This Day in Pop: Britney Spears releases 'Everytime' single in 2004 (May 10)

[PokemonSpears]

On May 10, 2004, Britney Spears released Everytime, the third single off her In the Zone album. Recorded in November 2002, the ballad was co-written between Britney and former backup singer Annet Stamatelatos (now known as Annet Artani). Britney composed the melody, and the production was in charge of Guy Sigsworth.

Everytime went #1 in the UK, Australia, Hungary, Scotland and Ireland, and was Top 5 in almost every other country it charted, including the US Mainstream Top 40, though it only peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

 

The song evokes a feeling of sadness through its lyrics, with which Britney is asking her lover to forgive her "... my weakness caused you pain and this song's my sorry". She also describes the suffering she goes through because of his absence with lyrics such as "I make-believe that you are here; it's the only way that I see clear".

According to Annet in an interview for Muumuse, Britney and her forged a friendship after the Dream Within a Dream Tour ended in the summer of 2002. When she broke up with her boyfriend, she was supported by Britney, who had also gone through a very public breakup a few months prior. "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."

 

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As a result, Spears and Artani began to write together. “I was staying with her in her house in LA for a few weeks…she had a piano in the middle of her house, so, of course, we’d sit around and start writing.”

After spending time in L.A., the two traveled to Lake Como. “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.” From out of these sessions came a song called “Everytime,” a deeply personal, heartbroken ballad that displayed Spears at her weakest and most vulnerable state. “It was a very organic, sad experience, but I think that’s where the truth comes out,” Artani says of the songwriting process.

In October of that year, Britney Spears appeared at the Versace Fashion Show during the Milan Fashion Week. The house Annet mentions is Donatella Versace's, as Britney explained in this interview:

Britney even mentions going back to L.A. to "record a little bit" after the fashion week.

 

In the Muumuse interview, Annet suggests that the song was in a way a response to Justin Timberlake's infamous single Cry Me a River:

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As most people had quickly assumed, “Everytime” was in large part a response to Justin Timberlake’s release of “Cry Me A River” as well as various radio interviews, including a particularly raunchy moment on Hot 97 which Artani cited as an all-too-personal moment on air. “He was talking **** about her at that time on the radio. 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.”

 

However, in an interview for MTV, Britney denied these rumors, which existed even before the song came out, saying "You know, it's funny," she said. "I read that I wrote this song and I wrote these lyrics, and that's not my style. I would never do that."

"Sometimes when I get kind of bored, I come behind here and play the piano. There's a piano in the hotel room, so I was really excited. I don't know what 'C' is or, like, all that, but I do my own thing."

 

In an interview for Hip Online, when describing her involvement in the lyrical content of the album, Britney talked about Everytime and Guy Sigsworth as a producer:

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Well the main thing — like with “Everytime” I wrote the whole thing from scratch on the piano. Musically there was no track or anything. I was just at my house and I did the whole thing by myself. And then I went and I played it for (Guy Sigmouth) [sic] and I just basically told him exactly how I wanted the song to sound. And he was so amazing because there’s a lot of producers you tell them things and they don’t get it. And you’re like oh, that’s not the right way. He got it just right. He was amazing. And so that song specifically, you know, I did everything. But as far as like, you know, the other songs I would go in to the studio and they would play me just a bunch of different tracks. And I would pick a track that I liked. And then I would basically do the melodies and the words and they would do the tracks. And like if I heard sounds here or there,in my head that thought should be there, they would elaborate on. And if they wanted streams here, and more of a baseline here they would do it. So that’s kind of how it worked. But musically, I didn’t do a lot of the tracks. That’s something that I really want to probably learn on the next album. But for the most part I did most of the melody and just the words.

 

 

Britney performed the song several times on television shows, as well as various of her tours. The very first time, was at Saturday Night Live on October 18, 2003.

 

 

 

She's performed it at her Onyx Hotel Tour, the Circus Starring Britney Spears and Britney: Piece of Me.

 

 

 

 

Several remixes were released for the song, including the Hi-Bias Remix, the Valentin Remix, the Above & Beyond's Mix, among others.

 

 

 

In 2018, Britney Spears received the Gold and Platinum songwriting credits award for Work *****, Everytime and Make Me...

 

Last month, we celebrated the anniversary of the David LaChapelle-directed music video for the song, which was released on April 12:

 

[FemmeFataleBrit]

It’s amazing how successful this song was given that at this point, Britney really wasn’t associated with ballads.

[Goten21]

Man, looking at those accomplishments, I’m really sad she got overworked on tour to the point of dropping it all. I always wonder what else she could’ve accomplished had she gotten a fully green light from her label and didn’t feel such immense pressure constantly

[MIKE_INT]

I always thought it is such a was a weird choice for "summer single" and I hope we could turn back time and get "breathe on me" as proper single with **** video ...

