For Britney fans, the pop star can do no wrong. Over the years, no matter how bad her public image became, Spears has shown that she has "got nine lives," just as she sings in her new song, "How I Roll."
However, it's no longer just Britney's image that needs reincarnation. Her latest album, "Femme Fatale," lacks the variety and vitality of her previous albums.
Each song individually has the potential to be a hit for the artist. However, all 12 songs combined lack the diversity needed to make it strong enough to chart well.
The album goes from one up-tempo electronic song to another. There are few, if any, slower-paced pop songs, unlike some of her previous albums, especially those from the 1990s. This style shows that Spears is trying to change as an artist, but the album is an unfortunate regression.
With every album Spears releases, she sounds more and more auto-tuned, although this could be due to the fact that all of the songs on this album are synthesizer-heavy.
The album's first single, "Hold It Against Me," has done well on the charts since its release; it is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head for days, whether you want it there or not. However, her second single, "Till the World Ends," is not as catchy as Spears probably hoped it would be. Yet another dance song, Spears shows she cannot escape the auto-tuned, synth-drenched music model.
"How I Roll" and "Criminal" seem to be the only songs with a slower and poppier sound to them, as the instrumental in "Criminal" is somewhat
reminiscent of the chorus of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River."
Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments on the album is "Big Fat Bass," written by and featuring will.i.am. With such a big name on the track, more was expected than the same line repeated over and over again. However, the tiresome repetition happens more than in just this one track: Spears simply repeats many of her lines too often.
This tactic is good for making a song catchy and getting it stuck in your head, but it also reduces each track to a mindless dance hit.
And while the album is being touted her best yet by some fans, keen listeners will be left waiting to hear a wider range of sound from the infamous pop icon.
Kristyn Lyncheski can be reached at kristyn.lyncheski@student.shu.edu.
