Blackout (Britney Spears album)

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Blackout
Studio album by Britney Spears
Released	October 26, 2007 (2007-10-26) (see release history)
Recorded	November 2006 – August 2007
Genre	Pop, dance-pop, electropop, urban pop
Length	43:39
Label	Jive
Producer	Danja, Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch, Kara DioGuardi, Freescha, Sean Garrett, Fredwreck, The Neptunes, Britney Spears (executive)
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blender link Digital Spy link Entertainment Weekly (B+) link The Guardian link PopMatters (4/10) link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone link Slant Magazine link Yahoo! Music UK link
Britney Spears chronology
B in the Mix: The Remixes (2005) Blackout (2007) Circus (2008)
Singles from Blackout
"Gimme More" Released: September 25, 2007 "Piece of Me" Released: November 27, 2007 "Break the Ice" Released: March 3, 2008

Blackout is the fifth studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. It was released on October 27, 2007, in Australia and Ireland, October 29, 2007, in the UK, and October 30, 2007, worldwide. This was her first album with new material since her 2005 EP Chaotic. It marks the first time Spears is the executive producer of one of her albums. The title of the album was chosen because Blackout is a reference to "blocking out negativity and embracing life fully."^[1] The songs on the album are thematically focused on sex, love and Spears' relationship with the media.

According to the IFPI, the album was number 32 in terms of units shipped worldwide by the end of 2007.^[2] The album won "Album of the Year" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008. The album has sold 2.1 million copies worldwide.^[3] This was Spears' first, and to date, only album to receive a Parental Advisory for use of the word "motherfucker" in "Get Naked."^[4] The sticker was only displayed on the UK, Ireland^[5] and Middle East^{[citation needed]} release of the CD.

Contents 1 Production 2 Release 3 Critical reception 4 Chart and sales performance 5 Track listing 5.1 Bonus tracks 6 Singles 7 Promotion 8 Personnel 8.1 Production 9 Charts and certifications 9.1 End of year charts 10 Awards 10.1 2007 10.2 2008 11 Release history 12 References

[edit] Production

In February 2006, it was reported that Britney was "in the midst of recording her next album," which could possibly be released later that year. According to the People magazine article, Spears said her new music could "reinvigorate the current pop scene," which she said was "boring".^[6] Three months later, Jonathan "J.R." Rotem was quoted as saying that Spears had "up-tempo club songs," and "relationship songs, [...] and everything in between."^[7] Rotem said in September 2006, "Our goal is to try to one-up it," referring to the hits on the radio at the time. "I can tell you there's some dance stuff; there's some slow, more introspective stuff; some club things," the producer said.^[8]

Britney Spears began working with Nate "Danja" Hills while she was pregnant with her second child. Recording began in Las Vegas and continued at Spears's home in Los Angeles.

Spears later revealed in a personal message on her official website that she planned to release her new album before the end of 2007.^[9] After various songs from Blackout's recording sessions were leaked onto the internet, it was announced in August 2007 that the Danja-produced "Gimme More" would be released as the album's first single.^[10]

[edit] Release

The album was released on October 27, 2007, in Australia, October 29, 2007, in the UK, and October 30, 2007, worldwide. The album was released in the U.S., two weeks ahead of its planned release date of November 13, due to numerous unauthorized online leaks, and to prevent any future illegal distribution.^[11] The album had poor promotions because Spears had "other parts of her life that she had to focus on".^[12]

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. Jive Records posted a commercial for the album on its official YouTube page.

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 the "Piece of Me" single themselves using MTV'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.

On November 13, 2007, U.S. store Target released a special edition of Blackout with the bonus track, "Outta This World", a bonus mobile wallpaper, and a ringtone.^[13]

[edit] Critical reception

Initial critical response to Blackout was generally favorable. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 61, based on 24 reviews.^[14] 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."^[15] 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."^[16] 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."^[17] Popjustice also stated the album was "modern sounding, and brilliantly produced."^[18] 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."^[19] Critics have also noted new influences in Spears's music, such as the London-based underground electronic genre dubstep as the main influence for the track "Freakshow".^[20]

This album was ranked at number fifty by Rolling Stone in its annual publication of Top 50 Albums of 2007. In addition, it was also called an "album sure to be remembered as a monument of deranged techno-pop amorality."^[21]

