music megathread The making of the B7: Was Britney The Femme Fatale?

[BraveNewSeth]

7 hours ago, WaterDiamonds said:

I think it's a little bit of both actually, I'm sure sometimes they had to work with some very rough takes that couldn't be re-cut due to Britney's insane schedule at the time and bc it's clearly that her team's priority was to record new material instead of perfecting the already recorded one, as I mentioned in the thread, but in other cases you can tell they tweaked her voice in a certain way on purpose because the song required it, one of the things that made me love Britney's music when I first started stanning was the fact that they weren't afraid to use her voice as an instrument, distorting it, screwing it, layering it... no matter how robotic or weird she sounded, it was all made in the name of improving the song overall rather than prove that she could sing, and i feel that's the thing a lot of new artists don't understand, oversinging is a REAL issue in the current Pop industry. 

 

I also thought about adding a small section to the post of parts where Britney isn't singing during the Femme Fatale album, but I fear this would ruin certain songs for a lot of fans and just generate cheap controversy and attacks directed towards Britney despite her not being the one to blame. Thank God I thought about it twice and realized that since I noticed those details I just can't enjoy those songs in the way I used to, and I don't want other B-Army's to feel the same way 

I definitely agree that Britney loves to experiment with her voice and push herself vocally in different, unique ways. You could tell on Blackout with songs like Toy Soldier, Hot As Ice, and Piece Of Me that she wanted to experiment more with different vocal styles. I guess it just comes across as organic on Blackout since we know Britney was in complete control then, versus Femme Fatale which is a Team Con creation. It just makes me sad because I feel like if the conservatorship never happened and Britney had complete control over her career post-2007, she would've been at the forefront of the hyperpop trend along with Charli, Sophie, AG, etc. What could've been… :/
 

Also I wouldn't be scared about writing a paragraph or two about which parts on the album Britney isn't singing. I think most Britney stans have already snuffed out the parts that aren't her so it would be more like a confirmation, but I also understand you don't want Britney to get dragged by OBHs so I respect your decision not to talk about it. 

[prézli]

22 hours ago, WaterDiamonds said:

she appeared with short hair that looked like it was chopped with scissors before being fixed for her Candie's photoshoot

Ahh, yeah, I get it why her hair was messy...

 

Edited Sunday at 11:22 PM by prézli

[WaterDiamonds]

7 minutes ago, Jeremiah said:

He said this on a May 2013 interview:

 

Not sure if he was keeping a low profile or his work with Britney at the time wasn't much. When Elijah Blake talked about the Darkchild songs for Britney, it sounded more serious/promising.

Also, this year Joakim Haukaas did an interview (revealing Lil Wayne was originally the feature on "Tik Tik Boom") and mentioned Darkchild was among the producers for the album:

 

 

The entire Britney Jean era desesperates me because after an era whose recording process was full of transparency and we basically knew the 99% of people who were involved in the project the only clues about the project we got were thanks to will interviews and candids leaving of Britney leaving the studio ugh, wonder how much tea you have on it bc i doubt I can find anything interesting 

[Superbitch]

2 hours ago, WaterDiamonds said:

I don't know if I'm mentally prepared to relive what that album did to my psyche and unearth all the horrors it hides...

If you don't wanna make it all public you can DM me. That era is like The biggest mysteries  ever even tho we kinda know what went down. Your threads have been amazing tho. 

Edited Sunday at 11:29 PM by Superbitch

[every1blinks]

Such an interesting backstory and terrible time in Britney's life as her conservatorship was made permanent during this time, especially since the album is so fun and honestly my fave Brit record. I'm conflicted 

[stephen1108]

8 hours ago, WaterDiamonds said:

Honestly, given the nature of this forum and how naive us Britney armies are, I don't know if you're trolling or being dead serious and becoming the world's worst waiter spilling all this hot tea 

 

If you still have a way to contacting the person in question try it bc I would pay some pretty money for them and the fandom deserves more FF material, so you know, if you get any proof or extra info about them my DMs are open for you 

 

Absolutely not trolling sis. I would name them publicly, but I don't want them to get bombarded with messages about it. We were friends from 2009-2015, and have had very minor contact since. I know they didn't have the actual songs because they told me only producers and engineers (in Darkchild's camp at least) got the versions with the artist's vocals. They might have had the writer demos because they shared the reference with me of a JLO track she recorded for LOVE?, and the fans knew of, but never got our hands on. The tea is real! I spoke about this on BMK back in 2010 before and after Femme Fatale came out.

