Pussycat Dolls. Later, it would be used by fans in dark corners of the Internet as evidence that the “original” Britney had been replaced with an emotionless clone around this time to fulfill the rest of her career duties. But despite the excitement Britney expressed during her impromptu announcement of the album, her record label was adamant that there were no concrete plans to release anything officially. At the time, no one involved in the recording of the song had even been paid yet. “No album is scheduled at the moment, but Britney is in the studio working on some material,” Jive Records said in a statement to Billboard. “There are no plans to service ‘Mona Lisa’ to the radio.” Ultimately, ‘Mona Lisa’ was the only song that was ever officially confirmed for Original Doll, and when that album didn’t come to fruition it was reworked for the Chaotic EP, the soundtrack to Britney and Federline’s short-lived reality show. Also on the EP was 'Chaotic', which was recorded with Bloodshy & Avant (producers of 'Mona Lisa'), Henrik Jonback and Michelle Bell; and ‘Someday (I Will Understand)’, which Britney wrote herself. Of all the songs that have been speculated to appear on Original Doll, these two are the most likely choices: Henrik Jonback confirmed that he had written with Britney on her German Onyx Hotel Tour bus in 2004, which was around the same time that ‘Mona Lisa’ was recorded, and ‘Someday’ was written in early 2005 before Spears learned of her first pregnancy, just a month or two after the Original Doll announcement. The EP’s bonus track, ‘Over To You Now’, is another possible inclusion on the album, although many fans speculate that the album was instead an In The Zone outtake due to its sound. It’s also possible that the new recordings on Greatest Hits: My Prerogative had at one point been considered for Original Doll. ‘My Prerogative’ and ‘Do Somethin’’ were both recorded on different legs of the Onyx Hotel Tour, around the same time as ‘Mona Lisa’, and feature a similar percussive R&B style. 'I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)', which was also on the album, had already been released nine months earlier alongside 'Don't Hang Up', 'The Answer' and 'Girls and Boys' as bonus tracks on Britney's DVD for In The Zone, but these were all recorded pre-Onyx Hotel and are generally considered to be from a different era. On top of this, there’s several songs which have leaked in recent years which fans attribute to Original Doll, even though in reality they were recorded prior to In The Zone. These songs include ‘Look Who’s Talking’, a song about Britney’s ex Justin Timberlake; ‘Like I’m Fallin’', a country inspired song; ‘Take Off’, an anti-war and pro-gay rights anthem; ‘Money, Love, and Happiness’, produced by a young RedOne; ‘Welcome to Me’, a sex kitten anthem which asks Britney’s lover to "take control"; ‘Peep Show’, which we’ve only heard a snippet of; ‘Ouch’, a song about heartbreak; and ‘Conscience’, known alternatively as ‘Conscious’. While all of these songs in their demo form are quite stripped back and could sit nicely alongside ‘Mona Lisa’, there’s no suggestion that they were ever brought out of the vault to be reworked after In The Zone. Fan-made album artwork for Original Doll With fans eagerly awaiting the 2005 release date of Original Doll, the hot dry summer days seemed so stretch on endlessly with only the announcement of B In The Mix: The Remixes Vol. 1 to keep them satiated. Britney's only label release in 2006 was 'Crazy', a collaboration with her husband that ended up on Federline's laughable Playing With Fire album; but she did record 'All That She Wants', based on a piece of poetry that she had posted on her website; ‘For My Sister’, a soulful guitar track; and ‘Rebellion’, a dark track which lead to its own conspiracy theories. While all of these songs explored variations on the R&B genre, they are notable for all featuring intensely personal lyrics about love, family and fame. But by 2007, it seemed as though Britney had officially given up the fight for Original Doll. By this point she had instead turned her attention to recording Blackout, which had a markedly different sound. While ‘Mona Lisa’ focused on the raw vulnerability in Britney’s voice with percussive, funky production, Blackout cuts like ‘Gimme More’ used Spears’ voice as just another processed instrument to layer atop heavy EDM beats, and their lyrics were for the most part a world away from any of Britney’s earlier more personal cuts. Despite being a revolutionary album, Blackout lacked the emotional connection that Spears had teased two years prior with ‘Mona Lisa’. Of course, Blackout wasn’t the only thing to happen to Spears in 2007. Britney’s mental breakdown is at this point stuff of legend, with images of her shaving her head, wielding an umbrella as she smashes car windshields and crying in a British accent all taking a permanent place in pop culture history. A bald Britney Spears wields an umbrella Looking back at Original Doll retroactively, we can’t help but wonder: would Spears’ breakdown have even happened if she’d been able to release the album of her dreams? Celebrities nowadays have unprecedented allowance to express themselves however they want, with social media like Twitter and Instagram allowing them to speak directly to fans without interference from management. But Britney didn’t have that luxury: the only way she could tell the world how she was feeling was through her music, and, if she was up for the risk, through impromptu KIIS FM interviews. With both of those avenues taken away from her, it seems like it was almost inevitable for Britney to crack under pressure the way she did. With the Britney Spears of 2018 more overprotected and inaccessible than ever, it seems likely that fans yearning for information on Original Doll will only intensify. But it’s not just the music that has them hungry for more; it’s the promise of a Spears who was breaking out of her shell to be exactly who she wanted to be for the first time in her life. In October of 2004, around the time she became engaged to Federline and two months before she premiered ‘Mona Lisa’, Britney wrote a letter to her fansite alluding to the release of Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. It’s charming in a “little girl writes in her diary” kind of way, but it’s also an incredible insight into Britney’s mindset at the time.

You can look at this one of two ways...Either he's a loving father who's looking out for her daughter and deserves to be paid as a manager, or he's a money hungry thief who wants to keep her spaced out and under the conservatorship so he can keep taking money from her. What do y'all think?

