Blackout is the fifth studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. It was released on October 27, 2007 in Australia, October 29 2007 in the UK and October 30,2007 in the U.S., and around the world.
Contents |
Album history
Originally slated to be released on November 13, 2007, the release date was moved up to October 30 2007 due to numerous unauthorized online leaks and illegal downloads of the songs in an attempt to combat song piracy, as well as the success of the lead single, according to the album's record label. There was confusion as to the album's title prior to an official announcement. Spears's website ran a competition for fans to vote for the album's title, however none of those names were used. Several sources, including People Magazine claimed "Piece of Me" was the album's title as well as second single. The album was also put up for pre-sale on some online music merchant's sites under the "Piece of Me" title. On October 5, 2007, a message was posted on Spears's official website confirming that the title of the album is "Blackout". A spokesperson for Jive Records has said that the title and theme of Britney’s fifth studio album "Blackout" is about "blacking out negativity and embracing life." Internet blogger Perez Hilton is being sued by Zomba Label Group for posting at least ten unfinished or complete tracks on his website.[1] On November 13, 2007, U.S. store Target released a special edition of Blackout with the bonus track "Outta This World" and a bonus mobile wallpaper and ringtone.
Promotion
This is the first studio album for which Spears did not do any promotion prior to its release with the exception of her performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. However, Jive posted the commercial for the album, which was in rotation on television, on its official YouTube page.[2] So far, Spears has not made significant promotional effort for the album, however, she has filmed music videos for the singles Gimme More and Piece of Me. In addition to the official "Piece of Me" music video, the "Britney Spears Wants a Piece of You" contest, in which fans could create videos for "Piece of Me" single themselves using MTV.com's Video Remixer, began on November 30, 2007. The winning video aired on TRL on December 20, 2007. MTV, Jive Records, and Spears herself chose the winner.
Critical reception
The album has received generally positive reviews. Digital Spy called it "the most danceable, modern and thrilling album that Spears has ever made, the disc where she finally shakes off the last remnants of her Mickey Mouse Club image".[3] The Guardian stated that "It's a bold, exciting album: the question is whether anyone will be able to hear its contents over the deafening roar of tittle-tattle."Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating and praised the album as "a perfectly serviceable dance album abundant in the kind of bouncy electro elements that buttressed her hottest hits."[4] Popjustice also stated the album was "modern sounding, and brilliantly produced."[5] Rolling Stone went on to give the album three and a half stars out of five and joked that Spears will "continue to crank the best pop booty jams until a social worker cuts off her supply of hits".[6] This album was ranked #50 by Rolling Stone in its annual publication of top 50 albums of 2007. However, there were also negative reviews. Newsday titled its review "Save your money" and called the album "terrible". Billboard stated "This is still pop, but the last bits of Spears' song-and-dance girl veneer are cracking, along with the rest of her public persona."[7] Other reviews noted the overwhelming presence of "studio trickery" had the effect of making her sound like a "Brit Bot". "If a blow-up sex doll could sing, this is what she'd sound like," wrote critic Jim Farber. "In terms of studio trickery, Paris Hilton's album was practically 'unplugged' compared to this."[8] The New York Times panned it calling the album "The electronic beats and bass lines are as thick as Ms. Spears’s voice is thin, and as the album title suggests, the general mood is bracingly unapologetic." [9]
Track listing
- "Gimme More" (Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica) - produced by Danja – 4:11
- "Piece of Me" (Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Klas Åhlund) - produced by Bloodshy & Avant – 3:32
- "Radar" (Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Balewa Muhammad, Candice Nelson, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick J. Que Smith) - produced by Bloodshy & Avant and The Clutch – 3:49
- "Break the Ice" (Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica) - produced by Danja – 3:16
- "Heaven on Earth" (Michael McGroarty, Nick Huntington, Nicole Morier) - produced by Freescha and Kara Dioguardi – 4:52
- "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" (Corte Ellis, Nate Hills, Marcella Araica) - produced by Danja – 4:45
- "Freakshow" (Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick "J.Que" Smith, Britney Spears) - produced by Bloodshy & Avant and The Clutch – 2:55
- "Toy Soldier" (Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Magnus Wallbert, Sean Garrett) - produced by Bloodshy & Avant and Sean Garrett – 3:22
- "Hot as Ice" (T-Pain, Nate Hills, Marcella Araica) - produced by Danja – 3:17
- "Ooh Ooh Baby" (Kara DioGuardi, Farid Nassar, Erick Coomes, Britney Spears) - produced by Fredwreck and Kara Dioguardi – 3:28
- "Perfect Lover" (Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica) - produced by Danja – 3:03
- "Why Should I Be Sad" (Pharrell Williams) - produced by The Neptunes – 3:10
- Bonus Tracks
- "Outta This World" (U.S. Target and Japan Bonus Track)[10] - produced by Danja – 3:44
- "Everybody" 1 (iTunes and Japan Bonus Track)[11][10] - produced by JR Rotem – 3:18
- "Get Back" (iTunes and Japan Bonus Track)[11][10] - produced by Danja – 3:51
- "Gimme More" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) (Japan Bonus Track)[10] – 6:08
- "Gimme More" (Junkie XL Dub) (iTunes International Bonus Track)[12] – 4:59
- "Gimme More" (Stonebridge Dub Mix) (iTunes Switzerland & Italy Bonus Track)[13] – 7:23