However, there were also negative reviews. Newsday titled its review "Save your money" and called the album "terrible."^[22] Billboard stated "This is still pop, but the last bits of Spears's song-and-dance girl veneer are cracking, along with the rest of her public persona."^[23] 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 [Paris] was practically 'unplugged' compared to this."^[24] PopMatters was unimpressed with the album as well, writing, "Right down to its utterly garish cover, Blackout is utterly disposable and ultimately forgettable."^[25] The New York Times wrote that she "cuts a startlingly low profile on Blackout, and there are times when it scarcely sounds like a Britney Spears album at all. Even when not buried in electronics, her distinctive singing voice sounds unusually vague, and sometimes it's hard to be sure it's hers".^[26] The Hartford Courant was very negative in their review, saying that "there's a lackluster vocal or element of unintentional comedy that makes you wonder how much better Blackout might be as an instrumental club album".^[27] Allan Raible, writing for ABC News, even went so far as to call the album "a waste of your time and an insult to your intelligence".^[28]

[edit] Chart and sales performance

The album sold 124,000 copies on its first day in the US, with sales of 290,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[29] It was supposed to debut on the number one spot but two days before the charts came out a policy changed stating that albums that were sold exclusively at one retailer could now chart on the Billboard 200 which should have taken effect the next week thus allowing Blackout to occupy the number one spot for a week making all of her studio albums debut in the number one position. Blackout also set the record for the biggest-selling digital album debut by a female artist in one week.^[30] As of July, 2009, the album has sold only 967,000 copies in the United States,^[31] becoming her least successful studio album there to date. The album re-entered the chart at #198, selling over 4,600 copies on the week Spears' sixth album, Circus, debuted at number one.^[32] This was her first studio album not to be certified by RIAA.

The album was received equally well in the United Kingdom, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart, her highest debut since her sophomore album Oops!... I Did It Again, which debuted at number two. The album quickly fell out of the top forty, however, it managed to remain in the top seventy-five through continued sales. As a result of the success of the album's singles, "Gimme More", "Piece of Me", and "Break the Ice", the album climbed back into the top forty in its twenty second week of release, with a massive jump of eighteen places from number forty-three to number twenty-five in one week.^[33] The following week, the album climbed another six places and re-entered the top twenty, placing at number nineteen in the chart, and marking its ninth week back in the top forty.

In New Zealand, the album debuted at number eight on the New Zealand Albums Chart, making it, at the time, Spears' highest debuting and charting album since Oops!... I Did It Again in 2000. Although it quickly fell off the chart, it re-entered after the success of "Piece Of Me," and climbed back up to number eleven where it stayed for three weeks. Blackout was certified Gold for sales of over 7,500 after fifteen weeks, and remained on the chart for twenty-one weeks.

The album was also successful in Australia, debuting at number three on the Australian Albums Chart selling 9,987 copies^[34] and has so far reached Platinum status, for shipments of over 70,000 copies.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the album was number 32 in terms of units shipped worldwide by the end of 2007. As of June 2008, there have been 3.1 million digital downloads of the songs and remixes from the album in the United States.^[2] It was ranked at number 50 by Rolling Stone magazine in its publication of the Top 50 albums of 2007.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Gimme More" (Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica) - 4:11
2. "Piece of Me" (Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Klas Åhlund) - 3:32
3. "Radar" (Karlsson, Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Balewa Muhammad, Candice Nelson, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick Smith) - 3:49
4. "Break the Ice" (Araica, Hills, Hilson, Washington) - 3:16
5. "Heaven on Earth" (Nick Huntington, Michael McGroarty, Nicole Morier) - 4:52
6. "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" (Ellis, Araica, Hills) - 4:45
7. "Freakshow" (Spears, Lewis, Smith, Karlsson, Winnberg, Jonback) - 2:55*
8. "Toy Soldier" (Sean Garrett, Karlsson, Winnberg, Magnus Wallbert) - 3:22
9. "Hot as Ice" (Hills, Araica, T-Pain) - 3:17
10. "Ooh Ooh Baby" (Spears, Farid Nassar, DioGuardi, Erick Coomes) - 3:28
11. "Perfect Lover" (Araica, Hills, Hilson, Washington) - 3:02
12. "Why Should I Be Sad" (Pharrell Williams) - 3:10

Source:^[35]

[edit] Bonus tracks

13. "Gimme More" (Junkie XL Dub) (iTunes Bonus) - 4:59
14. "Gimme More" (StoneBridge Dub) (Swiss & Italy iTunes Bonus) - 7:23
15. "Gimme More" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) (Japan Bonus) - 6:06
16. "Gimme More" (Music Video) (iTunes Bonus) - 4:00
17. "Outta This World" (Hills, Araica, Hilson, Washington) (Target and Japan) - 3:44
18. "Get Back" (Hills, Araica, Ellis) (iTunes and Japan) - 3:49
19. "Everybody" (Annie Lennox, Jonathan Rotem, Evan Bogart) (iTunes and Japan) - 3:16

"Everybody" contains samples from the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)".