It's hard to believe, but as of September 30th this year living legend Britney Spears will have been driving us crazy, loving rock and roll and seeking Amy for exactly twenty years - and what a wild ride it's been. Apart from all the personal crises (think that Justin Timberlake break-up, the whole K-Fed saga and the infamous umbrella incident), Britney has also consistently wowed us with hit single after hit single, from 'Me Against the Music' to 'Make Me'. But amidst all the brilliant releases (Britney's last single 'Slumber Party' was her forty-first), there was a multitude of songs that didn't quite make the cut. Some of them (like Gaga's 'Telephone') were recorded by Britney before being scrapped at the last minute; while others (like Rihanna's 'Umbrella') were offered to Britney but rejected for recording for one reason or another. While some of these songs would have contributed absolutely nothing to Britney's legacy and are no loss whatsoever, its interesting to see just how many more hits she could have had if she'd played her cards right, especially in the last decade. In this list we'll be looking at twenty-four such songs which Britney decided to pass on. Keep in mind that in this list we're including only tracks that were officially released by an artist in some capacity jthat we're able to listen to, although other confirmed demos for Britney that are still stashed away in the vault (such as ones written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Sky Ferreira, Dev Hynes and Danja) would undoubtedly be equally amazing. 24. Lady Gaga - Telephone (Feat. Beyoncé) The story of Britney passing on 'Telephone' is at this point legendary, but just in case you've forgotten about the whole saga we'll give a brief recap here. 'Telephone' was originally written by a pre-fame Gaga alongside a song called 'Quicksand' to be considered for inclusion on Britney's sixth studio album and official comeback, Circus. But while 'Quicksand' was included as a bonus track on the album, 'Telephone' was scrapped due to the presence of another similiarly themed song, the Bloodshy & Avant produced 'Phonography'. Later, the song was reworked as a duet between the two artists; but conflict arose when Gaga wanted the track to be on the tracklist of her re-release The Fame Monster while Britney's team wanted the song on her greatest hits The Singles Collection. Ultimately, Gaga took the song back and replaced Britney's part on the duet with a new verse by Beyoncé, and the Britney version was never released either as a solo song or as a duet. Thankfully, her version went on to leak in 2010 and we got a fan-made version of the duet soon after. 23. The Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 'When I Grow Up' was the song of the summer back in 2008, and was a huge hit for the newly reformed Pussycat Dolls minus Carmit Bachar. The song was written by Darkchild (who also worked on 'Telephone') and Rock City, but we had no idea it was meant for Britney until a demo sent to her leaked in 2011. When it was originally written for Brit, the lyrics were tailor made to her situation, opening with, "My name is Britney and I don’t care what you say," before continuing "I swear at first that I was flippin'/When they said I looked like Debbie Gibson/And then I tried to dance like Michael Jackson/But people saw me and started laughing." It's unknown why Brit passed on the song that would go on to be a huge hit, but it's interesting to note that she was originally confirmed to have a short cameo appearance in the music video. Originally, Britney was meant to have a blink and you'll miss it appearance in the traffic jam at the beginning of the video, waving at the Dolls before driving away. Like her version of the song, however, the cameo was scrapped for unknown reasons. 22. Charli XCX - Secret (Shh) 'Secret' is one of Charli XCX's more experimental songs, which is why it may be surprising to hear that it was originally intended for the princess of pop herself. The song's co-writer, Jesse Saint John spilled the tea when discussing another song he wrote for Britney's latest album 'Love Me Down'. "I did [a] song for Charli XCX called 'Secret'' that Karen [Kwak, Britney's A&R] really liked, and for a second she thought it could be for Britney Spears." Sadly, Britney never got around to recording the demo and Charli ended up releasing it on her own EP Vroom Vroom, but it was the strength of 'Secret' that allowed Saint John to pitch 'Love Me Down' in the first place. 'Secret' is actually the second Charli song to be considered by Britney, after she wrote a song specifically for the popstar back in 2013; but we're unsure exactly what that song was, or if it has since been released by anyone other than Brit. 21. Girls Aloud - Graffiti My Soul If you don't live in the UK, you may not have heard of Girls Aloud. Manufactured on an English television show called Popstars: The Rivals, the group soon became a mainstay of the UK charts for over a decade until their break up in 2013. While its release as the fifth single from their album What Will The Neighbours Say? was scrapped, the song 'Graffiti My Soul' nevertheless became one of their most well known tracks, with group member Cheryl Cole later stating in 2008 that if she'd had the chance to release she song as a single she would have. Interestingly though, the song was originally written for Britney, who recorded her own version of it for inclusion on In The Zone. "The record company loved it, but Britney's people said 'Where's the chorus? Why are there no repetitive parts?'," said Bryan Higgins, who produced the song as part of Xenomania. While we've never heard even a snippet of Britney's version of the song, we may not be missing out on that much. Whether it's jealousy or honesty, Cole stated that Britney's version was "strange" and that she sang it "in that really strange voice and it freaked me out"; although she later admitted that the source of her nervousness may have come from the fact that the version she heard was unmixed. 20. Enrique Iglesias - Maybe 'Maybe' is a song written by Enrique Iglesias, Steve Morales, Kara DioGuardi and David Siegel which was first released on his Escape album in 2001. The track was later reworked as an uptempo number for the album's reissue and released as the project's fifth single in May of 2002. What's bizarre is that a month prior to the song's single release, Britney started introducing the track under the title 'My Love Was Always There' and performing it live at her Dream Within A Dream Tour shows, even going so far as to say that she wrote the song. 'Maybe' was far from a flop, hitting #12 in the US and #3 in the UK, so it's unknown exactly why Britney thought she could get away with claiming the track as her own. 19. Jennifer Lopez - Brave 'Brave' is the title track of Jennifer Lopez's sixth album, produced by frequent Britney collaborators Bloodshy & Avant and The Clutch. Originally, the song was actually written for Britney's album Blackout, but it was rejected from the final tracklisting before release. That said, I can't say that I'm too disappointed about not hearing Britney's version - while the tracks lyrics stating "I'm not afraid/Because I am brave" definitely fit into Britney's narrative, the song is pretty typically generic R&B and doesn't really offer anything new to the pop music genre like the rest of Blackout did. 18. Momoiro Clover Z - Rock The Boat Momoiro Clover Z released 'Rock The Boat' on the album Hakkin no Yoake in 2016; but as any true Britney stan will know, the track has been in the works for much longer than that. Britney fans first heard the song in late 2011 as part of the semi-annual Britmas leaks tradition, when it was heard under it's working title 'Dangerous'. Recorded for the Circus album, 'Dangerous' has the same songwriters as bonus track 'Rock Me In' of Greg Kurstin and Coco Morier, and apart from the translated lyrics not much changed at all between it's recording and it's reinterpretation as 'Rock The Boat'. 17. LIZ - When I Rule The World LIZ has been open about her love for Britney, from her confession that Brit taught her "how to be a popstar" to her obsession over every stan's favourite unreleased track, 'Mona Lisa'. But she got closer to Britney than she ever could have expected with her PC Music-inspired single 'When I Rule The World'. "I heard she wanted 'When I Rule'," she told The Guardian, apparently astounded that Britney even knew who she was. LIZ was ultimately so attached to the song that she had to fight for it to be her own release; and although the track definitely would have fit in with the 'Pretty Girls' vibe and aesthetic, we can't say we're sad that she won. 16. Leah McFall - Home (Feat. will.i.am) Leah McFall was a runner-up on the second series of The Voice UK, where she was mentored by the infamous will.i.am - a man who was at the same time taking Britney under his wing on the other side of the pond. That's why it makes total sense for any record will worked on around that time to have been shopped around to both Brit and Leah, as happened with 'Home'. The track is typical will.i.am, complete with nonsensical lyrics, an overused sample and a tacky lyric video, so we can't say we're sad that Britney never jumped on this one; although with that said it would definitely be an improvement over 'It Should Be Easy'. 13. Jordin Sparks - Shy Boy/14. Jordin Sparks - Young and In Love/15. Jordin Sparks - See My Side It might be hard to imagine winner of the sixth season of American Idol Jordin Sparks and Queen of the Lip Sync Britney Spears being offered the same tracks, but believe it or not it happened back in 2007. 'Shy Boy', 'Young and In Love' & 'See My Side' are a handful of tracks which were originally worked on by production team Bloodshy & Avant for Britney's long-awaited Blackout album; but after they didn't make it onto that album, they were passed on to label-mate Jordin Sparks for her self-titled debut. 'Shy Boy' and 'Young and In Love' aren't much of a loss: they both sound like the typical messy 2007 R&B demo that sprouted up in the wake of Timbaland's success, although undoubtedly they would have been improved by some of Britney's vocal stylings. But 'See My Side', which like 'Piece Of Me' was worked on by pop's fairy godmother Robyn, would have worked nicely alongside 'Why Should I Be Sad?' as a lullaby end to the Blackout album. 12. Jamie Lynn Spears - Follow Me Remember Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's little sister who made a name for herself on Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 before being fired for her unexpected teenage pregnancy? Well, she also sang the theme song for that show, titled 'Follow Me', which just so happened to be written by her big sister Brit and frequent collaborators Bloodshy & Avant. Weirdly the song was never officially released in full on any soundtrack album, although we did get an official instrumental as well as dozens of snippets of the song played throughout the show which has allowed fans to compile their own versions of the song. A demo also leaked in 2014, but it wasn't sung by either Britney or Jamie Lynn which makes Britney's writing credits and the original intent for the song a total mystery. 11. Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex A reunion of 'Toxic' producers Bloodshy & Avant and songwriter Cathy Dennis, 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' was actually a pretty big hit for English popstar Rachel Stevens back in 2003, hitting #2 in the UK charts and selling 210 000 copies that year. Originally, like 'Everytime', the track was intended to be a response to Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me A River', which was long rumoured to be about Britney; but when Stevens sang it, it was to break out from her role as a singer in S Club 7. Britney apparently passed on the track because she found the lyrics just a little too obvious, which is a real shame because the western R&B sound in the song would have worked perfectly on In The Zone. 10. f(x) - Chocolate Love/Girls' Generation - Chocolate Love Another K-Pop convert, 'Chocolate Love' was first heard back in 2009 as a dual release for K-Pop supergroups f(x) and Girls' Generation. The song was used to promote the LG Cyon Chcolate phone in commercials, with f(x) jumping on the 'Electronic Pop Version' and Girls' Generation singing the 'Retro Pop Version'. Also worth noting is that f(x) alone recorded an English version of the song entitled 'Topbillin' Love', which was performed live during their international tour in 2010. What's interesting is that this version of 'Topbillin' Love' was actually a throwaway track that had been written years before by Karen Poole as a demo for Britney which got rejected. Poole tried her hand at writing to the instrumental after Cathy Dennis's attempt, called at that point 'Phony Lullaby', was also rejected due to it's inclusion of lyrics Britney apparently found objectionable. Britney even tried her hand at writing to this instrumental alongside Michelle Bell, which resulted in the unreleased track 'Take Off', a song which discussed Brit's anti-war and anti-discrimination views. Cathy Dennis would later reclaim the song and morph it's instrumental into 'Sweet Dreams My LA EX', the Rachel Stevens hit mentioned above; but that didn't stop the K-Pop groups from reusing it's demo years later. 9. BoA - Look Who's Talkin' 'Look Who's Talkin'' is a song originally written by Britney alongside Bloodshy & Avant, Henrik Jonback and Michelle Bell in 2003 during the same sessions that produced songs like 'Chaotic' and 'I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)'. Later, it resurfaced on Korean superstar BoA's debut English album, also titled BoA, as the second single from the R&B-pop project. The Britney demo leaked just a little later on as 'Look Who's Talking Now', and features almost exactly the same lyrics and production; although the words are a little more meaningful coming from a popstar who spent a lot of her early life silenced by her record label or management. Britney's version of the song was probably never strong enough to be a single, but it could have worked well as an an additional track for the Chaotic EP. 8. Pitbull & J Balvin - Hey Ma (Feat. Camila Cabello) 'Hey Ma' was released last year for the The Fate of The Furious soundtrack album as a collaboration between Pitbull, J Balvin and Camila Cabello; but if things had gone differently, the song could have had a twist from the Holy Spearit. When it was originally recorded, 'Hey Ma' featured Romeo Santos and Britney in the Balvin and Cabello parts, with Britney cooing "If you touch me right, I might stay the night" over a Latin-inspired beat. But when the song was pitched for The Fate of The Furious, the producers requested that they be replaced, presumably to appeal to a younger audience and capitalise on the Latin American vibe of the film. While we'd generally cringe at the idea of Pitbull releasing a song with with Britney (or Pitbull releasing any song full stop), we have to admit that 'Hey Ma' featuring Britney is an absolute bop, thanks to the fact that her version was leaked as a Christmas present to the fans. We can only imagine how great this song would have sounded in a mash-up with 'Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortés)' on the Piece of Me shows. 7. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Pulse 'Pulse' was published on the ASCAP registry back during the In The Zone era as a potential candidate for Britney's album, but it didn't end up making the cut there. Instead, it was released in 2010 on the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album History of Modern. While we're unsure if anything was changed over that seven year period, we can definitely imagine Britney's vocals on the current version of the track, which has the same breakbeat R&B kind of style she explored on ITZ tracks such as '(I Got That) Boom Boom' and 'Me Against the Music'. 5. Kylie Minogue - Nu-Di-Ty/6. Kylie Minogue - Speakerphone Britney and Kylie have a long history of working with the same producers and thus swapping tracks, with Kylie even turning down the demo that would go on to be a hit for Britney with 'Toxic'. "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her," she said of the track. "It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." Let's hope the feeling is mutual, because Kylie took two tracks that Britney worked on for Blackout for her own album X, both of which were produced by longtime collaborators Bloodshy & Avant. 'Nu-Di-Ty' is a quirky, fragmented pop song with a hint of R&B and tropicana which plays out like a more light-hearted version of Britney's own 'Freakshow'. While we don't have a Britney version of the track, she definitely did record one as some of her background vocals can be heard in the final version, and are even clearer when filtered out from the other vocals. Then there's 'Speakerphone', a precursor to 'Telephone' with a dreamy Euro-pop production which was definitely an album highlight. We've never heard anything of the Britney version of this one but it's safe to say she would slay it. 4. Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way 'Get Outta My Way' is not just one of Kylie Minogue's best songs: it's one of the best pop songs of this decade full-stop. The perfect slice of dance-pop for the summer season, 'Get Outta My Way' was originally shopped around to several artists including Britney, Alexandra Burke and Pixie Lott, and Wynter Gordon also wrote a song to the Cutfather-produced instrumental. But ultimately it was Kylie who nabbed the song, apparently due to the fact that the other potential candidates were too slow to respond. This is one of the few times where we're happy the song went to it's original artist: Britney's version of the track would probably have worked well on Femme Fatale, but Kylie needed the hit desperately and she put way more energy into the choreography than Brit could have at that point. 3. Nelly - Tilt Ya Head Back (Feat. Christina Aguilera) The rivalry between Britney and Christina is basically a tale as old as time at this point, so it's no surprise that they'd both be put up for the same part on Nelly's 'Tilt Ya Head Back', which was a moderate hit when it was released back in 2004. Britney actually recorded vocals for this song, some of which were leaked in 2016; but according to producer Dorian Moore, her label nixed the idea of Britney collaborating with Nelly, finding the song "too urban". Janet Jackson was also considered before XTina took the final spot. It's not entirely surprising given that in 2004 Brit was still fighting for creative control with her record label, leading to the Original Doll saga that would begin her downwards spiral in 2007. 2. Selena Gomez - Whiplash 'Whiplash' is definitely not one of Selena's better known songs, and at the end of the day it is just album filler; but for a non-single track, it's surprisingly fun. Alternating between a silly metaphor-ridden chorus and a bouncy rap part spoken with an English accent, 'Whiplash' was highlighted as a standout track from When The Sun Goes Down and was performed on tour alongside a medley of Britney's own hits. But if things had gone differently, the song may actually have ended up on Brit's comeback vehicle Circus. Britney wrote and recorded the song alongside Coco Morier and Greg Kurstin at the same time as she worked on 'Mmm Papi' and 'Rock Me In', but it failed to make the cut for unknown reasons. So far we haven't heard the demo of the song, which is a shame because I'm dying to know if the English accent was a Selena addition or if it was present in the original version as well. Judging by Englishney's raps in 'Scream & Shout', I wouldn't be surprised if that was something Brit came up with all on her own. 1. Rihanna - Umbrella What more needs to be said about 'Umbrella', the monster hit which launched Rihanna's career properly and transitioned her from Bajan Princess to Bad Girl? Tricky Stewart, who had previously worked on 'Me Against The Music', wrote the track alongside The-Dream intending for it to be a comeback single for the troubled Spears; but when they sent the track to her label, it was rejected without Britney even hearing the track. After Mary J. Blige passed on it too, the song ended up in Rihanna's lap, at which time she utilised her accent to create that signature "ella ella eh eh eh" chorus which made the song such a hit. It's a credit to Rih that her stamp on the song is so huge that we can't even imagine Britney singing this one. Which of these songs would you most like to hear Britney's vocals on? Let us know in the comments down below! Editor's Note: This is an updated version of an article that was originally posted on 04/01/2018.

