It’s Blackout, Bitch: Britney Is Back
October 28th, 2007Public image is vital to pop stars, but few stars have been so inextricably tied to their image as Britney Spears. Think back to “…Baby One More Time” — it has an indelible hook. Every one of Britney’s hits had an accompanying image, as she relied on her carefully sculpted sexpot-next-door persona as much as she did on her records, but what happens when the image turns sour, as it certainly did for Britney in the years following the release of In the Zone?
Emotionally, this isn’t a progression from In the Zone, but it is a cannily contemporary dance album, sounding nearly as fresh as Rihanna and JT, even if it’s hardly as trend-setting as either. Those producers turn Blackout into a sleek, shiny collection of 12 guiltily addictive dance tracks where the only weak link is Britney herself.
Blackout is state-of-the-art dance-pop, a testament to the skills of the producers and perhaps even Britney being somehow cognizant enough to realize she should hire the best, even if she’s not at her best.
