Britney is the third studio album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on October 31, 2001, by Jive Records. Looking to transition from the teen pop styles of her first two studio albums ...Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), Spears began to embrace a significantly more mature sound with Britney.

The record incorporates genres of pop and R&B with influences of EDM and occasionally dips into disco, hip hop, rock, and electronica. Its lyrical themes address the subjects such as coming of age, adulthood, control, and sexuality. Contributions to its production came from a variety of collaborators, including Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. Spears herself assumed a more prominent role in the album's development, co-writing six of its tracks. The album correlated with Spears's feature film Crossroads (2002), in which three tracks from the album were featured.

Britney received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented Spears' musical progression but criticized her increasingly provocative image. The album was a global commercial success and debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 746,000 copies, making Spears the first female artist to have her first three studio albums debut atop the chart, a record she would extend with her fourth studio album In the Zone (2003). The album received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards (2003). With worldwide sales of over 10 million copies, Britney is one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.

Britney produced six singles. "I'm a Slave 4 U", the lead single, reached the top ten in 20 countries. "Overprotected" also achieved international commercial success. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Boys" reached the top ten in several countries but all failed to enter the US Billboard Hot 100, while "Anticipating" was released exclusively in France instead of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll". To further promote the album, Spears embarked on her fourth concert tour, titled Dream Within a Dream Tour, from November 2001 until July 2002.

Recording and production

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| total_length = 43:24

| title12 = When I Found You

| writer12 =

| extra12 = Peter Kvint

| length12 = 3:36

| title13 = What It's Like to Be Me

| writer13 =

| extra13 =

| length13 = 2:50

Notes

  • signifies a vocal producer
  • signifies an additional producer
  • Enhanced CD pressings include an exclusive performance of "Overprotected" with outtake footage from Crossroads.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Britney.

  • John Amatiello – engineering (tracks 2 and 4), engineering assistance (tracks 8 and 10)
  • Dido Armstrong – songwriting (track 4)
  • James Biondolillo – string arrangement (track 6)
  • BossLady – backing vocals (tracks 2 and 10)
  • Sue Ann Carwell – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Andrew Coleman – engineering (tracks 1 and 5)
  • Tyler Collins – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Jaime Duncan – engineering assistance (track 12)
  • Brian Garten – engineering (track 1 and 5)
  • Stephen George – mixing (track 6)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 1 and 5)
  • Brad Gilderman – engineering (track 7)
  • Albert Hall – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Damion Hall – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Nana Hedin – backing vocals (track 10)
  • Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing (tracks 3, 7 and 9)
  • Rodney Jerkins – drum programming (tracks 3 and 9), production (tracks 3, 7 and 9), songwriting (track 3)
  • Richard G. Johnson – engineering assistance (track 12)
  • Jennifer Karr – backing vocals (tracks 3, 6, 9 and 11)
  • Steven Klein – photography
  • Marc Stephen Lee – engineering assistance (track 7)
  • Thomas Lindberg – bass (track 4)
  • Fabian Marasciullo – engineering (tracks 3 and 7), vocal engineering (track 9)
  • Max Martin – backing vocals (track 4), engineering (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10), guitar (track 2), mixing (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10), production (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10)
  • Charles McCrorey – engineering assistance (tracks 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12)
  • Daniel Milazzo – engineering assistance (track 5)
  • Pablo Munguia – engineering (track 12)
  • The Neptunes – instruments (track 1 and 5), production (tracks 1 and 5), songwriting (tracks 1 and 5)
  • Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar (track 4)
  • Jeanette Olsson – backing vocals (tracks 4 and 8)
  • Jeff Pescetto – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Tim Roberts – engineering assistance (tracks 1 and 5)
  • Wade Robson – production (track 12), songwriting (track 12)
  • Nile Rodgers – guitar (track 6)
  • Jason Scheff – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Ryan Smith – engineering assistance (track 1)
  • Britney Spears – conceptualization, songwriting (tracks 3, 6, 8, 9 and 11), vocals (all tracks)
  • Mark Suozzo – string arrangement (track 6)
  • Rich Tapper – engineering assistance (track 11)
  • Jill Tengan – engineering assistance (tracks 3, 6 and 9)
  • Chris Thompson – backing vocals (track 7)
  • Justin Timberlake – backing vocals (track 12), production (track 12), songwriting (track 12), vocal arrangement (track 12)
  • Michael Tucker – engineering (track 2), mixing (track 11)
  • Rami Yacoub – engineering (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10), mixing (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10), production (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10), songwriting (tracks 2, 4, 8 and 10)
  • Yasu – engineering (track 6)