Remember when the collaboration between Britney Spears and will.i.am, 'Scream & Shout', was all over the airwaves back in 2012? The song was a major hit for both artists, solidifying will as a solo star worldwide while giving Britney the much-needed comeback bop she deserved after a string of unsuccessful singles. But what you might not have realised is that the song was actually subject to a large-scale legal battle enacted by English singer Tulisa. Tulisa, who had a moderately successful career both in group N-Dubz and as a solo musician before becoming a judge on X Factor UK, was originally given the beat to write to and crafted a song alongside Jean Baptiste entitled 'I Don't Give A Fuck'. As a side note, a song allegedly by Tulisa entitled 'I Don't Give A Fuck' has been online for a few years, but we don't see any similarity between that and 'Scream & Shout'. Either way, the track was ready to be released on her album The Female Boss, but the song's producer Lazy Jay didn't want her to have it and instead passed it onto will. "Tulisa wrote to that song before I did – this is the truth," will stated in an interview. "But the producers of the beat…didn’t want her to have it." This is where it gets weird. Tulisa's lyrics were allegedly used by will and Britney without her permission, even though she was never credited as a writer for the track. But the oddest thing is that Tulisa's vocals can allegedly still be heard on the final track, with Brit's voice just laid over the top. I have to admit I can't personally make her out, but at least that somewhat explains why Britney raps in an English accent throughout. Regardless of what we can hear, Tulisa proved her case enough to win the five year-long legal battle, and has earned herself 10% of the publishing rights and income for the track. Although we're sure will and the other writers weren't too happy about it, they do have something to shout about. All proceeds from the sale of the song have been stuck in legal limbo ever since it's release, and now that the lawsuit's been resolved it should mean a tidy payday for all involved. What do you think about Tulisa's big payday? Can you hear her in the final version of 'Scream & Shout'? Sound off in the comments section below!

Lady Gaga is well known for making promises to her fans which she doesn't always come through on. Between a handful of unreleased music videos and an entire scrapped album, Little Monsters have gotten used to taking every announcement with a grain of salt and waiting for concrete releases before jumping on the hype bandwagon. But out of all of her broken promises, most likely the hardest for Gaga's fans to digest are the failed collaborations which she's teased before their ultimate cancellation. There are endless reasons for such cancellations, but it's safe to say that many stem from Gaga's own pickiness when it comes to her musical output. Although Gaga has worked with legends like Cher, Elton John and Britney Spears, none of these collaborations were ultimately released due to Gaga's displeasure with the material; while songs featuring rent-a-rappers such as Flo Rida and Too $hort and alleged child molester R. Kelly have been pushed by Gaga as potential hits. In other cases, behind the scenes dramas seem to have been the major contributing factor to cancellations, while yet others appear to simply be a case of bad timing. In this list, we'll be looking at eighteen of Gaga's most high-profile features which have remained unheard. Is anyone else as excited as I am to hear #9? 1. T.I. - Lick It (Feat. Lady Gaga) T.I. and Gaga worked together on the infamous 'Jewels and Drugs' for Gaga's ill-fated ARTPOP album, but if T.I. had had his way they would have done so a lot sooner. Back in 2010, T.I. teased that he and Gaga had worked together on a song called 'Lick It', intended at that point for his album No Mercy. "The one we have right now is entitled 'Lick It'," he stated, teasing, "I think we both have a tendency to shock the world in a lot of different ways." He further hinted that the two may continue to work together, saying "[We're] gonna go back in [the studio] and record some more songs." Ultimately, any collaboration they worked on for the album remained unreleased. According to former RadioARTPOP host Derek, who had ties to Gaga's team, Gaga found the song too "raunchy" and had never truly intended to release it with her vocals, even sending it to other singers to feature on. 2. T.I. - New National Anthem (Feat. Lady Gaga) Following the release of 'Jewels and Drugs', T.I. later mentioned that he was in the "final stages" of having Gaga record the chorus vocals for 'New National Anthem', a song later released as a single off Paperwork. Originally featuring demo vocals from Victoria Monet, the song would later go on to feature frequent collaborator Skylar Grey, with T.I. stating that Gaga was too "busy with her current project" to record vocals for the song. 3. Britney Spears - Telephone (Feat. Lady Gaga) You may remember that 'Telephone' was one of many hits offered to Britney that she eventually turned down for the Circus album, apparently because of the presence of another phone-themed song 'Phonography' on the project. But what you may not realise is that 'Telephone' was eventually reworked in duet form for Gaga and Britney, before debate over who owned the song halted it's release. At the time, Britney's team wanted the track for her upcoming greatest hits compilation The Singles Collection, while Gaga wanted it for The Fame Monster. After failing to come to a compromise over who the song belonged to, Gaga ended up taking it back and adding Beyoncé as a featured artist instead, leading to the hit we all know and love today. 4. Lady Gaga - TBA (Feat. Britney Spears) It was later hinted that Gaga and Britney may have had something in the works following the release of ARTPOP. When asked who she would like to work with next, Britney stated, "I would do a duet with Lady Gaga. I think that would be a lot of fun," continuing, "I think she's very different and interesting and intricate." Gaga then took to Twitter to publicly support the duet, stating: Although it was never officially confirmed that they worked on anything together, Gaga did attend Britney's Piece of Me show soon after, which may have been a way for them to further discuss the duet. Sadly, nothing ever eventuated. 5. Elton John & Lady Gaga - Hello Hello 'Hello Hello' was the first of many Elton and Gaga duets, and was recorded for the release of the 2011 Elton-funded musical animation Gnomeo & Juliet. Originally, the duet was meant to be included on the official soundtrack to the film; but possibly due to label disputes, the duet version was cut from the soundtrack and can now only be heard in the full film. While Elton's solo version appears on the album, the duet did leak several months later. 6. Lady Gaga - Room In My Heart (Feat. Elton John) In an interview with Zane Lowe prior to the release of Joanne, Elton confirmed that he had a writing session with Gaga scheduled for the next day, saying "I'm writing with Lady Gaga tomorrow". He stated that while he wasn't a fan of ARTPOP, he had heard several songs from Joanne and found them to be a return to form. Several months later, a title named 'Room In My Heart' was registered to publishing sites, with the writers listed as Gaga and Elton and the performer as Gaga alone. A song with the same title, but this time written by Diane Warren, was also registered at the same time. Unfortunately, any Elton collaboration that may have existed remains unreleased, despite the fact that it doubtless would have worked well on the rockabilly-inspired album. 7. Kendrick Lamar - PARTYNAUSEOUS (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'PARTYNAUSEOUS' was originally conceived as a song by Kendrick Lamar featuring Gaga back in 2012. It was planned to be released as a single on September 6th of that year from Lamar's album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, but was cut due to creative differences on which direction the song should take. This led to two different versions of the song existing: one, a slow R&B version which leaked in 2015; and another, an EDM-styled rave track which Gaga reworked as an interlude for the ARTPOP Ball tour. The song, from Gaga's perspective, details her efforts to make peace with the country of Indonesia, which banned her from performing during The Born This Way Ball Tour in 2012. 8. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe' was another Kendrick Lamar collaboration which Gaga sang the chorus for. After their creative relationship ended, Kendrick released a solo version of the track on his album (later recruiting Jay-Z for the single release), while Gaga later leaked her contribution to the song online. "We had a date, but we had to meet the deadline for the pre-order date," Kendrick explained when asked why the song went unreleased. "That’s just the business side coming through and messing things up. But you know it’s God’s plan. I’m not really too tight about it because I know we have something special." 9. Paul McCartney - TBA (Feat. Lady Gaga) Paul McCartney has had a song with Gaga in the can since 2015, when Gaga announced via Instagram that they had been in a session alongside instrumentalists such as Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. It was later revealed that the track, described as a "rollicking tune", was in fact a soundtrack selection for McCartney's long-awaited film High in the Clouds. An adaptation of his 2005 book on capitalism, High in the Clouds has been in the works since 2009 and has only just gotten a writer, so it's unlikely to be released anytime soon; but as far as we know, this duet is still planned for release at some point in the future. 10. The Midway State - Don't Give Up (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'Don't Give Up' is a cover of a duet originally recorded by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. The idea for the collaboration came from Gaga's producer Martin Kierszenbaum, who introduced The Midway State and Gaga in 2008. "When we finished [recording], we were both super into it so shortly thereafter we recorded a video for the song [in L.A.]," said the band's Nathan Ferraro. The video itself was a homage to the original video by Gabriel and Bush, and features a still shot of Gaga and Ferraro embracing as the camera moves around them. The video, along with the song, leaked in 2008. "I didn't cry but I was disappointed," said Ferraro. "In this business you get used to that, it's just a snap of the fingers. It was just a matter of she was blowing up at the time and they can't put a huge push or millions of dollars behind every single artistic thing she does". 11. Cher - The Greatest Thing (Feat. Lady Gaga) 'The Greatest Thing' is a song originally recorded in 2007 by Gaga and longtime producer RedOne under the name 'Greatest'. "I wrote that song a long time ago, and I've never put it on one of my own albums for, really, no particular reason," Gaga said in an MTV interview. "I always write these concept records, and it just didn't fit in. But it's always been, like, this big, massive, beautiful hit record and everyone always says, 'Why don't you put that on your album?' And I said, 'I don't know, it just doesn't fit with everything else.'" Later, in 2011, when RedOne and Cher were collaborating, he pitched her the song for potential inclusion on her 25th studio album Closer To The Truth. Originally, the song was meant to be a solo track; but it was later revealed that Gaga wanted to appear on a remix "for the gays", before being convinced by RedOne to appear on the original. While the song was at one point intended to be the second single from the album, Gaga ultimately decided that she didn't like her vocals on the song, and Cher ended up axing it entirely after RedOne failed to get in contact with her in time. The song would later leak in 2013. 12. Trina - Let Dem Hoes Fight (Feat. Lady Gaga & Kalenna) 'Let Dem Hoes Fight' was one of three songs Gaga worked on alongside Kalenna, Jim Jonsin and The JAM in 2008. "We started writing a song called 'Freezer Burn' and that song turned out really good, so we did another song called 'Kaboom.'," explained Jonsin. "We were playing the songs back, trying to figure out who to give them to. So I said, ‘As far as the labels are concerned, just let them hoes fight over who gets the song.’ Everyone was like, 'Jim, that’s a great song title!' And in like 20 minutes, we had that song with Lady Gaga." A year later, when Trina was working on her album Amazin, Jonsin suggested that she rework the track for herself featuring Gaga for release on the album. While Gaga was featured on the song when the album was sent out for review, she was removed from the track by the time the album was officially released, possibly due to label conflicts. However, her version did later leak. 13. Barbra Streisand - TBA (Feat. Lady Gaga) Barbra Streisand's thirty fourth album Partners, an all-male duet album, was in the works for over two years before it was ultimately released. When it was first announced in 2012, producer Walter Afanasieff teased that the album would include collaborations with Robin Thicke, Usher, Yo Yo Ma, Willie Nelson and Babyface - although ultimately, only the Babyface duet would make the cut. Two years later he teased that "Lionel Richie, [...] Blake Shelton, Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, Michael Bublè, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, Andrea Bocelli, Beyoncè, Billy Joel [and] John Mayer" would all appear on the album, but ultimately the three females made mention of were not included on the final tracklisting. It's unknown if a duet was ever recorded, but it's possible that Barbra and Gaga recorded a song together which was scrapped when she decided to go with an all-male list of partners. 14. Lady Gaga - Ratchet (Feat. Azealia Banks) 'Ratchet' was a collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks, intended for the ARTPOP project. Ultimately, after some untimely Twitter beefs on Banks's part, the song was cut from ARTPOP with Gaga stating that Banks had a "bad attitude". We have a small snippet of Gaga performing the track live, and an official instrumental was later released by producer DJ White Shadow on his Clock Is Ticking EP in 2013; but as of yet, the full version of the song has yet to be heard. 15. Lady Gaga - Red Flame (Feat. Azealia Banks) 'Red Flame' was another collaboration recorded with Azealia Banks for ARTPOP, which was cut for the same reason as 'Ratchet'. A sister song to 'Mary Jane Holland', the song explores the 'Princess High' persona Gaga was embodying at the time. A watermarked version of the song went on to leak in 2016, but it seemed to be in an unfinished state. 16. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - Paradise 'Paradise' was initially announced for Gaga's collaborative album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek, as one of several original songs on the album. Like much of Joanne after it, the song was a dedication to Gaga's aunt who passed away of lupus, and was intended to mark the conversation she had with her brother before she passed. Ultimately, the song went unreleased due to Gaga's nervousness over her jazz composition abilities, although she hinted that she may release the song in the future. It's unknown if Gaga was the sole artist to feature on the song or if Bennett was also involved. 17. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - TBA When Cheek to Cheek was first announced, it was initially only going to include songs by one songwriter. "I can't mention the composer because I don't want anybody to do it before we do it, but there's a great composer that's very underrated, very famous, but not as famous as Gershwin or Porter," Bennett stated. "But he did as many hit songs as anybody, and so we're gonna do a big swinging album." Ultimately, the album featured a collection of songs from the Great American Songbook (including cuts from Gershwin and Porter), and only a few of them were written by the same composers. Given that recording for Cheek to Cheek occured quite a while after it's announcement, it's unlikely that a full album of songs by just one songwriter was ever recorded. 18. Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett - TBA Immediately after the release of Cheek to Cheek, Bennett announced that he and Gaga were planning a potential sequel to the album inspired by Cole Porter's musical Red, Hot and Blue, a statement he echoed a year later when he revealed that they were releasing an album full of Porter renditions. According to Bennett, Gaga wanted to record a follow-up "right away". While giving a performance in Idaho in 2015, Bennett announced that the album would drop in 2016; and a year later, Bennett stated that the two had continued discussions regarding a second album, and that they would begin recording in 2017. In late 2017, he stated that he and Gaga had a duet that would drop on New Year's Eve, but this also did not occur. It's currently unknown if the two have recorded anything beyond their first album together. Which of Lady Gaga's unreleased collaborations do you most want to hear? Who are you most interested in hearing her collaborate with next? Let us know in the comments down below!