 

3 hours ago, Jeremiah said:

Is your friend Michaela Shiloh?

 

She wrote on Don't Keep Me Waiting and has registered on BMI a song with Darkchild called "Detonator". She has backing vocals on He About To Lose Me, and wrote Glow In The Dark which is HATLM's twin and allegedly meant for Britney too.

 

There's also registered "White T Shirt" by Darkchild and Muni Long. And "Drop It Low" (alt name "T Shirt") by Darkchild and Ina Wroldsen.

Michaela wasn't my friend, but she worked on the songs from what I recall. If she has the reference, she might be willing to share because I know she shared the reference of a JLO song she worked on with some people in the past. 

 

I wouldn't be shocked of the Detonator song registered by DC is Britney's Detonator. I remember it specifically being called "Push My Detonator" by my source.

 

IDK which of the other two "T Shirt" songs could be for Brit, but I do remember they said it had heavy piano keys? Ina worked on HATLM, so I'd imagine it's that one, but Priscilla was also an active songwriter at the time.

 

Edit:

 

https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Search?SearchForm.View_Count=&SearchForm.Main_Search=Title&SearchForm.Main_Search_Text=detonator&SearchForm.Sub_Search=Writer%2FComposer&SearchForm.Sub_Search_Text=Rodney+jerkins&SearchForm.Search_Type=all

 

This probably is Britney's song, but it's missing another writer. 

Edited Monday at 12:24 AM by stephen1108

[stephen1108]

DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THAT B7 TEASER THAT LEAKED IN 2010?

 

It was a photo of an image or presentation from a screen, but it used the "Britney Spears" and "Femme Fatale" official typefont / logo. People wrote it off, until the era was officially unveiled

[Carla Rosón]

IIRC wasn't TTW one of her favorite songs ever? She might not have been in her 100% during the making of this album but I do think she has it in a special place in her heart

[Jay07]

1 hour ago, prézli said:

Ahh, yeah, I get it why her hair was messy...

 

I don't think I've ever seen a promo picture where someone looks more unhappy than this. Literally looking like she's there at gunpoint. I'm surprised Candie's accepted it.

[Scandalous]

love these threads! so fun to revisit the lore from these eras, i'd forgotten all about the Teresa writing camps. I definitely always found it weird how the album title didn't match the songs on the album or even its photoshoot at all - definitely indicates it originally had a darker sound or at least theme. I love the album the way it is (one of my top B albums) but i'm always curious to know what could've been and i wonder if i could've loved it even more if certain other songs made the cut

 

I wonder what B herself thinks about this album and how it turned out. I recently rewatched the tour which was just completely tragic and cheap (especially coming off of Circus  ) and she looked completely soulless during the whole thing.

 

I wonder if she disliked the final product or maybe her heart just wasn't in anything music related at that time. since the Mona Lisa thing it's obvious she's someone who was frustrated when the stuff she worked on didn't make the cut, and it seems like the more original FF concept was more what she wanted to do, and it makes me wonder if they went with the sound she wanted to go for if she would've enjoyed the era more or at least had a bit more of a spark

Edited Monday at 03:09 AM by Scandalous

[Erreur2 La Nature]

I adore Femme Fatale. It's such a perfect pop album, it's light, fun, entertaining, full of bops. I have so many memories associated to that era that I can never forget. The singles were perfect, everything was successful, the videos were amazing, I have nothing to complain about. It's just sad that in the meantime team cship was making the cship permanent and lying to Britney. There's no bad song on it and literally everything could have been used as a single, I still revisit FF often it always puts me in a good mood. And I'm glad Criminal is so popular these days, best song on it 

[pink lightning]

Incredible thread as usual, those are my favorites!

 

I think FF is very underrated and it's still solid to this day and everyone knows how influential it was for the pop scene of that time. For little 14 year old me it was such a fun era to live ever since its first rumors and track title leaks, it's very bittersweet to know truly what was going on behind the scenes.

 

But still very impressive how they went to make the album extremely successful, I wonder if Britney herself ever imagined that the album was going to be 3 top 10 singles and one of the best selling albums of that year.