[edit] Singles

• "Gimme More" was 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. "Gimme More" became Spears' fourth highest peaking single after "Womanizer", "...Baby One More Time", and "Circus", reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Since the release in September 2007, "Gimme More" has been certified Platinum in the U.S.

• "Piece of Me" was released as the second single from the album. The music video was shot on November 27, 2007, at Los Angeles restaurant and night club, Social Hollywood. It debuted at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, mostly due to its digital download sales, and peaked at number 18. It has also reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart, number two in Australia and on the UK Singles Chart, and number five on the Canadian Hot 100.

• "Break the Ice" was officially released for radio airplay in the U.S. on March 3, 2008,^[36] and a promotional CD was released.^[37] The music video for the song premiered on March 12, the first ever of Spears's videos to be fully animated.

[edit] Promotion

Britney Spears opened the 2007 VMA with a performance of "Gimme More" which most considered disappointing and hurtful to her career. Following the performance, Spears herself did no more promotional work for the album. It was reported in March 2008 that Spears would embark on a world tour, but the tour never happened. She didn't perform in the U.S. again until her promotion for her next album Circus on December 2, 2008 during Good Morning America.

Spears eventually embarked on The Circus Starring: Britney Spears tour in March of 2009, which includes performances of six Blackout tracks, and two more used as interludes. The six tracks from "Blackout" that are performed on the tour (in order of which they appear) are: "Piece of Me" "Radar" "Ooh Ooh Baby" "Hot as Ice" "Freakshow" and "Get Naked (I Got A Plan)" A remix of "Gimme More" is used during the Martial Arts Segue part of the show, and audio of "Break the Ice" is used during the Break The Ice Video Interlude.

[edit] Personnel

• Vocals – Britney Spears
• Background vocals – Britney Spears, Corte Ellis, Jim Beanz, Robin "Robyn" Carlsson, Kara DioGuardi, Sean Garrett, Keri Hilson, Windy Wagner, Pharrell, Nicole Morier, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Nate Hills
• Keyboards – Avant, Bloodshy, Fredwreck
• Bass – Klas Alund, Eric Coomes, Henrik Jonback
• Guitar – Eric Coomes, Fredwreck, Henrik Jonback

[edit] Production

Executive Producer: Britney Spears Producers: Nate Hills, Avant, Bloodshy, Sean Garrett, West Furtado, Kara DioGuardi, Freescha, Farid "Fredwreck" Nassar, Ross Davies, The Clutch, The Neptunes Mastering: Tom Coyne Engineers: Jim Carauna, Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young, Duro A&R Executive: Teresa LaBarbera Whites A&R Administration: Nancy Roof A&R Coordination: Jenny Prince Zomba Production Coordination: Cara Hutchinson Clearances: David Schmidt, Kobie "The Quarterback" Brown, Jeff Monachino, Damon "Ellis" Ellis

Photography: Ellen von Unwerth Art Direction and design: Jackie Murphy, Jeri Heiden, Glen Nakasako Stylist: Patti Wilson Makeup: Francesca Tolot Prop stylist: Kirsten Vallow Manicurist: Lisa Jachno