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

! scope="col"| Chart (2001–2002)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

! scope="row"| Argentine Albums (CAPIF)

| 5

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Brazilian Albums (Istoé Rio de Janeiro)

| 6

|-

! scope="row"| Brazilian Albums (Istoé São Paulo)

| 3

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)

| 25

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)

| 2

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)

| 6

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Israeli Albums (IFPI)

| 1

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)

| 4

|-

! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)<br><small>Special limited edition</small>

| 13

|-

! scope="row"| Malaysian Albums (RIM)

| 2

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Polish Albums (ZPAV)

| 3

|-

! scope="row"| Portuguese Albums (AFP)

| 7

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (RIAS)

| 8

|-

! scope="row"| South African Albums (RiSA)

| 3

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|-

! scope="row"

|}

Monthly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

! scope="col"| Chart (2002)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

!scope="row"|South Korean International Albums (RIAK)

| 1

|-

! scope="row"| South Korean International Albums (RIAK)<br><small>Special limited edition</small>

| 3

|-

! scope="row"| Uruguayan Albums (CUD)

| 4

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

! scope="col"| Chart (2001)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)

| 76

|-

! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)

| 75

|-

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

| 97

|-

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)

| 85

|-

! scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

| 29

|-

!scope="row"| European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)

| 90

|-

! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| 51

|-

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 85

|-

! scope="row"| Global Albums (Billboard)

| 5

|-

! scope="row"| South Korean International Albums (MIAK)

| 8

|-

! scope="row"| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)

| 28

|-

! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 48

|-

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 105

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 118

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

! scope="col"| Chart (2002)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)

| 34

|-

! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)

| 21

|-

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

| 36

|-

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)

| 46

|-

! scope="row"|Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)

| 47

|-

! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)

| 97

|-

! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

| 89

|-

!scope="row"| European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)

| 22

|-

! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| 46

|-

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 49

|-

! scope="row"| South Korean International Albums (MIAK)

| 7

|-

! scope="row"|South Korean International Albums (MIAK)

| 80

|-

! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 49

|-

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 79

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 8

|}

Decade-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

! scope="col"| Chart (2000–2009)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 64

|}

Certifications

|-

! scope="row"| Argentina

| November 2, 2001

| rowspan="5"| Enhanced CD

| EMI

|

|-

! scope="row"| France

| November 4, 2001

| Virgin

|

|-

! scope="row"| Germany

| Rough Trade

|

|-

! scope="row"| United Kingdom

| Jive

|

|-

! scope="row"| South Korea

| rowspan="2"| November 6, 2001

| rowspan="2"|

| Rock

|

|-

! scope="row"| Germany

| June 3, 2002

| rowspan="4"| Special limited

| rowspan="4"| CD+DVD

| Rough Trade

|

|-

! scope="row"| South Korea

| June 4, 2002

| Rock

|

|-

! scope="row"| Australia

| June 10, 2002

|

|-

! scope="row"| United States

| December 25, 2007

| Digital download

|

|-

! scope="row"| Various

| March 31, 2023

| Standard

| Vinyl

| Legacy

|

|}

See also

  • Britney Spears discography
  • List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2001
  • List of number-one albums of 2001 (Canada)
  • List of number-one hits of 2001 (Germany)
  • List of best-selling albums by women
  • List of best-selling albums of the 21st century

References

Notes

Citations

  • Britney at Metacritic