[Jeremiah]

Just found something kinda interesting @WaterDiamonds But I want to ask on Exhale first, they might know there if it's veridical. Have you ever heard of "Switch You On" and "Antidote"?

[Ger.vaz]

That was such a fun read.

I loved this album!! 
 

 

Someone make something simuliert with She Wolf 

[WaterDiamonds]

3 hours ago, Ger.vaz said:

That was such a fun read.

I loved this album!! 
 

 

Someone make something simuliert with She Wolf 

I know a little about She Wolf, DarkChild also sent material for the album, the songs were called Rain Dance and Make Believe and that's pretty much it, I know for a fact that was the first era Shakira took a seat in writing her own music and allowed other people to send her demos and instrumentals

[WaterDiamonds]

4 hours ago, Jeremiah said:

Just found something kinda interesting @WaterDiamonds But I want to ask on Exhale first, they might know there if it's veridical. Have you ever heard of "Switch You On" and "Antidote"?

I don't know actually? The only Britney related Antidotes I know are the Lisa Greene demo and that fake insider from BH that people somehow believed, no idea about Switch You On. If you want DM before making the BH post cause maybe I can try to help you get more info on them idk 

[Jeremiah]

14 hours ago, WaterDiamonds said:

I don't know actually? The only Britney related Antidotes I know are the Lisa Greene demo and that fake insider from BH that people somehow believed, no idea about Switch You On. If you want DM before making the BH post cause maybe I can try to help you get more info on them idk 

I posted on the "comprehensive list of recorded songs" thread (my go-to for unreleased music but it's mostly just me alone atp lmao).

 

In short, I found an alleged insider in the original Femme Fatale era thread on Pop Justice. I found it interesting because he/she was right about many things. It also reminded me of you because he/she mentions Peter Thea and when the tracklist was definitive. Let me just add his/her posts:

 

Feb 1, 2011:

Quote

A 4-track sample from Spears' new album is already being sent to some big names. The promotion has pretty much changed - Jive has chosen to sent it to blogs and web icons instead of the big vehicles which had never failed to underestimate Britney during the "Circus" era.

 

"Hold It Against Me" starts the ride with the dubstep inspired break and pumping beats that the fans are already used to. But it's only a little part of the surprise, "Antidote", the second track from the sampler, brings new cards to the table when it comes to the pop tart. Taking classes from Ke$ha, Britney showcases her rap/sing abilities alternating distorted vocals - think Daft Punk - in a disco-infused song. Best track from the sampler.

 

"Switch You On" is the typical sexy midtempo. Britney oozes sexuality whispering throughout the verses and ending the chorus with the lyrics: "If I turn the lights off / I wonder if it would switch you o-o-on" suceeded by an unplugged electric guitar.

 

"I I I Wanna Go O O" is, perhaps, the weakest track on the sampler. The typical Dr. Luke bass and Martin's doll-esque vocals makes the song sound like a Sugababes' "About You Now" revival. Not quite there.

Feb 1, 2011:

Quote

Never said, I repeat, never said "I I I Wanna Go O O" was produced by Dr Luke. Only said the the throbbing bass is reminiscent of his past work with other singers. If definitely has Britney's twist to it, no doubt. But it's probably not the second single.

 

And "Switch You On" is a great track but I would say "Antidote" has much more of a hit potential. That was the initial direction of the album - a grimier sound, a dirty version of "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. Enough of giving away the goods. Wait and you'll be pleased.

Feb 3, 2011:

Quote

There is no such track named "Femme Fatale" on the album. Don't believe these rumors.

Feb 3, 2011:

Quote

Sorry, can't give too many details. It's being worked on as we speak and, believe what I say, there's been a frenzy going on at her record company. They're definitely putting a huge effort into this album.

 

I can tell you that Dr Luke and Jomphé are mastering the whole album in order to make it cohesive and true to their initial idea. The tracklist is not finished, but the producers' list may surprise you a little bit. No Rusko - I just read someone hoping he'd get in the final cut. Actually, one of the tracks he offered is being already pitched to an upcoming UK act that came from the X-Factor. No Guy Sigsworth. Mirwais is being considered. B&A have two tracks confirmed - as of yet. Billboard is co-producing a lot of tracks. That's what I can say for now. The wait is going to pay off, that's for sure. Glad get to know your reactions about the cover . don't be decieved, she's a wolf in sheep's clothing

Feb 9, 2011:

Quote

Why are you guys complaining? One of Brit's best album had a lot of producers going on. Who would have thought we would had Moby and The Neptunes in an album and all would work out and fit so well?