[edit] Charts and certifications

Chart	Country	Provider(s)	Peak position	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australian Albums Chart[38]	Australia	ARIA	3	Platinum[39]	70,000
Austrian Albums Chart[40]	Austria	IFPI Austria	6
Belgium Wallonie Albums Chart[41]	Belgium	IFPI Belgium	6	Gold	15,000
Belgium Flemish Albums Chart[41]			27
Brazilian Albums Chart	Brazil	ABPD	—	Gold[42]	50,000
Canadian Albums Chart[43]	Canada	CRIA	1	Platinum[44]	100,000[45]
Czech Republic Albums Chart[46]	Czech Republic	IFPI Czech Republic	27
Danish Albums Chart[47]	Denmark	IFPI Denmark	6
European Top 100 Albums[48]	Europe	IFPI	1
Finnish Albums Chart[49]	Finland	IFPI Finland	22
French Albums Chart[50]	France	Disque En France	2	Gold[51]	75,000
German Albums Chart[48]	Germany	IFPI Germany	10
Greek International Albums Chart[52]	Greece	IFPI Greece	3
Greek Albums Chart[52]			7
Hungarian Albums Chart[53]	Hungary	MAHASZ	24	Gold[54]	7,500
International Albums Chart	India	IMI	6	Platinum	400,000+
Irish Albums Chart[55]	Ireland	IRMA	1	Platinum[56]	15,000
Italian Albums Chart[57]	Italy	FIMI	6
Japan Oricon Album Chart[58]	Japan	RIAJ	4	Gold[59]	100,000+
Japan Oricon International Album Chart[58]			1
Mexican Albums Chart[60]	Mexico	AMPROFON	2
Mexican International Albums Chart[60]			1
Netherlands Albums Chart[61]	Netherlands	MegaCharts	14
New Zealand Albums Chart[50]	New Zealand	RIANZ	8	Gold[62]	7,500[63]
Norwegian Albums Chart[64]	Norway	IFPI Norway	12
Portuguese Albums Chart[65]	Portugal	AFP	10
Russian Album Chart	Russia		n/a	3× Platinum	60,000 [66]
Spanish Albums Chart[67]	Spain	PROMUSICAE	11
Swedish Albums Chart[68]	Sweden	IFPI Sweden	11
Swiss Albums Charts[69]	Switzerland	IFPI Switzerland	4
UK Albums Chart[48]	United Kingdom	BPI	2	Gold[70]	250,000+
Billboard 200[71]	United States	RIAA	1		967,000+[72]

Chart	Sales/Shipments
Worldwide	2.1 million+[3]

[edit] End of year charts

Year	Country	Chart	Ranking
2007	United States	Billboard 200	138[73]
	Australia	ARIA	56[74]
	Greece	IFPI	41[75]
2008	Australia	ARIA	83[76]
	United States	Billboard 200	85[77]

[edit] Awards

[edit] 2007

Awards ceremony	Award	Results
Billboard Readers' Choice	Album of the Year	Won[78]

[edit] 2008

Awards ceremony	Award	Results
NRJ Music Awards	Best International Album[79]	Won[80]
Hit Music Awards[81]	Best International Album	Won
Imperio Music Awards	Best International Album	Won
MTV Europe Music Awards 2008	Album of the Year	Won

[edit] Release history

Region	Date
Europe	October 26, 2007
Latin America
Australia	October 27, 2007
Philippines	October 28, 2007
United Kingdom	October 29, 2007
United States	October 30, 2007
Brazil
Argentina
Worldwide

[edit] References

Preceded by Carnival Ride by Carrie Underwood

Canadian Albums Chart number-one album November 17, 2007

Succeeded by The Ultimate Hits by Garth Brooks

v • d • e Britney Spears Studio albums ...Baby One More Time (1999) · Oops!... I Did It Again (2000) · Britney (2001) · In the Zone (2003) · Blackout (2007) · Circus (2008) Compilations Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004) · B in the Mix: The Remixes (2005) · Britney Spears: The Singles Collection (2009) EPs Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (2005) Film and television The Mickey Mouse Club · Brave New Girl · Crossroads · How I Met Your Mother · Will & Grace · Britney: For the Record DVDs Time Out with Britney Spears (1999) · Live and More! (2000) · Britney: The Videos (2001) · Live from Las Vegas (2002) · In the Zone (2004) · Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004) · Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (2005) · Britney: For The Record (2008) Tours ...Baby One More Time Tour (1999) · Crazy 2K Tour (2000) · Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000-2001) · Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001-2002) · The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004) · The M+M's Tour (2007) · The Circus Starring: Britney Spears (2009) Related topics Discography · Awards · Videography · Tours · Products · Lynne Spears · Jamie Lynn Spears · Larry Rudolph · Max Martin · Bloodshy & Avant · Danja · Kevin Federline · Jive Records

v • d • e Britney Spears singles ...Baby One More Time "...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 "Oops!... I Did It Again" · "Lucky" · "Stronger" · "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" Britney "I'm a Slave 4 U" · "Overprotected" · "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" · "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" · "Anticipating " · "Boys" In the Zone "Me Against the Music" · "Toxic" · "Everytime" · "Outrageous" Greatest Hits: My Prerogative "My Prerogative" · "Do Somethin'" Britney & Kevin: Chaotic "Someday (I Will Understand)" Blackout "Gimme More" · "Piece of Me" · "Break the Ice" Circus "Womanizer" · "Circus" · "If U Seek Amy" · "Radar" Promotional releases "Chris Cox Megamix" · "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" · "And Then We Kiss (Junkie XL Mix)" Discography