1. "Work Bitch" makes me feel like I could lift a truck. Enough said.
2. "Perfume" is raw and vulnerable. Britney sings to a boyfriend about her jealousy over his ex-girlfriend to whom she fears she’s losing him. She asks herself “am I being paranoid? Am I seeing things? Am I just insecure?” and says in secret “I put on my perfume / I want it all over you / I’m gonna mark my territory.” Jealousy’s a sickening feeling, but I think Britney’s better off here than the poor girl who has to smell Curious and Midnight Fantasy all over Jason Trawick.
3. "Tik Tik Boom" (feat TI) is dancey, sexy pop Britney at her best. She's unfazed as she delivers the unapologetically sexual lyrics over a pounding urban beat. This is a total gym jam. There are plenty of pop artists and songs that shoot for sexy, but I think that Britney’s continued relevance is partly fueled by the fact that she does this effortlessly and much better than most.
4. I think it’s a cool surprise that Jamie Lynn, Zoey101 herself, joins Britney for a happy duet about their friendship and sisterhood on "Chillin' With You." It’s simple and happy.
5. "Passenger." This is the most lyrically beautiful song on the album in my opinion. It’s about finding someone who makes you feel safe enough to let go of control because you know you’re in good hands. She sings in one verse “I wanna see the world with you / Every step feels so brand new.” Then, in what may be the best moment on the album, the song swells and then calms into an echoed “This is living. This is living. This is living.”
I think we fans got our fix of playful, empowering, sexy songs with "Work Bitch," "Body Ache," and and "Tik Tik Boom," but what's more special about Britney Jean is that it's the most personal album she’s given us since 2004’s In The Zone. I’ve been fascinated by Britney’s persona as well as her personal story for almost as long as I’ve been writing my own. I look at her public life like a fictional musical loosely based in reality. I know little about her as a person, but this album seems to have come from a place of motivation and inner peace--more so than 2008's Circus or 2011's Femme Fatale. Britney Jean seems to have come from love, loss, interpersonal connection, and perhaps a new serenity. It’s warming to listen to a Britney album that means that the woman somewhere beneath my favorite persona must be happy.
Oh, and one more thing: happy 32nd birthday, ya old coot! I’ll always be listening.
<3 = :)