 

An album is much more than just picking the best songs. It's all about timing, all about business and all about money. Not the initial budget used on the production and studio renting. It's about the profit, it's about being visionary and think what would be fresh. Luke is coordinating the project and, yes, making the neccessary cuts. It's a hard work but it needs to be done.

 

By the way, "Elevator" is being considered to be on the album. And I just want you guys to know - got a PM asking about the track with Will.I.Am - that I didn't get to listen to it yet. No one did, actually. Only the writing camp and the engineers.

Feb 9, 2011:

Quote

There's been talk about pushing the album's release date up. But the fans were kinda upset and tweeting about it nonstop. Then the label thought it was risky, they were afraid of losing support and, believe me, they know how loyal you Brit fans are. That caused Peter Thea to get hold of her career right now. Peter Thea is the actual responsible for everything, only assisted by Adam Leber. Temporary stuff, but real.

 

There won't be actually any talk about the album officially until the music video. The teasers and the putting-the-whole-album-thing-together are the priorities now.

 

I really can't say anything about the album, producer, or you guys will hold it against me. Since the last time I came here, a lot of stuff happened on the tracklist. "Antidote" - which was confirmed and was even sent for some bloggers - is being discussed again. You DEFINITELY have no idea how much a tracklist goes on and off before the final cut. It's crazy. Anyway, what I can tell is that is going to be a lot of Billboard and some Benny Blanco as the cherry on top.

 

And I really didn't get to see the information on some tracks, so I don't know if Britney co-wrote something. But I don't think I've seen her name on any of them. Actually she's pretty much out of all the frenzy of choosing tracks and post-production. She goes there, does her thing on the studio and that's it. Job done. She's quiet.

Feb 22, 2011:

Quote

Tracklist has been defined today. Case is closed. "Antidote" and "Switch You On" were cut off of the final tracklist in order to give space to the new Will.I.Am tunes. So don't hold it against me. But they're equally - or even more - terrific. Four Billboard tracks that are just jams.

 

You guys are gonna have the tracklist until March, 4th. It needs to be done until that date. They got some huge plans on the sleeve.

 

So, things he/she was right about:

• Four Billboard tracks.
• Two B&A tracks, before even Dr. Luke shared the "How I Roll" snippet.
• When to expect the official tracklist (Britney revealed it on March 3, although it leaked a couple days prior).
• No Rusko, Mirwais or Sigsworth.
• No writing credits from Britney.
• No title track.
• Peter Thea overseeing (I don't know if it was announced anywhere before but as you say, he is basically a no-name and it's interesting he/she knew about him and mentioned him).

My main interest is this alleged 4-track sampler with "Switch You On" and "Antidote". I can't credit him/her for knowing of I Wanna Go (which seems to still have been named I I I Wanna Go O O at the time) because Ryan Seacrest revealed the name during the pre-premiere of HIAM.

 

I just hope someone on Exhale knows something and can confirm or deny their legitimacy.

Edited yesterday at 02:12 AM by Jeremiah

[WaterDiamonds]

5 hours ago, Jeremiah said:

I posted on the "comprehensive list of recorded songs" thread (my go-to for unreleased music but it's mostly just me alone atp lmao).

 

In short, I found an alleged insider in the original Femme Fatale era thread on Pop Justice. I found it interesting because he/she was right about many things. It also reminded me of you because he/she mentions Peter Thea and when the tracklist was definitive. Let me just add his/her posts:

 

Feb 1, 2011:

Feb 1, 2011:

Feb 3, 2011:

Feb 3, 2011:

Feb 9, 2011:

Feb 9, 2011:

Feb 22, 2011:

 

So, things he/she was right about:

• Four Billboard tracks.
• Two B&A tracks, before even Dr. Luke shared the "How I Roll" snippet.
• When to expect the official tracklist (Britney revealed it on March 3, although it leaked a couple days prior).
• No Rusko, Mirwais or Sigsworth.
• No writing credits from Britney.
• No title track.
• Peter Thea overseeing (I don't know if it was announced anywhere before but as you say, he is basically a no-name and it's interesting he/she knew about him and mentioned him).

