…It’s been a while.
The last time the Legendary Miss Britney Spears officially released new music was in 2016 with an album called Glory.
Four years and a little bit of, um…#SomethingMorePersonal drama (to say the absolute least), a scrapped Las Vegas residency and a fan-on-fan civil war later, the tireless-to-a-frightening-degree Britney Army sent Glory rocketing back up the (iTunes) charts amid quarantine, resulting in the release of the objectively superior, appropriately glorious and likely very symbolic David LaChapelle cover art in chains (hear my thoughts!), and eventually, the “By Demand” release of Glory Japanese bonus track “Mood Ring” on streaming, which wound up making a Billboard Bubbling Under debut. (Some would say that this should have been done years ago, but…better late than never.)
Now, our fiercely loyal ally, who just sent me and all the fellow retirees At The LGBTQ Community scrambling with a sweet Happy Pride message on Instagram, is doing even more for all of the boys and all of the girls begging to If U Seek Amy by issuing two new uptempo remixes at midnight on Friday (June 26) – by demand, of course. Fan demanded! The enduring legacy of Hilary Duff‘s “Sparks.”
There’s the Ape Drums remix, and then there’s the “Pride Remix,” crafted by Lee Dagger and Marc JB, otherwise known as Bimbo Jones – a summery, club-friendly (remember clubs?) makeover of the moody classic, complete with a previously unheard utterance from B-Girl that offers what is arguably the most gag-inducing line she’s spoken since recording the Old Testament itself, 2007’s “Gimme More.”
“There’s only one bitch: the real one…Britney.”
2007: It’s Britney, bitch.
2020: There’s only one bitch…Britney. pic.twitter.com/J5VT4klgaO— Bradley Stern (@MuuMuse) June 25, 2020
It’s a moment, genuinely, from a pop icon who truthfully hasn’t had one in years. And even though the line was plucked from a discarded take from the original recording sessions (songwriter Jon Asher confirmed it was done specifically for “Mood Ring,” and it was all her idea), it’s still a transcendent experience to hear even a single second of “new” vocals from Indefinite Hiatusney. (That “at dusk” effect on the remix cover art is also a pretty touch.)
Things are very different in 2020 for a multitude of reasons, and all the underlying uncertainty, mythology and mystery surrounding Britney’s down and up (and down and up and down) personal life and professional career remains. For the record (REFERENCE), regardless of whether she’s ready to retire (she’s already given us more than enough), or if she decides to return to music: we all want her happy, and safe, and free, equipped with an inner circle that has her best interest in mind.
At least from what we can see as mere fans looking in from a distance, at this present moment, between her sweet (and safe!) beach trips with her banging boyfriend, her new BANGS, her hilarious and heartfelt call-out to The LGBTQs, her myriad one-woman fashion shows and yoga sessions, casually burning her home gym down, out-sprinting Usain Bolt, and now this unexpected morsel of music, things actually seem to be quite beautiful, silly and (mostly) serene in Britney’s world.
And that just makes me happy to see. I believe that’s somewhere between Dark Blue and Violet on the mood ring color scale…
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