Like almost every aspect of popular culture, pop music is a subject ruled by dichotomies. There's a reason why Lady Gaga, the major proponent of sexual freedom, radicalist fashion and politically forward-thinking views, rose to fame in the same year as Taylor Swift, the chaste virgin queen who practiced all American values and permed hair. In recent years, this dichotomy found itself oppositioning the high-tempo, high-octane dance-pop of American artists like Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry with the slow crooning of English soul stars like Adele, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran. But now, a middle ground between fast and slow and originator and colony has been reached with the rise of the mid-tempo jam and the birth of slow-pop. Harking back to the sound of choice in the 90s, slow-pop fuses the R&B slow jams of old with the electro synths of today to create a sound that fits neatly in between the euphoric dance tracks intended for the clubs and the lyrical, vocal-based musings of the balladeers which are perfectly crafted for rainy days in bed. Often drawing inspiration from genres such as R&B, trap and hip-hop, the genre is nevertheless intrinsically linked to synth-pop and the catchy, repetitive lyrics and beats it provides. In recent months, smaller acts like Kiiara, Terror Jr. and Phoebe Ryan have all shot to fame through their manipulation of the slow-pop genre. Kiiara has had her first top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with her sparsely produced trap-pop debut single 'Gold', in what's almost an unprecedented move for a new artist nowadays; Terror Jr. have reached an audience of over ten million with a high profile placement in a Kylie Jenner Cosmetics commercial; and Phoebe Ryan has received millions of fans thanks to an endorsement from the snake herself, Swift. But the slow pop revolution hasn't settled with staying underground. Last year saw the release of Selena Gomez's 'Good For You', one of the year's biggest hits; and after it hit #5 on the US charts, the track was able to usher in a new wave of sexy slow jams in it's wake. Britney Spears' 'Make Me...' follows in the same formula, with an emphasis on sensual vocals, a slow build and a male counterparts rap over any magic tricks in the production. Even Rihanna's 'Work' finds the singer trading in the high-energy pulsating rhythm of a track like 'We Found Love' for a more simple beat and some repetitive lyrics, propelled forward by the addition of Drake; and the third single from her new project, 'Needed Me', is classic slow-pop, thanks in large part to DJ Mustard's understated dubstep and trap inspired beat. It's a stark difference between the chart listings we saw last year, in which tracks like Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk', Justin Bieber's 'Sorry' and Major Lazer's 'Lean On' reigned supreme. But if there's one thing we know about pop music, it's that every new trend is just another on a huge wheel - and that nothing will stop the wheel from turning or the cycle from beginning anew. Slow-pop may be the genre of the minute for now, but artists will have to continue to adapt to whatever the next thing may be if they want to stay current.

https://www1.xclusivejams.com/julia-michaels-slumber-party-demo-for-britney-188142.html This demo of Slumber Party that leaked is poppier than Britney's version which has a reggae/R&B twist to it. I still enjoy it though.

Excuse me, sir/madam, but do you have a minute to talk about the one true Lord and Saviour, the daughter of Pop Gods Michael Jackson and Madonna and the divine harborer of the Holy Spearit? You see, over the past few months our one true god has undergone a resurrection to make her presence plain on this earthly realm in which we live. We use the word "resurrection" loosely - for while she had never truly forsaken us, she had departed us for some time, lost in the heavenly slumber between life and death. Her earthly body remained here, lending its voice to some true bops and its muscles to several lacklustre music videos and live performances; but her soul was somewhere else, travelling the universe on a divine journey for ultimate truth. The name of this god who has graced us once again with her divinity? It's Britney, bitch. The younger among you may not have experienced our religion at its prime, for it has fallen since its creation in 1998 after the first of nine gospels, known as ...Baby One More Time, was first discovered. But at its peak, our religion had over 30 million devoted followers dedicated to worship, a far-spreading reach that hit music, television shows, movies and fragrances, and a public that saw our saviour for who she really was - a virginal saint. The world has changed since then, and the Holy Spearit has grown, matured and evolved with it. Her first true experience with the devil came in 2007, when she bit the apple of temptation and showed the world that even gods have feelings. In her darkest hour, it seemed like our great god above might never pull through; until she shaved her head in sacrifice, and invoked the magical ruin of lore, the umbrella, in order to defeat her satanic enemies. Britney Christ may have won the battle, but the scars continued to haunt her. Our lord was weary from our battle, and taking restorative potions and drugs to get her through the day. While she responded to the prayers sent her way, it seemed as though she was simply regurgitating information from one of her past gospels than preaching any new scriptures. Even when she tells us that "love makes miracles", the waver in her voice and not-so-subtle eye roll tells us that our one true lord is not practicing what she preaches. Now, compare that with this conversation from earlier this year. As Britney herself says, "it's all about the contrast". No longer a vengeful god, the Holy Spearit has returned to gratify her followers with warmth and kindness, even ascending one of her most devoted practitioners to her place in heaven - if only for a short while until he comes back down to earth. Her sermons, too, have become more and more involved. Recall this performance from a few years ago, where our lord diminished herself in order to perform as the special guest of a false idol. She walked around the altar uninspired in her stilettos and barely even mustered the few hair flips that were expected of her. It was clear that the divine being was still in pain. But now, our lord struts around the altar with a purpose, disseminating her gospel with the passion and joy she exhibited almost two decades ago when she was first crowned as divine. Not only are her movements perfectly suited to that of a goddess, but her skin glows with the radiance of the godly flame that burns inside her once again. As has always been true, there will be non-believers who refuse the teachings and dedicate themselves to a life of sin and treachery - some refer to them as "Xtincta stans". But Britney's ever-expanding power is making it harder and harder for those Satan-worshipers to defy her. No one knows exactly what has triggered this resurrection or why the spark inside our lord has been missing for her past two gospels, many of which were re-written by her prophet Myah Marie. But if she keeps this up, our lord will be back in the minds, hearts, and CD players of the entire world in no time. Tell us, followers, when did you first learn of the Holy Spearit's resurrection? Has it surprised you to learn of her divine powers, or have you always known that deep down the lord was ready for her place, waiting to resurface? Share your thoughts with your fellow clergy members in the Sunday school session below.

This week marks ten years since the release of Britney Spear's indisputable magnum opus Blackout - and while a lot has changed in Britney's life and in pop culture since 2007, one thing that remains is the album's incredible influence and staying power. Ten years on, Blackout remains one of the most pivotal releases in pop music history, ushering in the era of dance-pop that has permeated the airwaves ever since and sounding just as current today as it ever has. Surely some of the credit for this has to go to the album's masterful production, handled mostly by R&B producer Danja and Euro-dance connosieurs Bloodshy & Avant. Blackout struck back in the midst of the R&B revival which furrowed in Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, and somehow it seems that most of the songs crafted during that time have remained completely ahead of the times and edgy; even if 'Break The Ice' were released today, it would still be completely different from anything else on the radio. It says a lot that quite literally all of the songs on the album can still be bopped to in 2017. But part of Blackout's success of course has to go to Britney's public image at the time of release. Back when Britney Jean was in its formative years, Britney's team referred to it as an intended Blackout 2.0; but they missed the fact that recreating Blackout was completely impossible without forcing Britney's personal life into full on meltdown mode. Blackout was believable and impressive as an album because of its stars personal troubles, most of which stemmed from her divorce with Kevin Federline - and while we won't get too far into them here, it's fair to say that everyone remembers the image of Britney with a shaved head splashed onto the front cover of every magazine. The album was a safe haven for Britney to direct her energy into, and a window through which the public could try to understand her by even while her public image jumped from Disney star to mother to drug taker to complete disaster artist. The versions of Britney found on Blackout were similarly variable, but the album maintained consistency thanks to its forward thinking production. Naturally, there's sex kitten Britney, who had previously appeared on songs like 'I'm A Slave 4 U'; although this time she was elevated to a new level of raunch. 'Gimme More' is the most notable example of this, but its also apparent in album tracks such as 'Freakshow', which predicted dubstep years before it hit the mainstream, and 'Get Naked (I Got A Plan)', which has to be Britney's straight up sluttiest song in existence. While Brit had always exhibited a sexy persona, it was always juxtaposed with the girl next door image that she'd cultivated in her Mickey Mouse Club days, which toned it down and put any hints of sexiness under a wedding dress strapped into a chastity belt. But with Blackout, all pretention of the good girl was gone, and naughty Britney was officially here to stay. That's not to say that songs about love were off the table though, and in fact the slower songs on Blackout were among Britney's most vulnerable, lacking the cheesiness of 'Lucky' or 'Sometimes'. 'Heaven on Earth' is a sweetly simplistic love song made interesting thanks to it's synth-laden production; 'Outta This World', a bonus track, is a tender and soft harmonisation with co-writer Keri Hilson; and 'Why Should I Be Sad?' is a candid, and yet defiant ending to the album which holds the promise of change to come. By far the most unique version of Britney on the album, however, has to be the one found in 'Piece of Me', the album's only real hit and the song that would go on to name Britney's ongoing residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Produced by Bloodshy & Avant, the same team who worked on 'Toxic' and 'My Prerogative', and with background vocals courtesy of the incomparable Robyn, the song is Britney's version of MJ's 'Leave Me Alone' - a kiss off to the media forces which try to bring her down and an assertion of the fact that she is in control of her image. It's a side of Brit that had never been expressed artistically before, but had been seen in her numerous run-ins with the paparazzi during which she screamed at them, pushed them or attacked them with umbrellas, and it's timing couldn't have been better. With that one smirk during the final scene of the 'Piece of Me' video, Britney had us convinced that she was not only in on the joke but was also pulling the strings herself in order to come out on top. Of course, the Blackout reign couldn't last forever, and it only took a year for Britney to make her triumphant return with Circus, which was a pretty mixed bag of an album overall. On the one hand, the version of Britney we saw during the Circus era seemed more stable and her performances were much more predictable; but on the other hand, without the pain of her breakup and with the pressures of her conservatorship Britney's work lacked genuinity and edginess. It was only with the release of last year's Glory that that seemed to change, and Britney's personality seemed to be her own to control once again. Even with a true successor to Blackout unobtainable, it's a blessing that the album can still be listened to its entirety without skipping a single track. Listen below, and together we'll celebrate a time in which Britney had so little to live for, and yet during which she turned out one of pop's all-time masterpieces. We love you, Britney!

Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays in the world, even if its presence isn't marked on any calendar. Some of its appeal definitely has to do with the fact that its mostly polytheistic - although it started out as a Wiccan holiday, Halloween is essentially now atheist and up to be enjoyed by anyone. But its also one of the thematically strongest and widest, and one of the funnest, as it gets people off church pews and into their local communities and brings back the childhood joy of playing dress up. But despite all that, there's relatively few songs that have been released especially for All Hallow's Eve. Unlike Christmas, which gets half a dozen high-profile holiday-themed albums dedicated to it every year (thanks, Mariah), Halloween has never had it's moment to shine on the pop charts, with partygoers and trick or treaters having to deal with whatever spooky remnants they can scratch out of the rest of the years hits. In this list, we'll be looking at ten of the best songs to play at this year's Halloween bash - and though few of them are specifically Halloween themed, all of them are bound to go over a treat with whatever riff-raff you'll have knocking at your door on Halloween night. 10. Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween The most explicitly "Halloween-ish" themed song on the list, Ministry's 'Everyday Is Halloween' has been a staple of Halloween parties for decades, ever since it was released in 1984. Moreover, it has been adopted by the Gothic community as a kind of mantra to live by every day, thanks to its lyrics of disenfranchisement and isolation. It may not be the most well-known track at your party, but the new wave jam is sure to turn more than a few heads and makes some good background music for your session of "pin the bandage on the mummy". 9. Britney Spears - Toxic It might not be the most logical song to include on a Halloween collection, but Britney's 'Toxic' is actually perfect for any spooky themed party. Not only does the song discuss a dangerous kind of love with a poisonous twist, but the music video pretty much perfectly captures the Halloween vibe with the multiple outfit changes and Britney dressing up as various versions of herself to seek revenge on an ex-lover. Otherwise, if you want more of a literal twist on the holiday, check out her under-appreciated bop 'Scary' here. 8. Rihanna - Disturbia Rihanna's 'Disturbia' is probably one of the most overlooked bops of her career, even though it was a pretty big hit when it was first released back in, 2008, hitting #1 in the US and even being nominated for a Grammy. It's a shame, because the song's refrain of "bum bum be dum, bum bum be dum dum" is insanely catchy and sure to make everyone hit the floor. The video is also one of Rihanna's best, featuring some of her most iconic looks and some truly unsettling scenes of her being restrained and covered in spiders, or chained down in a narrow alcove. 'Disturbia' is definitely Rih's spookiest song, but if you're just here to play dress-up then don't forget about 'S&M', and if you need some filler tracks for your playlist then don't forget about 2009's Rated R album, especially it's lead single 'Russian Roulette'. 7. Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time If you're sick of the poppy, dancey hits straight from the charts and just looking for a track to roll a blunt to, look no further than Sky Ferreira's 'Night Time, My Time'. The title track from her debut album, the song's title is inspired by a phrase uttered in the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which explains a lot about it's vibe. The song drips of Lynchian influence with it's beat (consisting of just a heavy drum and strings) and the vocal style Ferreira uses to deliver it which is essentially a breathy whisper. Definitely not a club banger, but it's a nice change of pace from the more up-tempo songs. 6. The Cranberries - Zombie 'Zombie' is the perfect Halloween song just for the name alone, but it's catchy chorus only makes things better. Really, the only reason this isn't higher on the list is because of the real subject matter behind the metaphor: according to lead singer Dolores O'Riordan, 'Zombie' is actually about a series of IRA bombings in 1993 that led to the deaths of two children, which makes it a little hard to dance to willingly. Still, it's the perfect track for late in the night when the drinks have stopped flowing and everyone's getting sleepy. 5. Eminem - The Monster (Feat. Rihanna) I wasn't the biggest fan of Eminem's 'The Monster' when it was first released, but I'll admit that after hearing dozens of spins on the radio that "ooh, ooh" post chorus really started getting to me. It might not be the easiest song to dance to, but everyone's bound to sing (or even rap) along and the psychological horror themed lyrics are perfect for any spooky celebration. For a more mellow listening experience, try out the songwriter Bebe Rexha's original demo for 'The Monster'. 4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll Possibly the most little known song on this list, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs nevertheless have one of the catchiest Halloween themed songs with 'Heads Will Roll'. Released in 2009, the song was apparently written from the perspective of Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts, which explains the chorus of 'Off, off, off with your head'. The stylish music video even makes allusions to 'Thriller', with a dancing werewolf in red shoes making his way through each member of the band as they play the tune. To get the party even more "lit", consider spinning A-Trak's remix of the song as well. 3. Sharon Needles - Call Me On The Ouija Board Pretty much every song from Sharon Needle's discography can culminate into a Halloween playlist, but there's none quite as catchy as the stellar 'Call Me On The Ouija Board'. Released on the spooky cooky Hallowooky drag queen's first album PG-13, the song alternates between shameless pop jam and horror movie parody in a way only Needles can, but its amazing chorus puts it up there with some of the best songs from Britney or Gaga. Bonus points goes to the music video, which finds Sharon recreating the best horror films of the past fifty years. 2. Lady Gaga - Bad Romance Its title might allude to a romance film, but 'Bad Romance' really slips much more heavily into the realm of horror thanks to its creepy lyrics, which range from endless Hitchcock references to lines like "I want your horror/I want your disease". The music video takes things to the next level, featuring a Dracula-esque harpsichord, a collection of coffins that backup dancers awake from, and razor blade sunglasses. Honorary mentions must also go to Gaga's 'Dance In The Dark', 'Monster' and 'Bloody Mary', all of which feature a twisted, dark Halloween vibe in their productions. 1. Michael Jackson - Thriller Everyone probably saw this one coming from a mile away, but there's really no other song that deserves to take the top spot so much as the King of Pop's incredible 'Thriller'. Released at the height of his popularity in 1983, the song became an instant hit, and its creepy sound effects (think ominous thunder, booming footsteps and dogs howling) as well as its introduction courtesy of Vincent Price make it perfect for Halloween. Moreover, the song's groundbreaking music video is often thought of as the best to ever be made, and revolutionised the medium for years to come. Play the song on it's own and try your best to re-enact the iconic choreography; or, for a more complete experience, break out 'Bad', 'Scream' and 'Ghosts' and dance the night away to MJ's greatest scary hits.

Watch the video version of this article here: If you're not a fan of Britney Spears (otherwise inexplicably known as a member of the 'Britney Army') or a hissing Illuminati overlord, you may never have heard of 'Rebellion'. The little-known track was never released as a single, never performed live, and never received any critical response from anyone outside of the Britney fanbase. It's not much to listen to, right? And yet, since it was hinted at by Britney way back in 2006, it's been beyond doubt the most anticipated song for release in her back catalogue since that rumoured duet with Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake. Backed by questionable conspiracy theories regarding the Illuminati as well as certifiably true occurrences that happened during Spears' very public meltdown in early 2007, the song took on a life of it's own, standing in for a Britney on autopilot as a testament to her creativity and artistic integrity. But what lead to the song's initial creation and immense rise to popularity? Read on to find out more! 'Rebellion' was first teased way back in 2006 when Brit posted a short, fifty second snippet of the track on the main page of her website, accompanied by a very 2000's animation of the Princess of Pop transforming into a Bengal Tiger and a cacophony of roars. The snippet came just months after the announcement of Spears new album, intended at that time to be called The Original Doll (the title was a stab at labelmates The Pussycat Dolls), and the debut of what Britney was touting as the lead single without her label's permission, 'Mona Lisa'. Even though fans only heard a minute sample of what the track fully had to offer, it was clear that the song marked a new change of direction for Spears: 2003's masterpiece In The Zone may have introduced a mature, more emotionally in touch Britney, but 'Rebellion' explored the dark side of fame in a way that 'Lucky' had never done. Interestingly, the snippet wasn't the first time fans had heard lyrics to the same effect. Just months before, in May 2006, Britney had posted a poem on her website in a section called ‘Love B: Stream of Consciousness’. A personal diary, 'Love B' was a place for Brit's somewhat sentimental innermost thoughts to be shared with her fans: a typical entry in 2005 stated "Now that the chaos has subsided, I finally feel as though I have the control I've wanted over my own destiny". Titled ‘Remembrance of Who I Am’, the poem appeared beside Spears' diary entries only briefly before being pulled down only shortly after publication. The poem was accompanied by another message: "This is for everyone who thinks they know me..." Some of these lyrics did end up being used word for word in another unreleased Britney song. 'All That She Wants' was recorded in 2006 and leaked in 2008, and samples the Ace of Base song of the same name. But the lyrics regarding "voodoo" and being "fed" either poison or guilt have only been heard in 'Rebellion'. Here's where some snooping comes in. Using Wayback Machine, a website that allows you to view the contents of a website on a specific date, we can see that a full set of lyrics was actually uploaded to AZLyrics on the 24th of June, 2006, alongside an audio track that's no longer available. Looking at these lyrics, we can deduce that the snippet Britney posted was in fact of the second verse of the song, and that the first verse has remained unheard - almost. A low quality snippet of the song's opening can be heard in the following video of Spears cruising around Los Angeles in her car back in 2007, accompanied by boyfriend Isaac Cohen and listening to demos for her upcoming album Blackout. Songs on the tape also include 'State Of Grace', 'To Love Let Go' and 'Baby Boy', all of which leaked after the demo CD was found on eBay a few years ago; but 'Rebellion' has remained conspicuously unheard. Skip to 0:53 for the opening few moments of the track. Working on 'Rebellion' with Britney was three male collaborators: Christopher "Notes" Olsen (who had worked on Spears' husband's Kevin Federline's album Playing With Fire just months before), Scott Storch (who had remixed 'Me Against the Music' a few years prior) and Jeff Dandurand (a relative unknown). When interviewed about the track in 2013, Dandurand claimed that the song was "about the evil forces that pull the strings" and "very obscure in its presentation", going on to say that he and Spears had written lyrics to the track before Notes added melody and Storch polished the overall product. "People connect it with Iluminattis and this could be true," he added. Dandurand's opinion, however nonsensical, is one shared by a multitude of Spears fans. Perceiving 'Rebellion' as a cry for help, fans say that the track was Britney's attempt to expose the Illuminati cult that controlled Hollywood, and that it's failure to be heard represents a stifling of this effort by higher forces. Dandurand claims that he has attempted to purchase and release the track officially, even going so far as to state that he uploaded the entire song to YouTube at one point without fans noticing before being forced to take it down. Furthering this notion according to fans are Spears' increasingly robotic appearances following 2007, as well as the fact that Notes fell to his death in a casino in 2010 and that Storch embarked on a multi-million dollar cocaine binge that almost killed him in 2009. But despite fan thirst, we can't honestly say that we're sure that people would want to hear the full song at this point. Since 2007, a wealth of Blackout demos have leaked sporadically, such as the saccharine bounce 'Sugarfall' or the haunting ballad 'Untitled Lullabye'. Upon it's release, the album went down in history as the best in her catalogue, pushing boundaries sonically and sexually; but the songs on the demo CD that Britney jammed to in her car were all notably absent, as were any others that had been written by the singer herself. Instead, we got an album full of tracks such as 'Gimme More': a groundbreaking jam of a song which nevertheless disappoints when we consider how emotionally open Spears had been in earlier tracks. Amid rumours that Spears' team "destroyed" any copy of the track (one seemingly started by a disgruntled former RCA Records employee) and what fans see as a continued downward spiral in Spears personal life and music, 'Rebellion' could reveal something crucial about the most difficult period in Spears' life; or, even better, inspire her to try her hand at songwriting in the future. On the other hand, it's unlikely that any song released after almost a decade of hype will achieve everything that the fans expect of it. Judging by Spears' shaky vocals in the snippet and the outdated, clumsy R&B production, the song was in incredibly early demo stages when recorded: and even if Dandurand says that the track was remixed by Notes in 2009 and considered for release once more in that year, it's unlikely that any song Spears wrote in the lead up to her breakdown could be updated to align with her current situation. Perhaps it's better off that the full version of 'Rebellion' remains unreleased, and that fans are left only with a small, shaky snippet full of promise and intrigue: a clip unaffected by record labels or the general public which will remain forever as a lasting testament to Spears talent and identity even as the rest of the world turned on her.