My main interest is this alleged 4-track sampler with "Switch You On" and "Antidote". I can't credit him/her for knowing of I Wanna Go (which seems to still have been named I I I Wanna Go O O at the time) because Ryan Seacrest revealed the name during the pre-premiere of HIAM.

 

I just hope someone on Exhale knows something and can confirm or deny their legitimacy.

Haha, idk why it reminded it of me when I was far too young to be on forums during the FF era. He also got a thing or two more right, saying Benny had 2 tracks on the album. Also idk if with the UK act they referred to Pixie Lott bc What Do You Take Me For is a reworked Britney reject that Rusko did for her.

 

I fear they might have some actual info + mixed it up with bullshit to hype up the fans at the time, it's sadly a common thing in this fandom... 

 

He was also right about Peter Thea being temporary bc by Ooh La La her assigned A&R was Rani Hancock which remained there for the whole BJ era and a little more time after, but he's on the HIAM credits so he might have gotten his name out of it.

 

Also wonder if you saw this, I'd look into it myself but I suck at going through old forum archives bc I always stop and read every message

https://atrl.net/forums/topic/491311-the-making-of-the-b7-was-britney-the-femme-fatale/?do=findComment&comment=26844003

[NI-CK]

such an interesting and insightful read. Femme Fatale remains my personal favorite since I have so many memories attached to it. that album was the soundtrack of the predrinks for my first gay parties and the Pride events I went to. at that time, the whole era seemed like a fully planned out album campaign from the outside. kind of shocking to read what actually went on behind the scenes. but to be honest, everyone involved in the process made the album work. even the Femme Fatale concept works to me as it captures the blonde bombshell aesthetics, which also feels right with the cold, but sensual sound of the album. Britney excels in this kind of electro pop. only bummer is the album cover, I use an alternative one based on the HIAM single cover.

[MaxMartin]

10 hours ago, Jeremiah said:

"I I I Wanna Go O O" is, perhaps, the weakest track on the sampler.

what on earth 

[Jeremiah]

15 hours ago, WaterDiamonds said:

Haha, idk why it reminded it of me when I was far too young to be on forums during the FF era. He also got a thing or two more right, saying Benny had 2 tracks on the album. Also idk if with the UK act they referred to Pixie Lott bc What Do You Take Me For is a reworked Britney reject that Rusko did for her.

 

I fear they might have some actual info + mixed it up with bullshit to hype up the fans at the time, it's sadly a common thing in this fandom... 

 

He was also right about Peter Thea being temporary bc by Ooh La La her assigned A&R was Rani Hancock which remained there for the whole BJ era and a little more time after, but he's on the HIAM credits so he might have gotten his name out of it.

 

Also wonder if you saw this, I'd look into it myself but I suck at going through old forum archives bc I always stop and read every message

https://atrl.net/forums/topic/491311-the-making-of-the-b7-was-britney-the-femme-fatale/?do=findComment&comment=26844003

It reminded me of you because of you dragging Peter Thea on the OP and because we were just discussing about the tracklist still not being chosen yet in February.

 

I just looked up the back cover of HIAM's single CD and I don't see Thea mentioned  I'm believing more and more tbh

 

And I don't know about what @stephen1108 is mentioning, but it's so nice to have people who lived closely the era and remember cool stuff.

[WaterDiamonds]

33 minutes ago, Jeremiah said:

It reminded me of you because of you dragging Peter Thea on the OP and because we were just discussing about the tracklist still not being chosen yet in February.

 

I just looked up the back cover of HIAM's single CD and I don't see Thea mentioned  I'm believing more and more tbh

 

And I don't know about what @stephen1108 is mentioning, but it's so nice to have people who lived closely the era and remember cool stuff.

Just checked out my own HIAM single CD and you're right... Larry and Adam are credited but not Peter, it must've been deja vu or got it mixed up from the TTWE CD, damn, that actually adds a lot of credibility to them, but I might look if there's any report or tweet of him being announced as part of the project by February.

 

Saw you on BH on the thread as well! Not disclosing my BH account tho, I'm just a girl... in the shadow real... just keeping it... anonymous (Lord this sounded so stalker-ish, ew)