Britney has some really weird productions when it comes to Mainstream Pop Music.

[Britney Baby]

I'm usually all about indie rock, metal and stuff, but Britney is the only pop star I really vibe with. Most pop music feels so bland and generic, but Britney's stuff is actually interesting. Her productions have always treaded the line between progressive , experimental, cutting-edge and mainstream corporate pop music ... Honestly, she feels like the OG of hyperpop, kinda laying the groundwork for artists like Charli XCX. She is the basis/prototype of a robotic popstar. She kinda paved the way for the hyperpop sound. It's like she mixed the experimental with the mainstream trends, Britney always pushed the envelope and boundaries of pop sound and made it weirder. 

Songs like “Piece of Me” and “Radar” are so cool and weird—mechanical, synthetic, cold, soulless, robotic, and kinda eerie. Only Britney could drop tracks like that and have them smash the Billboard charts. The way the songs are arranged and the way her vocals are overprocessed to death, autotuned, vocoded and stuff, it's very proto-hyperpop to me.

Edited July 26 by Britney Baby

[Kiss my]

Soulless is not a compliment

But the rest is true 

[lucasmeyer]

It doesn't sound soulless at all.

[MissSpearsSaysSo]

Britney is the Pop Star Prototype. She set the bar for the modern era, and no one else has really come close to her level in terms of performance ability and stage presence. She’s incredible. That’s why I firmly believe she’s up there with Michael Jackson, Madonna and Janet. What Britney did fits in so we’ll with what they did. It’s POP.

[lucho pedres]

you forgot that even when her voice is "processed" you still hear her real voice and powerful way to change in diffenrents styles and genres, her voice fits in different way and has that unique matize that make her work in every musical genre.

[MissDebbie]

Which is why it doesn't matter that she is not a strong vocalist like Xtina, her voice is very versatile and is used by producers as another instrument.  

This is what a critic said about her Blackout album.

Reviewers noted the use of Auto-Tune in Spears' voice.^[47][148] Ewing said that Blackout serves as a reminder of how instantly recognizable Spears' vocals are, saying that "treated or untreated: her thin Southern huskiness is one of the defining sounds of 00s pop." He noted that the album "is a masterclass in autotune and vocal treatment as a studio instrument, disrupting and jamming the songs as much as it helps them."

[Micce_InBut Black Out]

28 minutes ago, lucho pedres said:

you forgot that even when her voice is "processed" you still hear her real voice and powerful way to change in diffenrents styles and genres, her voice fits in different way and has that unique matize that make her work in every musical genre.

i swear i want her to approach rock more.

and maybe house music...

[oscar0]

22 hours ago, lucasmeyer said:

It doesn't sound soulless at all.

 

23 hours ago, Kiss my said:

Soulless is not a compliment

But the rest is true 

Piece of Me is deliberately robotic and soulless, which is genius. The song is about how the industry takes away your soul and she sings it in an intriguing mono tone, as if she doesn't care about what she's saying.

[Britney Baby]

On 7/23/2024 at 5:46 AM, Kiss my said:

Soulless is not a compliment

But the rest is true 

 

On 7/23/2024 at 6:31 AM, lucasmeyer said:

It doesn't sound soulless at all.

 

On 7/24/2024 at 4:52 AM, oscar0 said:

 

Piece of Me is deliberately robotic and soulless, which is genius. The song is about how the industry takes away your soul and she sings it in an intriguing mono tone, as if she doesn't care about what she's saying.

Well i meant it as a compliment, i love cold electronic music. 

It definitely sounded cold 

Robotic cold

This song is the opposite of warm, it's very synthetic and cold. 

The way she sings on Piece of Me reminds me of the character GLaDOS from the video game Portal

Or Uffie 

Edited July 26 by Britney Baby

[Britney Baby]

On 7/23/2024 at 3:24 PM, lucho pedres said:

you forgot that even when her voice is "processed" you still hear her real voice and powerful way to change in diffenrents styles and genres, her voice fits in different way and has that unique matize that make her work in every musical genre.