I've never been so proud to be a fag. This is the sweetest thing I've ever read and I love that she wrote it all herself!

Stop whatever you're doing, because we have some breaking news that requires your immediate attention! Britney Spears is back at it again performing another sold-out Piece of Me show in Las Vegas after a brief worldwide tour that covered Asia and parts of the Middle East recently. But it seems as though Britney's international sojourns have inspired her to make some changes to the show's setlist. Because in the middle of the show tonight, Britney took a break from the usual to throw out a cover of Bonnie Raitt's top #5 1991 single 'Something To Talk About'. And most spectacularly, the song was performed completely live! That's right: just months after clapping back at her lip syncing accusations in an interview, Britney is making good on her word by ditching the backing track and stunning us with some live vocals. Before you get too excited, this is still Britney Spears we're talking about, so there's a degree of nasalness (is that a word?) and pitchiness to deal with. But Britney's vocals are a lot better than we expected, and her tone is actually better than a lot of other singers around today. This isn't the first time Britney's broken out in song while she takes on some covers. During her Circus tour back in 2009, Britney performed live covers of Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughta Know' and Duffy's 'I'm Scared'. And she's occasionally sung 'Happy Birthday' to some of her backup dancers on stage, if you think that counts. We're still waiting on a video of the full performance (keep in mind this did literally happen half an hour ago), but until we get that you can enjoy this short snippet of Britney singing her little heart out. What do you think of the cover? Does Britney have the makings of a country music superstar? Who would you like her to take on next? Let us know in the comments down below!

Princess of pop Britney Spears is clapping back at people who accuse her of lip syncing during her live concerts, deciding after decades of speculation to respond to the claims in a new interview. The infamous mime artist was asked how much of her Piece of Me concert is sung live in a recent Israeli TV interview. Britney didn't lose her cool but responded with a well-thought out and clear answer. "I’m glad you’re addressing this question because it’s really funny," Britney stated. "A lot of people think that I don’t sing live. I usually, because I’m dancing so much, I do have a little bit of playback, but there’s a mixture of my voice and the playback. It really pisses me off because I am busting my ass out there and singing at the same time and nobody ever really gives me credit for it, you know?" The statement comes just weeks after several embarrassing lip sync fails on Britney's first worldwide tour since Femme Fatale. During one concert in Japan, she struggled to lip sync while taking off a prop mask; and in another she called her audience "horrible" for not cheering loudly enough during her encore, apparently not realising that her microphone was still turned on. Britney will be performing in Israel for the first time on July 3rd. Do you believe her?

I can't speak for everyone, but for me personally 2007 has always gone down in history as one of my favourite years ever in pop music. It may have something to do with the fact that I was verging on teenagehood at the time and just beginning to understand the significance of music in my life, but I'd argue that the year was also a good one overall, evidenced by the ongoing popularity of artists debuting or reinventing in 2007 like Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West. One of the most interesting things about music in 2007 looking back is just how varied it was. On the one hand, there was tail end of the power pop trend of the early 2000s which allowed artists like Avril Lavigne, P!nk and Kelly Clarkson to dominate the charts; but on the other, Timbaland was revolutionising the game with his unique brand of R&B, bringing companions Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado along for the ride. The year also includes some of the catchiest (and oftentimes most annoying) songs in living memory, including Sean Kingston's 'Beautiful Girls', MIMS' 'This Is Why I'm Hot' and Soulja Boy Tell'em's 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' all sticking in our heads long after they left the charts. Take a trip down memory lane by checking out the songs and their peak positions below, and don't forget to let us know your favourite track from 2007 in the comments section! The Fray - How to Save a Life Released: 26 March, 2006 Peak: #3 Hinder - Lips of an Angel Released: 24 July, 2006 Peak: #3 Akon - Smack That (Feat. Eminem) Released: 26 September, 2006 Peak: #2 Amy Winehouse - Rehab Released: 23 October, 2006 Peak: #9 Beyoncé - Irreplaceable Released: 23 October, 2006 Peak: #1 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right Released: 31 October, 2006 Peak: #1 Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (Feat. Akon) Released: 19 December, 2006 Peak: #2 Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around... Comes Around Released: 19 December, 2006 Peak: #1 Fergie - Glamorous (Feat. Ludacris) Released: 23 January, 2007 Peak: #1 Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot Released: 23 January, 2007 Peak: #1 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend Released: 27 February, 2007 Peak: #1 Rihanna - Umbrella (Feat. Jay-Z) Released: 29 March, 2007 Peak: #1 Linkin Park - What I've Done Released: 2 April, 2007 Peak: #7 Kelly Clarkson - Never Again Released: 24 April, 2007 Peak: #8 Soulja Boy Tell'em - Crank That (Soulja Boy) Released: 2 May, 2007 Peak: #1 Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah Released: 9 May, 2006 Peak: #1 P!nk - Who Knew Released: 18 May, 2006 Peak: #9 Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls Released: 26 May, 2007 Peak: #1 Lil Mama - Lip Gloss Released: 19 June, 2007 Peak: #10 Timbaland - The Way I Are (Feat. D.O.E. & Keri Hilson) Released: 9 July, 2007 Peak: #3 High School Musical Cast - What Time Is It? Released: 17 July, 2007 Peak: #6 Kanye West - Stronger Released: 31 July, 2007 Peak: #1 Jordin Sparks - Tattoo Released: 27 August, 2007 Peak: #8 Alicia Keys - No One Released: 11 September, 2007 Peak: #1 Timbaland - Apologize (Feat. OneRepublic) Released: 17 September, 2007 Peak: #2 Britney Spears - Gimme More Released: 20 September, 2007 Peak: #3 Flo Rida - Low (Feat. T-Pain) Released: 9 October, 2007 Peak: #1 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love Released: 19 October, 2007 Peak: #1

When will your flop fave? Just when we thought that Britney Spears - twotime ex-wife, mother, Las Vegas showgirl and Hollywood starlet - couldn't add more to her plate, she's gone and proved us wrong by adding "political ingenue" to her resumé. For if recent statements by the Israeli Labor Party are anything to go by, Britney's upcoming concert in Tel Aviv has postponed the date of their primary elections. Brit first announced her first concert in Israel a few months ago, when she confirmed her Britney Spears: Piece of Me Vegas show would be hitting the road in places like Japan and The Phillipines. The Tel Aviv concert is set to occur on July 3rd in the city's huge Yarkon Park - which, coincidentally, was the same day set aside for the primaries. The party, the social-democratic HaAvoda group, confirmed the news in a short publicity statement where they refused to mention Britney by name but mentioned the park and the "major event" occurring there on that day. "The election date was delayed by one day due to the fact that there is a major event at Yarkon Park on July 3." Allegedly, the main reason the concert was pushed back was because the Spears concert is intended to pull such huge crows. A recent Rolling Stones gig there drew over 50 000 people, and the park itself can hold up to 100 000; but with so many people on the roads the party was concerned that traffic would be too bad for voters to travel to their polling stations. One things for sure: even with Arnold Schwarznegger as governor and Sonny Bono as mayor, no previous celebrity has been able to postpone an entire election. You better work bitch!

Don your double denim, hatch some Digimon and cornrow your hair - because if new reports are anything to go by, the 90s are officially back. That's right: just weeks after the release of Beauty and the Beast, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears might be collaborating on a brand new song, which means that all your childhood dreams are coming true. To be fair, the only evidence we have of the track are some well-timed social media interactions, but we all know how important those can be in the digital age. Exhibit A: Timbaland likes Justin and Britney couple pics on Instagram Frequent J.T. producer Timbaland, who's worked on songs such as 'SexyBack' and 'Suit & Tie', went on an Instagram liking spree the other day, double tapping more than 100 photos of Justin and Britney together. Most of these were on pages with names such as 'lovejustney' and 'britneyjustinn', which, as well as letting us know just how many people still stan the couple, are interesting because it's clear Timbo was deliberately trolling through tags. Exhibit B: Timbaland was in the studio with Justin at the time The liking spree happened on the same night as Timbo was in the studio with Justin, Pharrell, Danja and Chad Hugo. While Britney has yet to work with Timbaland (despite many rumours to the contrary), she has worked with Pharrell on songs like 'Boys' and Danja on tracks like 'Gimme More'. Exhibit C: Justin's mum is in on it too Justin's mum, Lynn Harless, also got in on the action, liking couple photos and following Britney, her sister Jamie Lynn, her mum Lynne, her ex-husband Kevin Federline and Brit's assistant Felicia on Instagram. Exhibit D: Justin is acting shady on Twitter The weirdest part of all of this is what Justin himself has been doing. He took to Twitter to repost a sub-tweet he made four years ago about Britney, and then minutes later deleted the retweet. The first tweet was originally made in 2013 after reports swirled saying that Justin had called Britney a bitch. Allegedly, he said, "Sometimes in life, you think you found the one. But then one day you find out, that she is just some bitch!" He later took to Twitter to affirm, "Ok. I see you. Wouldn't disrespect ANYONE personally. Ever. #Relax #ItsBritneyBitch I do love that saying though*with accent* #Respect". Justin today RTed this second message, before reversing it just moments later. If true, the track wouldn't be the first the duo have worked on together. Justin wrote on Britney's 2001 song 'What It's Like To Be Me' and her unreleased gem 'She'll Never Be Me', and there's rumours the two worked with Michael Jackson and Madonna on a song called 'We Are Kings'. Following their breakup, the two also shared subliminal diss tracks towards each other, including the famous 'Cry Me A River' and 'Everytime'. In 2007, Timbaland confirmed that he had also discussed working on a Britney song with Justin, but that while he was up for it she had turned the opportunity down. Then, last year Britney casually slipped into an interview that out of all the collaborators she could choose in the world, she would choose Justin. In a red carpet interview, Timberlake responded that he would "absolutely" be down to work with her as well. Timberlake and Spears dated from 1999 - 2002. He's now married to actress Jessica Biel, while Britney has shacked up with 23 year old Sam Asghari, who also appeared in her 'Slumber Party' music video. What are your thoughts? Would a Justin and Britney collab make your childhood fantasies reignite, or would it reek of desperation to see the old flames working together so long after they broke up? Let us know down below!

