"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000). It was released on March 12, 2001, by Jive Records as the fourth and final single from the album. After meeting with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange in Switzerland, Spears recorded several songs for the album, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know", which she considered one of her favorites on the album. Additional lyrics were written by guitar player Keith Scott and country pop singer Shania Twain. The pop ballad speaks of a woman wanting to hear her boyfriend say that he loves her, and is sonically similar to David Bowie and Iggy Pop's song "China Girl" (1983).
"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who considered it a good break from the album's genre and praised Spears' vocals, comparing them to those of Twain and Stevie Wonder. The song attained moderate commercial success, reaching number one in Romania, and peaking inside the top ten in Austria, Europe and Switzerland, while reaching top twenty positions in many European countries. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was only released for mainstream radio in the United States; therefore, it failed to appear on most major music charts in the country.
An accompanying music video, directed by Herb Ritts, portrays Spears in love scenes with her on-screen boyfriend, played by French model Brice Durand. The singer's real-life boyfriend at the time Justin Timberlake, however, was said to be annoyed at the kissing scenes, while Spears' mother, Lynne, objected to the explicit sexuality of the original cut of the video. Parts of the video were edited before its release to the public on March 2, 2001. As part of promotion for the song, Spears performed it on Total Request Live, Saturday Night Live, and The View. It has also been included on four of her concert tours. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was nominated at 2002 Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Song. Spears has named "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" one of her favorite songs from her career.
Background
In 1999, Britney Spears began work on her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), in Sweden and Switzerland. After meeting with Robert Lange in Switzerland, the singer started to record several songs for the album, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". After finishing the track, Spears revealed in an interview with Billboard that "with the first album, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging. This song is incredible. It's going to surprise people in the best way." During a live concert at Hawaii, included on her second home video release Live and More! (2000), Spears said the song was one of her favorites on Oops!... I Did It Again. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was released on January 17, 2001, as the final single from the album.