It’s been three years since Britney Spears last dropped an album. Now she’s back on form with a total new promotion scheme that has definitely made all her fans scream in delight.
It’s here!!! #GloryOutNow https://t.co/UR1JOfwyY0 pic.twitter.com/S50wtEwvaP
— Britney Spears ?? (@britneyspears) August 26, 2016
Glory has become one of her most talked about albums. Especially with the whole music video drama surrounding “Make Me…” which features G-Eazy. This is the only collaboration on the album. Amongst the club bangers and emotional pop song, it’s not all that memorable.
The first single gets better the more you hear it, and on first listen it’s not so bad. The song wasn’t as big of a hit as her previous singles; the varying chart numbers from around the world proves that. Yet listening to the album as a whole, it fits perfectly.
This is a whole different direction for Britney Spears. It shows growth and it shows she’s tackled each and every song; that’s what we really needed.
Glory isn’t just Britney Spears’ new album, it’s more than that; she’s been working on it for a couple of years now, and she cares for it a lot. She wanted everything to be perfect. And if we are totally honest, this is a complete solid album. Both the standard and the deluxe versions take us on a journey; every side of Britney Spears can be heard in this album.
From the outset, the intro track “Invitation” surely invites us into Britney Spears’ new direction. Full of falsettos and high notes, pumping beats and surprising synths; Britney Spears draws us into this album like she never has before.
If anything; this album is well packaged. If you didn’t like any of the previously released songs, which were “Make Me…”, “Private Show”, “Clumsy” and “Do You Wanna Come Over?”, you probably won’t like any of the tracks from this album. This is a whole new direction for Britney Spears and all the tracks have a similar feel. This does not mean every song sounds the same, far from it.
The album shows Britney Spears’ diversity as an artist. Her early albums used to do just that, but ever since Blackout, she has seemed out of touch with every album. Although Britney Jean wasn’t a commercial success, you could hear her coming back to herself. This album changes all that. She’s back and she’s enjoying what she’s doing and she’s having fun with Glory.
My new album is now available in all its Glory. #GloryOutNow https://t.co/GyJGkc2ppt
— Britney Spears ?? (@britneyspears) August 26, 2016
Strong vocals throughout, Britney sounds stunning. Especially on tracks “Love Me Down” and “Just Luv Me”; the latter being one of the first rumoured songs to be on the album. It was once suggested as her first single, yet it sounds too simple and sweet to be anything more than an album track.
If there was a stand-out track “Man on the Moon” would have to be it, because it’s the only weak song; pretty similar to the introduction track “Invitation”, the song has Britney Spears constantly singing in her falsetto. It tunes down the album from the upbeat “Private Show”, mellowing it out and easing us into “Just Luv Me” before bringing out the dance powerhouse song “Clumsy”.
The daring song on the track is totally “Slumber Party”, if you want to hear more of a hip-hop sound as Britney Spears promised, definitely listen to this track. It sides perfectly with first single “Make Me…” but it disappears amongst the other songs, much like “Man on the Moon”.
If you’re looking for something similar to her previous music, you might find what you’re looking for in “Just Like Me”. Lyrically, it’s reminiscent of “Perfume”, although with a different narrative on a total different track. It’s simple with fired up verses and a beaty hook. Yet the defining tracks are the last two tracks on the standard version of Glory.
“Hard to Forget Ya” and “What You Need” is Britney Spears down to a tee. This is classic Britney, revived, respirited and remade. The former brings the whole thing back to her roots, vocals are on point throughout. The verses are 90’s pop revamped; it’s like “…Baby One More Time” all over again. Britney is here, now listen to her sing!
“What You Need” ends the standard version of the album dramatically. This track is literally on fire, from start to end. Vocal changes throughout, she has turned herself into an all-singing female vocal group; we could definitely imagine Fifth Harmony singing this song. Definitely the best way to end the standard album. And to wrap it all up she speaks at the end saying: “That was fun”. Teasing and totally taking us back to her second studio album Oops!… I Did It Again.
But it’s not the end because Britney Spears treats us to an additional five tracks on the deluxe version of Glory. This means there’s 17 tracks on Glory (Deluxe Version), making it Britney Spears’ longest deluxe studio album. However, are these five extra tracks really worth the extra money?
They’re all completely different from one another, showcasing the breadth Britney Spears went to for this album; yet completely spun up with an unsurprising Glory twist so that they all link in with the album as a whole.
“Liar” and “If I’m Dancing” are the club tracks we expect from Britney, nothing new there. Yet they are catchy and alluring, definitely songs we will have on repeat at a later date.
Then there’s “Better”; which feels like it missed out on Nick Jonas’ album Last Year Was Complicated. If there was even a slight chance on a Nick Jonas and Britney Spears one-off collaboration; they should so sing this song. Classy and cool, Britney Spears works the song to a glorious satisfaction.
Times Square ? pic.twitter.com/HC3tlHqN3X
— Its Britney Bitch! (@BritneySpeaus) August 17, 2016
Tracks “Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortes)” and “Compure Électrique” have Britney Spears singing in different languages. The former is a Latin-pop song that feels like it should’ve been released in the early 00’s. Back when Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera was dabbling in it; instead Britney Spears brings it into 2016 with her own Glory spin. The latter part of the title meaning “don’t be gentle”. Sexualised to the max, with Spanish lyrics; Britney Spears introduces Latin-pop to many who probably haven’t heard it before.
If you need a calm down after that, in a different language as well, go and listen to “Compure Électrique” completely in French, meaning “power outage” or “blackout”, it’s definitely haunting. Mysterious and beautiful, yet dark and dank, this is new for Britney Spears, and ends Glory in a relaxed way. Is this really the end of the album?
Well it’s the end of Glory for everyone except the people who have the Japanese edition, which features an additional bonus track called “Mood Ring”.
This album has already been a global success, hitting the charts hard worldwide; and it seems she will definitely be in the running for a top five in the US with Glory, as well as possibly hitting the top spot.
The album is currently sitting at number two on the UK iTunes chart, could she possibly out-sell Frank Ocean’s Blonde to claim her first ever UK number one album? Time will tell.
Her Las Vegas show is not the only thing she will be doing in promotion for this album. She has been confirmed for the MTV’s VMA’s this Sunday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRUP35k4LQA
She has also announced she will be off to London to perform at the Apple Music Festival towards the end of September.
Britney Spears also took part in James Cordon’s Carpool Karaoke, singing classic hits as well as discussing her life and kids.
She is also raising money for the victims of the Louisiana flooding. Offering you a chance to meet her.
What’s your thoughts on Glory? Is it at all what you imagined? Tell us what your favourite song is by tweeting us @CelebMix.