Not that I really want Britney to lower herself so much to lower with Pitbull, but any new track from her would be good tbh. It's sad that a legend was replaced by the new girl that the music industry is pushing who no one will even remember in a year or two.

Britney Spears debut single, '...Baby One More Time', has officially had it's sixteen year anniversary! The song, first released in 1998, hit #1 in over twenty international charts, and is still performed today on Spears' Britney: Piece of Me Las Vegas residency. She honoured the song on her Twitter today, saying: To celebrate the single's sweet sixteen, we're counting down sixteen moments that made Britney a true icon. 1998: The 'slutty schoolgirl' look takes off Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Britney's status as a sex symbol came early with the release of the '...Baby One More Time' music video, which featured her breaking the rules in high school and triggered a huge amount of sales of low cut school shirts and mens ties. 1999: From one Rolling Stone... The virgin whore archetype was taken to a whole new level with the release of Britney's 1999 Rolling Stone cover, however. Set against a backdrop of pure pink, the cover showed off Spears' body like never before, and let her quip such lines as ""Kids have low self-esteem, and then the peer pressures come and they go into a wrong crowd. That's when all the bad stuff starts happening, drugs and stuff. I think if they find something that keeps them happy — writing, drawing, anything like that — then they'll have confidence." The teletubby doll she's hugging would later sell for over one hundred billion dollars. 2000: ...To another! 2000: Britney in space: 'Oops!...I Did It Again' music video released A loving homage to one of her favourite movies, the 'Oops!...I Did It Again' marked another controversial moment for Britney. Nineteen year old Spears referenced the legendary Titanic in this legendary video as she travelled throughout space in one of the sexiest, silliest outfits ever. The real question is: can she still fit into it? 2000: Timbersnake unleashed Britney and Justin were childhood sweethearts since they starred together on The Mickey Mouse Club, but it wasn't until 2000 when their relationship was officially confirmed. And gosh darnit, were they perfect! They had matching double denim outfits, wrote each other songs, and talked about saving their virginity until marriage for three whole years. And then, in 2003, it all ended. Justin, alleging that Britney had cheated on him, wrote 'Cry Me A River'; and Britney, in response, penned her best song ever, 'Everytime'. Where's that crying emoji? 2001: A snake of another kind Brit's second VMA performance came in 2001 with this amazing number. Not only did she slay with some of the best dancing of her career and a new, even sexier sound, but she brought a whole zoo with her. The Garden of Eden symbolism is going on for days, huntie. 2003: The infamous threeway kiss In her third VMA performance, Britney also enjoyed a threeway kiss with fellow icon Madonna and some other girl named Christopher or something. The struggle for Confessions on a Dancefloor promo was real, but we weren't mad at all: the moment was talked about for months and Britney's image took a huge leap forward. Britney and Christina's alleged rivalry continues to this day, but her and Madonna's flawless duet with 'Me Against The Music' entirely makes up for that. 2004: Britney goes 'Toxic' One of the most expensive music videos ever made at the time of its release, with a budget of one million, 'Toxic' combined a flawless, unique song with some sexy dress ups and some flawless special effects. A little known fact is that the video is actually about Brit taking revenge on a cheating lover - which is what the weird brunette girl in the shower is meant to represent - meaning that the comparisons with 'Womanizer' are very, very real. 2004: A marriage shorter than Kim Kardashian's In one of the best Vegas weddings in history, Britney married her childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004. The marriage lasted an entire 55 hours before Spears seeked an annulment, citing the fact that she "lacked understanding of her actions". Is it weird we kinda believe that? 2004: K-Fed to Fed-Ex Just weeks after Britney's back-up dancer Kevin Federline broke up with his then-pregnant wife Shar Jackson, he managed to woo her with that sexy goatee, seductive fedora and sleazy bad boy "rapping". The couple dated for three months before their engagement, and had quite a large output of material including a reality show, a failed single (Federline's 'Crazy' which remains hilarious to this day) and two children, which are probably the only good things that came out of the entire relationship. Kevin quit rapping, got fat for a while, lost the weight and managed to find another girl to marry (literally, how did he do that?) and still occassionally sees Britney around at their kids soccer matches. How awkward is that? 2006: Inspired by Demi Moore... In 2006, Britney posed nude and pregnant for Harper's Bazaar, drawing comparisons with Demi Moore's famous and often replicated nude photograph for Vanity Fair. Britney looked flawless and natural on the cover, debuting a darker hair shade than she'd ever had before and bragging about her new, happy life. 2007: To make 'Gimme More' But while we knew that Britney had always had a wild side, this was made super apparent with the 2007 release of 'Gimme More'. Even though she originally went to great lengths to film an elaborate music video for the track, complete with Elvis references, a funeral scene and a cat (?), the final version featured just Brit pole dancing with a blonde doppelganger and flashing her pasties to the camera. Although the song was, at first, critically appreciated, things took a turn when Britney performed the song at the VMA's. Her choreography was totally off; her stomach was hanging over her lingerie; her extensions were showing; and her lip syncing was a mess. And yet, this performance launched one of the most amazing albums in history, and Britney's undeniable best. 2007: The blackout begins In one of the most controversial and crazy moments of her career, Britney shaved her head (micro extensions and all) in 2007 at a barbers shop before allegedly getting a tattoo on her bald head. While Brit continues to assure everyone that her activities here were totally normal and that "a lot of people shave their heads", rumours still hang around that the big shave had to do with her avoiding a drug test that required a sample of hair. Blackoutney had officially arrived. 2007: Britney predicts future hits Amidst the release of Blackout, Brit later continued her crazy streak by attacking a papparazzo's car with an umbrella. Weirdly, she had previously been offered Rihanna's 'Umbrella' as a demo to record for her album, which would later go on to blow up as her breakthrough single later in 2008. it was around this time that Sam Lufti and Brit began dating, and rumours started swirling that he would routinely drug her to keep her passive; disconnect her phone so she couldn't call friends; and control her finances and schedule under the guise of manager. The two would later go to court over such allegations, although the court case would be thrown out (but only after some really shocking revelations had been leaked). 2008: Comebackney/Robotney Britney's comeback officially came in late 2008 with the announcement of her single 'Womanizer' and her attendance of the 2008 VMA's. Britney looked as flawless as a wax figure here, with a spot on weave, a flawless tan and an amazing, toned body. However, with this comeback came a new problem: the arrival of Robotney. Limited by a conservatorship and controlled by her parents, Britney seems to have lost some of the spark she originally had in the past few years, relying heavily on scripted answers to questions, a highly controlled social media presence and stage theatrics to distract from her somewhat lacklustre performances. 2012: Britney reclaims her X Factor While it's still a point of controversy among fans, Britney's short stint on the US The X Factor was generally deemed a success. She seemed less stressed and scripted than she had in years, debuted a few truly flawless looks and seemed to be really coming into herself. Sadly, Brit left the show after just one season, with creator Simon Cowell citing a lack of knowledge and a shy personality as the reason for her departure. 2013: Britney: (A Very Small) Piece of Me Started from the bottom now we here! Since late 2013, after the release of her (pretty disappointing if we're honest) album Britney Jean, Britney's been performing five nights a week at a Las Vegas residency, joining greats such as Elvis, Cher and Celine Dion. The show's impeccably crafted, and Britney's debuted some fierce choreography and beautiful throwback costumes during her time there. Her run has already been extended into well into 2015, so there's plenty of time to catch her there in the future. And after that? Who knows! While Britney's talked in the past about potentially retiring from music, she just signed a deal with her record label that should keep her around for another few albums at least. She recently debuted her lingerie line internationally and continues to have a successful perfume career. But whatever happens in the future, it's pretty amazing to know that Britney fans will still have sixteen years of flawless, fun and legendary moments to enjoy. Now excuse me while I break out that old private school uniform. What's your favourite iconic Britney moment? Let us know in the comments section below!

Yesterday, one of the biggest events of the Los Angeles social scene, namely the annual Clive Davis Pre-GRAMMY Party, took place. Presented in association with the Recording Academy, the party is among the most coveted invitations of Grammy week. Past events have featured show-stopping performances from Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Williams. But Clive Davis's party is just one of many that swamp GRAMMY week. Here are some of the celebrities attending them. Undoubtedly, the best-dressed award goes to Demi Lovato who looked absolutely stunning at the Pre-GRAMMY Brunch. The 24-year-old attended the event with Roc Nation. At the same party, we spotted another A-list star - Rihanna, who nailed this amazing outfit. When it comes to male celebs, we have to admit that Pete Wentz looked absolutely gorgeous at the Clive Davis Party. Speaking of male artists, we can't snub Zayn - duh! Princess of Pop, Britney Spears, also made an appearance at the Clive Davis Party. While her outfit was banging and her figure looks amazing (the queen is back!), there was something weird about her make-up. Please, take a moment to appreciate this amazing look Nicole Scherzinger served at the Clive Davis Party as well. There was also Rita Ora. Her look would be perfect, but gurl...you need to take care of these eyebrows ASAP. We also encountered some not-so-good looks this GRAMMY season. Firstly, Lorde in her boring dress. Who wears a dress over a shirt in the 21st century? While she served an amazing look in 2012, this time Jessie J decided to ruin her look with an atrocious outfit. However, her makeup and jewellery was on point. Of course, there's a special place in hell reserved for Halsey who looked very mediocre in her jumpsuit. And yes...she has grills on her teeth... Kris Jenner decided to channel her inner Sia and wore a chandelier. Whose GRAMMY Week look did you like the most? Maybe it didn't make the list. Make sure to post your opinion in the comments below!

