Oops... I Did It Again
Britney Spears
Sophomore albums can be tough for many artists. They have to prove they still have the magic and talent that sold 5 million copies. The artist either becomes a flash in the pan or in Britney Spear's case debuts in the number one spot on the charts. It was well worth the wait.
In an earlier review of Britney's first album, I was rather cruel to her. What was I supposed to think of a teen, who shows her cleavage and dresses in short skirts, and is called a role model by young girls around the country??? She even has her own line of dolls out!!! But this time around, I saw the video to "Oops!...I did it again" and now it is one of my new guilty pleasures!!! The visual imagery is fantastic (we are on the moon) and it's fun to watch all the choreography (this could be due to the fact Tina Landon was the choreographer, who toured with my goddess Janet Jackson). I am caught/heard singing this song many times.
The rest of this album has way much better lyrics than "Baby One More Time" and might even have meaning to Spear's own life. "What U See (Is What U Get)" is a proclamation to a significant other to appreciate who Britney is, whether she wears too much make-up or if "her dress is too tight."
In the song "Lucky", one of the best tracks, a famous celebrity is "lost in an image, in a dream but there's no one to wake her up." She is called "Lucky" by all her fans but she has an immense amount of loneliness. The basic question the song asks is if she is so "lucky" then why does she cry all the time? Fame is a tough thing to go through and this may be Spears' own experience with being in the public eye all the time.
When I heard Britney was doing a remake of the The Rolling Stone's "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", I laughed. I just couldn't place it. Rock-n-roll and pop sound so different nowadays and I was wondering how bubble gummy Britney's version would be. Well I was blown away!!! Produced by Rodney Jerkins, who's helped make Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston reach the top of the charts, it is seductivley sung and has a great beat. I was getting down. hehehe
Britney Spears continued to suprise me two more ways: She actually co-wrote one of the songs on this album (something hardly any teen pop diva does) and sang a song written by country/pop super star Shania Twain.
Britney's penned "Dear Diary" is a corny song about Britney seeing a boy and wondering if he will notice her and if she should confess her feelings to him. This is not spectacular writing but typical teenage drama.
The Shania Twain written "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know" is the best ballad on the whole album. It pleads for Britney's love to be honest with her and not to let her friends tell her he is breaking up with her. Britney's voice has yearning and passion in it, which is something that was lacking on "Baby One More Time."
Thank you Britney Spears for making a much better album. You do deserve number one.
Grade:B+
