other Annet Artani (Annette Stamatelatos) talks about the writing process of Everytime

[kasavas]

found this again and thought it's interesting

[Puppy]

On 3/28/2019 at 6:56 PM, PokemonSpears said:

I only knew a few years ago when this interview resurfaced lol

 

Right? That’s how I knew she was there. I mean Donatella ain’t lying, Britney is WOoF lol

[pop analyst]

On 3/29/2019 at 3:02 AM, kasavas said:

Annette Stamatelatos is actually kind of known in both Greece and Cyprus. We know her as Annet Artani and I just googled to check if she gave any Greek interviews about Britney, and I found out than in her Wikipedia page you can actually read some interesting stuff.

 

While singing as a singer-songwriter in clubs all over New York City, Artani received a phone call from a friend saying that she should audition to be a backing vocalist for Britney Spears. She was called back and informed that she would be on The Rosie O'Donnell Show with Spears and would subsequently be a part of the Dream Within a Dream Tour.^[3] Her interactions with Spears during most of the tour were limited to small conversations at the gym and vocal warm ups. Artani had begun a relationship with the show's musical director during 2002; however, it was not working out well by the end of the tour. Before the last date in Mexico City, Spears called her and asked about the relationship. Artani told her they were going to break up, to which Spears responded, "Don't worry about it, you're going to hang out with me".^[5] Following the end of the tour, Spears and Artani began to forge a friendship. Spears invited Artani to her house in Los Angeles, California. According to Artani, their relationship grew out of their shared romantic experiences at the time. She explained, "Basically, we commiserated because she, at that time, had broken up with Justin [Timberlake]. Maybe like nine months before, but of course it was really fresh in the media. I was just breaking up with this guy, so we kind of like—I think we kind of needed each other." Artani stayed at Spears's house for a few weeks, in which they started writing songs at the piano. Shortly after, they traveled to Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy. Artani added, "It was me and her, her stylist and Felicia, and we had this humongous house to ourselves, and they had a piano there as well".^[5]

According to Artani, "Everytime" was written in large part as a response to "Cry Me a River" as well as various radio interviews. Artani explained, "He was getting personal. Here, she had a different type of image, and he was really exposing some stuff that she probably didn't want out there, and in front of her little sister ... I remember her sister being mortified and her being mortified. I'm sure that that really hurt her."^[5] "Everytime" was recorded at Conway Studios in Los Angeles and mixed at Frou Frou Central in London, England.^[6] "Everytime" was released as a single on May 17, 2004 through Jive Records, and was positively received by critics, who complimented its simple lyrics and the organic feel of the song

 

She eventually decided to leave the US, and in 2004 came to Greece and participated in the Greek version of the Star Academy. She decided to leave the show but her fanbase was already pretty strong at the time. She represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, but she didn't qualify to the final. Then she moved back to the US and wrote "Alive", her biggest hit to date.

I did found some Greek interviews as well. The highlights were that when she auditioned for Britney, it was actually her birthday, September 6th.

She said that she has written many songs, and usually she really pays attention to the vocals, which she didn't do with Britney because "she's more of a show woman".

She had dreams of being in Broadway, but when she was offered to do "Rent" replacing Idina Menzel she couldn't go because she had a contract with Britney.

She's mostly talking about the song as "the song I wrote for Britney"... She said Britney was just a moment in her life and not part of it, that she'd work with her again but if she doesn't, it's the same thing for her.

She said that Britney saw her being moody and asked what's wrong. Right when she told her about her affair, Britney immediately told her that she has to stay with her until they leave Mexico. Then, in New York, Britney didn't wanna leave her. Annet would take Britney out to bars and clubs, even helping her sneak out without her bodyguards noticing her but usually Big Rob would find out and he'd get really angry at them.

They visited Milano and Lake Como for Donatella Versace's fashion show, and in Lake Como they stayed in Gianni's house where they had a great time. After this trip they went to Los Angeles, and wrote the song. First, Annet sat on the piano and started playing. Then Britney sat right next to her and they started writing the song. Annet had a piece of paper and a pen and she'd write down anything they said. They finished the song within an hour. The very next day, Britney recorded a demo of the song and sent it to Larry, and Larry sent it to Guy Sigsworth. Very soon, she visited London to record it.

When asked about what Britney is like as a person, she said she has a good heart, but she's psychologically confused. When every single person depends on you since you're 16, you're going to be somewhat confused. She then says that Britney's breakdown was something she had seen coming and was waiting for. Back then she couldn't get to talk to Britney, so she contacted Felicia, who informed her that Britney won't talk to anyone, "not even her cousin". She said back in 2010 that she thinks her dad is handling it pretty well, keeping Britney away from everyone, and even if they don't get to talk, she's happy she's seeing her getting better and better. Today she's happy for Britney because she's been through a lot.

 

are you Greek?

[Winter _90]

On 3/29/2019 at 2:02 AM, kasavas said:

She said back in 2010 that she thinks her dad is handling it pretty well, keeping Britney away from everyone, and even if they don't get to talk, she's happy she's seeing her getting better and better. Today she's happy for Britney because she's been through a lot.

 

[Winter _90]

On 3/29/2019 at 2:02 AM, kasavas said:

She then says that Britney's breakdown was something she had seen coming and was waiting for. Back then she couldn't get to talk to Britney, so she contacted Felicia, who informed her that Britney won't talk to anyone, "not even her cousin".

 

[Britneylandia]

I would like to know what she means with psychologically confused...

 

[Winter _90]

19 minutes ago, Britneylandia said:

I would like to know what she means with psychologically confused...

 

I think she refers to the people who depended on her professionally and put a lot of pressure on her and she didn't know how to channel this.
I'm almost certain that something happened that traumatized her at the time.

[kasavas]

On 4/13/2020 at 10:06 PM, pop analyst said:

are you Greek?

yes