Britney Spears triumphal comeback

Whom do all the tabloids write and all the secular chronicles tell about if not Britney Spears who has become one of the most scandalous show business stars during the last two years. Soon after the release of her last album In The Zone in 2003 the singer announced a break in her musical career and had a family but unfortunately her family life did not go well which caused the sad consequences connected with Britney's personal struggles the whole world knows about. Nevertheless the fans have never left their idol and have been waiting impatiently for the new material. During this period two collections have been released, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative and B In The Mix: The Remixes, and finally this October album Blackout is put out to inaugurate Ms Spears' triumphal comeback to the stage. The general slant of the album is almost aggressively erotic, with only several exceptions – personal tracks on which the singer shares her feelings and reveals her vulnerability. On the whole Blackout is a professionally made pop record and many of its tracks have all the chances to become hits.

Each track on Blackout is an example of studio work

To work on the material for her fifth full-length album Spears has invited some successful producers, including Nate "Danja" Hills, renowned for his work with Nelly Furtado, Freescha and Kara DioGuardi (Kelly Clarkson), and Bloodshy & Avant (hit single Toxic). Due to them each track on Blackout is an example of a studio work full of special effects like echoes, overdubs and various filters combined with faultless beat. The album opens with the single Gimme More, which has already become famous all over the world and provided the general idea of the new album. Composition Piece Of Me, which was even about to be made then title one, pleases with Britney's sultry vocals, and song Break The Ice is really reminiscent of the singer's earlier works, it has all the same sensuality and passion in it. One of the album's best tracks is Heaven On Earth, here Spears' voice sounds especially vivid, besides, the song boasts with a catchy melody and a great musical background. The most impudently frank compositions on Blackout are Get Naked (I Got A Plan), Freakshow and Perfect Lover in which the singer demonstrates her ability to take risks never hiding her fantasies. Track Ooh Ooh Baby least loaded with audio effects is a classic pop, and the album closer is a lyrical song Why Should I Be Sad, where Britney sums up her married life and turns to the listeners in a different image, that of a person surviving a crisis and in need of support.

The singer is prepared for everything

Having completed the course of psychological rehabilitation Britney failed to restore fully her eupathy which resulted into her being deprived of the custody right of her two little sons. Therefore she put all her energy, the anger she has got for the system, for people around, grievance with herself for the weakness into the record Blackout whose name speaks for it. Thus one must by no means consider and more over criticize the album without taking into account the circumstances accompanying its creation. Britney is used to the cameras' objectives pointed at her since the early childhood and she surely is not about to give up that easily. Her first live performance after the break on MTV Video Music Awards has caused an ambiguous reaction of the audience, but the singer has learnt to take calmly the critics, and judging by the new album she is prepared for everything. For now it is worth while hoping that Britney Spears will overcome all her troubles and that Blackout will be followed by new works connected with a lucky life rather than with problems.

Alexandra Zachernovskaya
02.11.2007