2016 has been a great year for pop music, featuring defining releases from several bonafide legends (think Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga), a couple of albums from our more stable hitmakers (such as Tove Lo, Sia and Ariana Grande) and some groundbreaking debuts from total newcomers to the game (like Zayn, Aurora and Petite Meller). The sheer volume of impressive albums from our faves and flops this year has made deciding how to rank each one a difficult task; but after several weeks of consideration we've managed to whittle down our list from several dozen amazing LPs to just the absolute best of the best. Our list below features our top ten favourite albums of the year 2016, ranked from least favourite to most favourite. Check it out below and let us know who we've neglected and who we've misranked in the comments section! When Sia announced last year that she would be releasing an album comprised entirely of demos that she had failed to sell to other artists, fan reactions were a mixture of intrigue, excitement, and disappointment. They had long wanted for Sia's versions of her co-writes on tracks such as Rihanna's 'Diamonds', Britney Spears' 'Perfume' and Beyoncé's 'Pretty Hurts'; but there was concern from some that Sia including songs she'd written for others would create a sense of disassociation and detachment from her own music. The Australian-born singer has for a long time had a certain self-loathing towards the pop songs she writes for others, and when you compare the tracks she now writes such as the Jamaican dancefloor ready 'Cheap Thrills' or the Shakira reject 'Move Your Body' to the masterpieces of her early career such as 'Breathe Me' or 'I'm In Here', you can't help but feel as though she's simply going through the motions without putting any real effort into her latest subjects. Nevertheless, This Is Acting still provides a handful of club ready hooks, some spectacularly catchy choruses and, of course, her trademark husky vocal runs. It may not quite hit the level of amazement that we know Sia's capable of, but This Is Acting still makes for a solid pop album. Zayn Malik's departure from One Direction last year may have shocked fans, but the true shock came this year when he became the first of the boyband's members to release a solo single, the metaphor-drenched ode to sex that was 'Pillowtalk'. Lighting the charts ablaze internationally, the song was a total turning point for Zayn, who had previously complained about his inability to write his own songs, explore new sounds, talk about sex and, weirdly grow facial hair during his time in 1D. And 'Pillowtalk' was only the beginning, with Zayn going all in to release his debut album Mind of Mine several months later. Backed by a consistent slew of heavy R&B beats, a more accessible version of the trippy hazy production popularised by The Weeknd in recent years and some velvety vocals, the album manages to nail the halfway point between pop and personal, allowing an intimate look at the enigmatic singer through a collection of slinky R&B slow jams. The album does tire some during it's second half - after all, eighteen tracks is a lot to get through - but when it's at it's best, as it is with the aforementioned lead single, 'Befour', 'Like I Would' and a handful of others - Mind of Mine is the most promising debut we've had from a popstar in the past few years and a bold step forward for any former boyband member to take. Since blowing into the pop stratosphere back in 2013 with the Hippie Sabotage remix of her debut single 'Habits' (redubbed as 'Stay High' for the single release) Tove Lo has been a pop anomaly: she rarely makes headlines for her personal life, makes pseudo-experimental music and doesn't have any social media presence to speak of but her songs still do surprisingly well and she thus has a healthy relationship with her label. Like Gaga before her, Tove restrains herself from making songs which are too edgy in content by softening the blow with a catchy hook or two and some intricate production work, this time around handled largely by The Struts and Oscar Holter. The end product of her labours is Lady Wood, a loose concept album split into two parts which centre around the highs and lows of a drug hit (and a relationship) respectively. It's not a particularly complicated concept, but it's unique enough to intrigue; and the same can be said for the songs, with the closest we come to real vulnerability coming in the form of 'Flashes', a song which details the conflict between fame and relationships. Nevertheless, there's an honesty which pervades each drug-related confession Tove makes and a lack of repetition in the songs which makes Lady Wood a transformative and enjoyable listen; and it definitely helps that 'Cool Girl' can turn any nightclub into a dancefloor with just one verse. After a somewhat disappointing showing with Don't Look Down, Skylar Grey's 2013 debut release full of angst, trailer trash imagery, rent-a-rappers and white girl hip hop beats, expectations weren't particularly high for Natural Causes, her latest project released in September. But Grey surprised everyone with an understated, tender and vulnerable album which trades in the harsh genre changes and lyrical inconsistencies of her first for an atmospheric concept album loosely (but not strictly) based around the wonders of the natural world. From the vibey introduction track, 'Wilderness', to the cold and sombre 'Come Up For Air' (which may surpass 'Coming Home' as the most beautiful song she's ever written), to the acoustic musings of the Radiohead-esque 'Moving Mountains', Grey continues to find new and unique ways to express herself without ever sounding scattered or confused as she did on her debut. More impressively, she's been able to carve out a new lane for herself and develop a new sound far distanced from the piano ballads she wrote for others, like Rihanna ('Love the Way You Lie') and Christina Aguilera ('Castle Walls'). With Natural Causes, Grey has finally found her unique voice and sound that work for her; now all she needs is for the public to find it as well. Kanye West's latest album went through a plethora of changes since its inception three years ago in 2013, when it still went under the working title So Help Me God. Back then, the album was intended to feature productions by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip and had a new soulful, acoustic sound showcased by the stand-alone singles 'Only One' and 'FourFiveSeconds', both of which featured Paul McCartney; but it wasn't long before SWISH was teased as a title and then WAVES, with each new project title bringing a harder, more classically hip-hop sound than the last. Even after the album was released on February 11th, updates continued to arrive in the form of altered tracklistings, updated productions and even entirely new tracks up until the albums final form in June. Listening to the final product of The Life of Pablo, it's easy to hear the multiple changes in direction that took place throughout the recording process; but rather than detracting from the project as a whole, these inconsistencies instead serve as our only doorway into one of the most creative and genius minds of our time. Whether he's spitting mean bars over the new wave instrumental on 'Feedback', harboring the combined talents of Sia, Frank Ocean and Vic Mensa on 'Wolves' or courting controversy with the Nina Simone sampling 'Famous', West makes sure to keep all the attention squarely on himself - a talent he's since extended to his personal life as well. The Life of Pablo hasn't had any new tracklist changes recently; but even without the monthly updates, the albums spirit of experimentation, recklessness and courage is bound to live on in West's future releases. Gwen Stefani's long-awaited third LP might have had a few false starts - even though 'Baby Don't Lie' goes off, we're still recovering from the misstep that was the Pharrell-assisted 'Spark The Fire' - but when she finally came through for her fans, Gwen gave them everything they'd been waiting for and more. Inspired by her breakup with longtime husband Gavin Rossdale, Gwen threw aside the co-penned tracks that had been written for her by the likes of Charli XCX and Ryn Weaver and instead headed back into the studio to record an entire albums worth of songs over several weeks - this time with each one written by herself and the current pop dream team of Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels. Ultimately, the albums designation as a "breakup album" turned out to be a little inaccurate - Stefani spends much of the time buoying from songs about dirty text messages ('Send Me A Picture') to singing about new love ('Make Me Like You'), and even when she allows a moment to mope, it's often backed by a strong beat and some classically Gwen vocal delivery ('Used To Love You'). But the sound is consistent, effortless and fresh, and most importantly it sounds like a true Gwen album that she, not her label, has helmed. Let's just hope we don't have to wait so long for the popstar to find her voice again for the next one. JoJo's third studio album may have taken over ten years to finally be released (although we did get several albums worth of unreleased songs to hold us over in between), but if Mad Love proved anything it was that she was definitely worth the wait. After a somewhat lukewarm reception to the three singles she released through her C-side Tringle project, JoJo retooled the album from the house-leaning project The Aftermath to the version we ended up with, a fusion of futuristic R&B, house beats and piano ballads; and while she might have originally been known for her cheesy 2000s R&B tracks and vocal-led ballads, JoJo proves here that she can hold her own with the up-tempo girls, bringing some dancefloor ready hooks on tracks like 'Vibe.' and the MNEK-produced fan favourite 'Good Thing.'. She asserts herself further with the sexy, sassy ode to independence 'High Heels.' as well as the drug-induced haze of 'Clovers.': although in truth the album's best moment is when she returns to her roots both musically and lyrically on the stunningly autobiographical opener 'Music.' Fingers crossed that the next album won't be another decade away; but even if JoJo never releases another album again, it's satisfying to know that she's released the album of her dreams, and probably the album of her career, with Mad Love. Following the release of 2014's collaborative album with jazz legend Tony Bennett Cheek To Cheek, and a collection of well-received tributes to Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie and The Sound of Music, Lady Gaga was primed for success with LG5, her mysterious album which was billed as a comeback from 2013's perceived critical failure ARTPOP. Promises were made of collaborations with the likes of Giorgio Moroder and Nile Rodgers, as well as an Elton John feature; the third the duo has recorded that would ultimately go unreleased. But when 'Perfect Illusion', the adrenaline-pumping disco-rock anthem first single was released to little fanfare, all hopes for a dance record were thrown out the window and fans were forced to reevaluate their hopes for the long-awaited record. Ever the shock artist, Gaga threw off Little Monsters even further with the release of promo singles 'Million Reasons' and 'A-Yo', both of which explored a new country vibe, and which would go on to reflect the albums folky atmosphere more accurately. Joanne is not without fault - the short track times and lazy (and frankly nonsensical) songwriting on lines such as "It's like that I've stopped breathing but completely aware" is a turn off, and Gaga's new acting role as a southern belle isn't always completely convincing ('Sinners Prayer''s opening line of "I came down the mountain" is slightly cringeworthy if we're being honest). But at it's greatest moments, such as the heartbreaking chords of 'Angel Down' or during the female empowerment anthem 'Hey Girl' with Florence Welch, it provides us with some of Gaga's best and most unique moments to date. Joanne successfully continues Gaga's tradition as one of music's greatest shapeshifters; now all that remains to be seen is what form she'll take for the next album. A year in music wouldn't be complete without an album from the Princess of Pop herself, and Britney Spears came through in 2016 with one of the best albums of her career. Long gone are the days of the lifeless Autotuneney we heard in 2011's Femme Fatale and the Confuseney (or Confuseyah Marie) we had to sit through in 2013's mess of genres and sounds Britney Jean. For the first time since Blackout, Britney's vocals are at the forefront: she giggles, gasps, moans, screams and shouts all over each track, making for an album which features some of the most interesting vocal performances of the year. She evokes the cold, detached robot persona of Femme Fatale in tracks like the "artsy fartsy" 'Coupure Electrique' (which, in Brit's most experimental move to date, is sung entirely in French): the repressed sex kitten of 'I'm A Slave 4 U' in 'Do You Wanna Come Over?'; the 90s teeny bopper of '...Baby One More Time' in 'Hard To Forget Ya'; and the high-pitched trumpetting of Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel in 'Private Show', a new sound for the reigning queen of Vegas. But the most impressive thing about Glory is Britney's own presence on the album. It's clear to fans that 2016 was the year that she came out of her shell - from swearing off relationships publicly to talking openly about her conservatorship and making more TV and festival appearances than she did for her last two albums combined - and her newfound independence is reflected all over this album. Glory might not be an album without missteps, but it's propelled forward through it's dullest moments by a quintessentially Britney energy: a tangible spark in the popstars eye which hasn't been harnessed since at least 2009's Circus. It might not have ignited the charts, but in the eyes of her fans, Glory has proved that Britney is officially back. We always knew that behind the sugar-coated R&B-pop veneer of perfection she displays in every strand of her ponytail, there was a rebel hiding inside Ariana Grande - and 2016 was the year she proved it. When she wasn't out licking donuts with her boyfriend or calling out Ryan Seacrest live on radio, Grande was promoting her latest effort, the aptly titled Dangerous Woman - and with three singles, six music videos and a plethora of live performances to consume, it's clear that this is the album that she, and her label, are most dedicated to. From the soulful and powerful belting in the title track to the chilled out hip-hop vibes of the Lil Wayne assisted 'Let Me Love You' to the reggae-styled beats of 'Side To Side', a song which is literally about being fucked so hard you can't walk straight, Ariana diversifies her sound here like never before, stepping away from the saccharine tones of her previous singles to explore a darker, more edgy sound. And even on the album's filler tracks, Ariana keeps the transformative tone consistent, making the inspired choice to work with R&B legend Macy Gray on 'Leave Me Lonely' before jumping into the realm of dark-pop with fan favourite 'Touch It'. The vocals and production may still be a little too pitch perfect to suggest any real rebellion, and the fake lashes may prevent us from seeing too deep into her eyes, but the tracks on Dangerous Woman mark a sorely needed step forward for Grande; and mark a solid, cohesive body of work from the most effortless popstar we've seen in years.

This is why I love this girl... Just when I think she's stuck in her same old lip syncing and dance moves, she comes out with something like this or "Rock out with your cocks out!" and surprises everyone.