Her vocal tone is gold

Her voice is legendary, it was made for electronic pop music 

It's like she was born to be a popstar, Britney will always be the best popstar of all time

[BritneyWiki]

She is her own genre of music. Cutting edge secksi pop. Truly like no other. Even artists that try to copy her can't. When they come close it's only for a song or two, not for an entire album. Britney has tons of fantastic songs in her catalog.

[Britney Baby]

On 7/23/2024 at 3:39 PM, MissDebbie said:

Which is why it doesn't matter that she is not a strong vocalist like Xtina, her voice is very versatile and is used by producers as another instrument.  

This is what a critic said about her Blackout album.

Reviewers noted the use of Auto-Tune in Spears' voice.^[47][148] Ewing said that Blackout serves as a reminder of how instantly recognizable Spears' vocals are, saying that "treated or untreated: her thin Southern huskiness is one of the defining sounds of 00s pop." He noted that the album "is a masterclass in autotune and vocal treatment as a studio instrument, disrupting and jamming the songs as much as it helps them."

Exactly. They basically mangle her voice like it's some instrument. It's genius to me. 

I’m totally cool with auto-tune. It’s an awesome effect, kinda like adding distortion or wah-wah pedals to guitars. Honestly, I don’t get why some people have a problem with using auto-tune on vocals. To me, the voice is just another instrument, so tweaking and transforming it is all part of the creative process. It's an artistic choice.

 

[Britney Baby]

4 minutes ago, BritneyWiki said:

She is her own genre of music. Cutting edge secksi pop. Truly like no other. Even artists that try to copy her can't. When they come close it's only for a song or two, not for an entire album. Britney has tons of fantastic songs in her catalog.

Yep

She is the blueprint of what it means to be a popstar

[Gypsy Woman]

I'll be the first to say that her music is iconic - personally I like her music more than I like her.

That said, let's not even start with this delusion that Britney is the first mainstream artist to use certain sounds or genres. The difference between an indie and mainstream pop artist is financial backing. That's it.

If you put money behind an artist, then they are considered mainstream, it has nothing to do with how good or bad they are. There are plenty of bad mainstream acts just like there are plenty of amazing indie or non-mainstream acts that don't get credit for what they create - case in point.

If you look closely enough, you would find that Britney's most "experimental" and unique songs are written or produced by indie acts or producers who were working underground. It's all a matter of writing a great song and getting the right A&R team to purchase it for their artists. It's not like Britney is sitting in the studio with these people coming up with these concepts from the ground up.

Funny enough you mention, Piece of Me and Radar. Piece of Me was written by Robyn. Why is Robyn important?

Well, Robyn is a Swedish artist who started her career in the 90's working with producers from the infamous Cheiron studio. Her first big hits were produced by non other than Max Martin. If you listen to some of Robyn's earlier work, it's sonically similar to the sound that Britney came to be known for. Max Martin continued to work with Robyn througout the years and Robyn has remained part of that entire inner circle. It's no surprise she came to work with Bloodshy & Avant (another Swedish producer duo) because again, they're all part of the same music circle. Bloodshy & Avant then came to produce several songs for Britney for In the Zone. Do you think that was a coincidence? No, because Robyn, Bloodyshy & Avant and the team from Cheiron studios are all part of the same teams. So it's no surprise that they've continued to work with Britney and write songs for her, including Piece of Me and Radar - not to mention Toxic.

So yes, Britney definitely has iconic music, but let's give credit where credit is due. Britney is the vehicle for the songs, but the true geniuses are those underground visionaries who actually created these sounds.

[Borja]

She is ******* Britney Spears. A genre on it's own.

 

Edited July 26 by Borja

[Borja]

7 minutes ago, Gypsy Woman said:

I'll be the first to say that her music is iconic - personally I like her music more than I like her.

That said, let's not even start with this delusion that Britney is the first mainstream artist to use certain sounds or genres. The difference between an indie and mainstream pop artist is financial backing. That's it.

If you put money behind an artist, then they are considered mainstream, it has nothing to do with how good or bad they are. There are plenty of bad mainstream acts just like there are plenty of amazing indie or non-mainstream acts that don't get credit for what they create - case in point.

If you look closely enough, you would find that Britney's most "experimental" and unique songs are written or produced by indie acts or producers who were working underground. It's all a matter of writing a great song and getting the right A&R team to purchase it for their artists. It's not like Britney is sitting in the studio with these people coming up with these concepts from the ground up.