[ThisMeowBiteback]

6 hours ago, PokemonSpears said:

But musically, I didn’t do a lot of the tracks. That’s something that I really want to probably learn on the next album

She was really coming into her artistic self on this album  who knows what would have happen musically after In The Zone. I’m thankful for Blackout, but the possibility were endless of her development. Damn you Kevin 

[MeAgainstTheMusic_]

43 minutes ago, Goten21 said:

Man, looking at those accomplishments, I’m really sad she got overworked on tour to the point of dropping it all. I always wonder what else she could’ve accomplished had she gotten a fully green light from her label and didn’t feel such immense pressure constantly

Me too I hate how ITZ ended. I think Britney was broken by 2004 and needed a long break and some therapy. She had been through a very intense 7 years by that point. 

I think we were only just starting to see her proper artistic side come out. I miss when she was heavily involved in her music.

[Stefani]

The song that changed pop music forever.  

[Isla]

One of her best ballads.

[mythology]

Her best ballad to date.  Great lyrically and vocally

[I'mNotTheAverageLady]

Finally, a time when I can be genuinely proud of my country, exquisite taste. Everytime, number 1 in Hungary I used to hear it always everywhere and that was the start of my love for her

[princessmimi]

Her best ballad since Where Are You Now and the best single off of In The Zone!

This song is so touching and heatrbreaking.

To be honest, I didnt like this song when I was younger; 

I thought it was cheesy and boring but once I went through a breakup,

obviously that changed.

And even though this song is about cheating, It still speaks to me 

especially when she says "you're haunting me, I guess I need you baby".

And wow idk that the song was made in 2002!

I guess that why she sounds so sad in it cause it was still fresh.

Overall this is one of her BEST songs in her entire career!

Love it!

[princessmimi]

Oh and also forgot to say that

WOW she looks incredible in the Versace show.

2002 Britney was the most beautiful girl of ALL TIME!

[PokemonSpears]

as a fun fact, the song was originally registered as "Every Time I Try" and then it was also known as "Every Time" 

[Dussiniers]

42 minutes ago, PokemonSpears said:

as a fun fact, the song was originally registered as "Every Time I Try" and then it was also known as "Every Time" 

...and finally as 'Everytime' 

[THE_MIKY]

13 hours ago, FemmeFataleBrit said:

It’s amazing how successful this song was given that at this point, Britney really wasn’t associated with ballads.

She wasn't associated with ballads? Sometimes, Born to make you happy, From the Bottom of My Broken Heart, Lucky, Dont Let Me Be The Last to Know & Im not a girl not yet a woman.

Yeah, she wasn't associated with ballads..

[Frankie8]

21 minutes ago, THE_MIKY said:

She wasn't associated with ballads? Sometimes, Born to make you happy, From the Bottom of My Broken Heart, Lucky, Dont Let Me Be The Last to Know & Im not a girl not yet a woman.

Yeah, she wasn't associated with ballads..

I think what was meant was that up until Everytime, Brit didn't have a hugely successful ballad at least not in the US. Sometimes, BTMYH, and Lucky are not ballads imo. The others weren't successful to any point near Everytime, except FTBOMBH sold a million copies, but had low airplay like NAG and DLMBTLTK which didn't even chart.

[zxcvb]

9 hours ago, ThisMeowBiteback said:

She was really coming into her artistic self on this album  who knows what would have happen musically after In The Zone. I’m thankful for Blackout, but the possibility were endless of her development. Damn you Kevin 

9 hours ago, MeAgainstTheMusic_ said:

Me too I hate how ITZ ended. I think Britney was broken by 2004 and needed a long break and some therapy. She had been through a very intense 7 years by that point. 

I think we were only just starting to see her proper artistic side come out. I miss when she was heavily involved in her music.

As great as her label was for promotion for her, the fact is that they are also responsible for what happened as much as Kevin Federline.  (We already know the media has always been garbage.)

People forget she already had a knee injury in March 2004 even before Outrageous.  The burnout/decline was inevitable, and is also arguably reflected in the Everytime video.

 

[FemmeFataleBrit]

10 hours ago, THE_MIKY said:

She wasn't associated with ballads? Sometimes, Born to make you happy, From the Bottom of My Broken Heart, Lucky, Dont Let Me Be The Last to Know & Im not a girl not yet a woman.

Yeah, she wasn't associated with ballads..

When I said ‘at this time’ I meant that in the In The Zone era, Britney’s image was more about s**, confidence and risk. Releasing a ballad as a single wasn’t exactly ‘the new Britney’ to me but when she did, it was beautiful. 

[THE_MIKY]

In Europe Britney was very well known for Ballads as much as for non ballad singles. Even though her ballads didnt chart as long and high as the other singles, still managed to be on the European Chart, top 5

[Goten21]

13 hours ago, Frankie8 said:

I think what was meant was that up until Everytime, Brit didn't have a hugely successful ballad at least not in the US. Sometimes, BTMYH, and Lucky are not ballads imo. The others weren't successful to any point near Everytime, except FTBOMBH sold a million copies, but had low airplay like NAG and DLMBTLTK which didn't even chart.

NAGNYAW didnt chart because of her radio ban. It had a lot of televised performances during her prime so I doubt it wasn’t at least somewjat known