Britney Spears released a never-heard song over the weekend titled "She'll Never Be Me," originally recorded for her third studio album, Britney, released in 2001. The track was written with her then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
The song also features Bradley Diamond of NSYNC and Alex Greggs, who has worked with NSYNC and Paris Hilton, with production credited to Riprock and Alex G.
In the track, Spears sings about a former boyfriend whose new girlfriend looks just like her, from her blond hair to her carefully chosen clothes:
"You know I'm one of a kind/Boy, what's this I see/Your girl, she looks just like me/Blond hair and dressed to a T/You tell me how can this be/Does she know I was the one/Who used to turn you on/But you don't want to talk about it."
The chorus reinforces the message, with Spears declaring that she is one of a kind and suggesting that her former partner remains trapped in memories of their romance:
"You know I'm one of a kind/There'll never be another me/Can't get me out of your mind/You're lost in your own fantasy/And when you look in my eyes\Is it hard for you to realize/She'll never be me."
The song will appear on the 25th anniversary edition of Britney, scheduled for release on November 6. The expanded edition will feature 25 tracks, including the hits "I'm a Slave 4 U," "Overprotected," "Lonely" and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." It will also include previously unreleased songs such as "Am I a Sinner," "When I Say So" and "My Big Secret," the latter produced by The Neptunes.
When Britney was originally released, it marked a more mature musical direction for the then-19-year-old singer, following her first two albums, "Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again." The album also featured another collaboration with Timberlake, "What It's Like to Be Me," which the two wrote and produced together. The track closed the original album.
A relationship that dominated pop culture
Spears and Timberlake began dating in 1999 and separated in March 2002. Following their breakup, Timberlake released "Cry Me a River," widely interpreted as a revenge song directed at Spears. Its music video featured a Spears lookalike, while the lyrics told the story of a man refusing to take back a former girlfriend after discovering she had cheated on him.
Spears, now 44, has not commented publicly on the newly released song on her social media accounts. However, a September 30 post on her Facebook page promised that "more surprises" would arrive each week leading up to the anniversary album's November release.
Britney Soears says she will not return to live performances
(Photo: Mario Anzuoni/File/ Reuters)
The Timberlake collaboration is Spears' first release of previously unheard material, albeit recorded in the early 2000s, since "Mind Your Business," her 2023 collaboration with will.i.am, and "Hold Me Closer," recorded with Elton John in 2022. Her most recent studio album featuring new material, Glory, was released in 2016.
No plans for a return to the stage
Despite the release, Spears has repeatedly indicated that she has no intention of returning to live performances. In January, she declared that she would "never perform in the United States again," more than seven years after completing her Piece of Me world tour.
Her last live performance took place on October 21, 2018, in Austin, Texas. In 2024, Spears also said she would "never return to the music industry."