Funny enough you mention, Piece of Me and Radar. Piece of Me was written by Robyn. Why is Robyn important?

Well, Robyn is a Swedish artist who started her career in the 90's working with producers from the infamous Cheiron studio. Her first big hits were produced by non other than Max Martin. If you listen to some of Robyn's earlier work, it's sonically similar to the sound that Britney came to be known for. Max Martin continued to work with Robyn througout the years and Robyn has remained part of that entire inner circle. It's no surprise she came to work with Bloodshy & Avant (another Swedish producer duo) because again, they're all part of the same music circle. Bloodshy & Avant then came to produce several songs for Britney for In the Zone. Do you think that was a coincidence? No, because Robyn, Bloodyshy & Avant and the team from Cheiron studios are all part of the same teams. So it's no surprise that they've continued to work with Britney and write songs for her, including Piece of Me and Radar - not to mention Toxic.

So yes, Britney definitely has iconic music, but let's give credit where credit is due. Britney is the vehicle for the songs, but the true geniuses are those underground visionaries who actually created these sounds.

Well, isn't it how music industry works? 

[Gypsy Woman]

4 minutes ago, Borja said:

Well, isn't it how music industry works? 

It is, but the OP is calling Britney the OG as if she's the first, so let's not get it twisted.

Funny enough, Robyn left Jive Records when she tried to go in a more electropop direction so she went to start her own label. Two years later, she writes Piece of Me with Bloodyshy & Avant and Jive then decided to pick it up. Haha!

[Brat]

Yes she always has out of the box production.  Showdown, I Wanna Go, Phonography and Gimmie More are great examples 

[BritneyWiki]

6 hours ago, Gypsy Woman said:

I'll be the first to say that her music is iconic - personally I like her music more than I like her.

That said, let's not even start with this delusion that Britney is the first mainstream artist to use certain sounds or genres. The difference between an indie and mainstream pop artist is financial backing. That's it.

If you put money behind an artist, then they are considered mainstream, it has nothing to do with how good or bad they are. There are plenty of bad mainstream acts just like there are plenty of amazing indie or non-mainstream acts that don't get credit for what they create - case in point.

If you look closely enough, you would find that Britney's most "experimental" and unique songs are written or produced by indie acts or producers who were working underground. It's all a matter of writing a great song and getting the right A&R team to purchase it for their artists. It's not like Britney is sitting in the studio with these people coming up with these concepts from the ground up.

Funny enough you mention, Piece of Me and Radar. Piece of Me was written by Robyn. Why is Robyn important?

Well, Robyn is a Swedish artist who started her career in the 90's working with producers from the infamous Cheiron studio. Her first big hits were produced by non other than Max Martin. If you listen to some of Robyn's earlier work, it's sonically similar to the sound that Britney came to be known for. Max Martin continued to work with Robyn througout the years and Robyn has remained part of that entire inner circle. It's no surprise she came to work with Bloodshy & Avant (another Swedish producer duo) because again, they're all part of the same music circle. Bloodshy & Avant then came to produce several songs for Britney for In the Zone. Do you think that was a coincidence? No, because Robyn, Bloodyshy & Avant and the team from Cheiron studios are all part of the same teams. So it's no surprise that they've continued to work with Britney and write songs for her, including Piece of Me and Radar - not to mention Toxic.

So yes, Britney definitely has iconic music, but let's give credit where credit is due. Britney is the vehicle for the songs, but the true geniuses are those underground visionaries who actually created these sounds.

I know you think that was a very thorough, smart response, but you're missing something huge. If any label could just purchase hit songs and manufacture a young artist to be the "vehicle", there would be a lot more artists of Britney's magnitude wouldn't there be? Britney has the X factor talent, unique voice, dance and performing presence, and even a level of songwriting ability. You're not giving her enough credit for what she added to the equation. SHE is what made those songs a hit.

Many artists have discussed things like this publicly, maybe one artist passed on a particular song and someone else had a number one hit with it instead. It doesn't mean the original artist would have had a number one hit with the same song. It doesn't work like that.