1 Contains a sample from The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)."
Singles
- "Gimme More" is the first single from Blackout. Spears performed the song at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on September 9, 2007. It was released earlier to radio stations on August 30, 2007 and as a digital download on iTunes on September 27, 2007. It was successful peaking the top five and the top ten it appeared on. "Gimme More" became Spears' second highest peaking single since "...Baby One More Time," having reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[14]
- "Piece of Me" was released for radio airplays in the US and set as the second single off the album. The music video was shot on November 27, 2007 at Los Angeles restaurant and night club Social Hollywood. The single first appeared on Canada Top 40 at #7. It debuted at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart mostly due to its digital download sales. Since the release of the "Piece of Me" music video, the single has risen to #21. The single debuted at #24 in the Irish Top 40 Singles chart.
Charts and certifications
| Chart | Country | Provider(s) | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentinian Albums Chart[15] | Argentina | CAPIF | 1 | ||
| Australian Albums Chart[16][17] | Australia | ARIA | 3 | Gold[18] | 35,000+ |
| Austrian Albums Chart[19] | Austria | IFPI Austria | 6 | ||
| Belgium Wallonie Album Top 50[20] | Belgium (Wallonie) | IFPI Belgium | 6 | Gold[21] | 15,000+ |
| Brazilian Top 30 CDs Sales[22] | Brazil | Hot100Brasil | 1 | ||
| Canadian Albums Chart[23] | Canada | CRIA | 1 | Platinum[24] | 105,000+ |
| Czech Republic Top 50[25] | Czech Republic | IFPI Czech Republic | 27 | ||
| Denmark Album Top 40[26] | Denmark | IFPI Denmark | 6 | ||
| European Top 100 Albums[27] | Europe | Billboard | 1 | ||
| Finnish Top 40 Album[28] | Finland | IFPI Finland | 22 | ||
| French Albums Chart[29][30] | France | Disque En France | 2 | 43,000+[31] | |
| German Albums Chart[32] | Germany | IFPI Germany | 10 | ||
| Greek Top 50 International Albums[33] | Greece | IFPI Greece | 3 | ||
| Greek Top 50 Greek & International Albums[34] | 7 | ||||
| Ireland Albums Top 75[35] | Ireland | IRMA | 1 | ||
| Italy Album Top 100[36] | Italy | FIMI | 6 | ||
| Japan Oricon Album Chart[37] | Japan | RIAJ | 69,054[38] | ||
| Japan Oricon International Album Chart[39] | 4 | ||||
| Mexican Albums Chart | Mexico | AMPROFON | |||
| Mexican International Albums Chart | 1 | ||||
| Netherlands Album Chart[40] | Netherlands | NVPI | 14 | ||
| New Zealand Album Top 40[41] | New Zealand | RIANZ | 8 | ||
| Norway Top 40[42] | Norway | IFPI Norway | 12 | ||
| Poland Albums Chart[43] | Poland | ZPAV | 24 | ||
| Portugal Album Top 30[44] | Portugal | AFP | 10 | ||
| Spain Album Top 100[45] | Spain | PROMUSICAE | 11 | ||
| Swedish Top 60[46] | Sweden | IFPI Sweden | 11 | ||
| Swiss Album Charts[47] | Switzerland | IFPI Switzerland | 4 | ||
| UK Album Charts[48][49] | United Kingdom | BPI | 2 | Gold | 120,000[50] |
| Billboard 200[51][52][53] | United States | RIAA | 2 | Gold | 665,000[54] |
| United World Chart[55] | World | MediaTraffic | 2 | Gold | 1,513,187[55] |
Awards
2007
| Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard Readers' Choice | Album of The Year | Won[56] |
| Virgin Media Music Awards 2007 | Best Female Performer [57] | TBA |
| Virgin Media Music Awards 2007 | Album of the Year[57] | TBA |
2008
| Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 NRJ Music Awards | Best International Album [58] | TBA |
| 2008 Apelzin Awards | Best Pop Artist [59] | Won |
| 2008 Apelzin Awards | Song of the Year [59] | TBA |
Personnel
- Vocals – Britney Spears
- Background vocals – Corte Ellis, Jim Beanz, Robin "Robyn" Carlsson, Kara DioGuardi, Sean Garrett, Keri Hilson, Britney Spears, Windy Wagner, Pharrell Williams, Nicole Morier, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Nate Hills
- Keyboards – Avant, Bloodshy, Fredwreck
- Bass – Klas Alund, Eric Coomes, Henrik Jonback
- Guitar – Eric Coomes, Fredwreck, Henrik Jonback
Production
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Release dates
Blackout was released in a number of countries during October/November 2007:
Poland: October 25, 2007[60]- Rest of Europe: October 26, 2007[61]
Australia: October 27, 2007[62]
United Kingdom & 
Denmark: October 29, 2007[63]
Worldwide: October 30, 2007[64][65]
Japan: November 14, 2007[66]
References
- ^ Perez Hilton Sued
- ^ Britney Spears Blackout Spot
- ^ Digital Spy album review
- ^ Blackout | Music Review | Entertainment Weekly
- ^ Blackout | Album Review | Pop Justice
- ^ Rolling Stone Positively Reviews Britney's Blackout
- ^ [1]. Billboard. Album Review. Retrieved October 29 2007.
- ^ "Britney 'like a singing blow up doll'". NineMSN. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ^ Blackout | Music Review | The New York Times
- ^ a b c d CD Japan.co.jp (29th October 2007)
- ^ a b iTunes Store - Britney Spears - Blackout
- ^ iTunes International Store
- ^ iTunes Store Schweiz
- ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio."'More' Scores For Britney On Digital, Hot 100 Charts". Billboard. Retrieved on October 3 2007.
- ^ Argentina Album Top 20
- ^ ARIA Chart
- ^ Eagles Long Road Out Of Eden Increases Sales In Australia
- ^ Australian certification Australian Recording Industry Association Retrieved on November, 2007
- ^ Austria Album Top 75
- ^ Belgium Wallonie Album Top 50
- ^ Blgium certification
- ^ Top 30 CDs Sales. Hot100Brasil (3 November 2007 - 9 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
- ^ Canadian Recording Industry Association
- ^ Canadian Recording Industry Association
- ^ Czech Republic Top 50
- ^ Denmark Album Top 40
- ^ Britney Spearheads Hot Eurochart Return
- ^ [2]
- ^ French Album Top 200
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ Greek International IFPI Albums Chart
- ^ Greek IFPI Albums Chart
- ^ Irish Album Top 75
- ^ Italy Album Top 100
- ^ Japan Oricon Album Chart
- ^ Japanese Sales. Oricon. Retrieved on December 7, 2007
- ^ Japan Oricon International Album Chart
- ^ Netherlands Album Chart
- ^ New Zealand Album Top 40
- ^ Norway Top 40
- ^ Poland Album Top 100
- ^ Portugal Album Top 30
- ^ Spain Album Top 100
- ^ Swedish Top 60
- ^ Swiss Album Charts
- ^ UK Album Charts
- ^ Britney Spearheads Hot Euro Chart Return
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedukbrit - ^ Billboard Top 200
- ^ Eagles Fly Past Britney To Debut at No. 1
- ^ [6]
- ^ http://www.thedailychorus.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1199474791&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
- ^ a b Mediatraffic Album Top 40
- ^ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2007/readers/index.html Blackout wins Best Album at the Billboard .com Awards Awards] Billboard.com
- ^ a b Britney Virgin Media Music Awards Virginmedia.com
- ^ [http://www.nrj.fr/music/exclus-nrj/0/nrj-music-awards-c-est-toi-jouer-36597.html Britney Spears’ Blackout Best International Album]
- ^ a b [http://www.apelzin.ru/news/muzykalnye-itogi-2007-goda.html Britney Spears Best Pop Artist]
- ^ Blackout
- ^ SONY BMG - Britney Spears - Diskografie
- ^ Brit's Album to Be Released Early!
- ^ A blackout is coming - Oct 29th!
- ^ mtv
- ^ Britney returns with a brand new album
- ^ bmgjapan.com
External links
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|---|---|
| Studio albums | …Baby One More Time (1999) · Oops!... I Did It Again (2000) · Britney (2001) · In the Zone (2003) · Blackout (2007) · |
| Other albums | Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004) · B in the Mix: The Remixes (2005) |
| Singles | "...Baby One More Time" · "Sometimes" · "(You Drive Me) Crazy" · "Born to Make You Happy" · "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" · "Oops!... I Did It Again" · "Lucky" · "Stronger" · "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" · "I'm a Slave 4 U" · "Overprotected" · "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" · "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" · "Anticipating" · "Boys" · "Me Against the Music" · "Toxic" · "Everytime" · "Outrageous" · "My Prerogative" · "Do Somethin'" · "Someday (I Will Understand)" · "Gimme More" · "Piece of Me" |
| Related topics | Discography · Awards · Videography · Tours · Products · Max Martin · Bloodshy & Avant · Jamie Lynn Spears · Kevin Federline · Crossroads · Jive Records · Unreleased material |
