THANK YOU LORD!!! Purplegypsy

Review: Spears' 'In the Zone' Insipid
Mon Nov 17, 6:52 PM ET

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

It happens to all Barbies at some point. The little girls who once idolized them grow up and lose interest, leaving them on the shelf as a reminder of quaint, pre-teen days gone by.

Seeking to avoid that fate with her fourth album, "In the Zone," Britney Spears (news) is now in search of a new, edgier identity. But while trying to recapture fans who have moved on to newer, edgier pop stars — Pink, Avril Lavigne (news), even ex Justin Timberlake (news) — Spears ends up sounding more juvenile than ever.


The former Queen of Teen Pop, who on her last album reminded us that she was "not a girl, not yet a woman," is going out of her way to show us she's all grown up. We've seen the 21-year-old Spears undressed so often, it's become shocking to see a clothed Britney.


Add her lip-lock with Madonna (news - web sites), cigarette smoking and tales of wild party escapades, and the former Mousekeeter seems to have turned into a Girl Gone Buck Wild.


"In the Zone," being released Tuesday by Jive Records, is a celebration of her newfound freedom and debauchery, with Spears sounding like a college freshman who's just discovered the party house on sorority row.


"Passed out on the couch and yawnin', just walked in and it's three in the mornin'" she coos on "Early Mornin'," while on "(I Got That) Boom Boom," the Ying Yang Twins shout, "We fixin' to go to the club to get crunked with Britney!"


Too bad it's not as fun listening to this album as making it.


Though there are a few entertaining parts, the majority of the disc is pretty insipid. That's not any different from any other Britney album, but with all the heavy hitters involved — including R. Kelly, Moby and Madonna — this time the disappointment is more of a surprise.


Part of the reason why the album fails is because for all her proclamations about being an adult, Spears still sounds like she hasn't grown up very much — emotionally, vocally and most importantly, artistically.


There are great, sensual, driving dance beats that pick up where 2001's "I'm a Slave 4 U," left off. But it's hard to get into the any of those grooves with Spears singing — or more accurately, whispering — like a little girl trying to act sexy. While Spears may not be the most talented singer, she still has some semblance of a voice, and comes off stronger when she tries to use it, like on the entrancing "Toxic" with its catchy string arrangement.


Instead, she resorts to moaning and heavy breathing on the bump-and-grind trance grooves "Breathe on Me" and "Touch of My Hand," a tender love story between a girl and her hand. The end result sounds artificial and forced.


But it's not always Spears' fault when the songs go bad. The R. Kelly-penned song "Outrageous" is outrageously silly. "Outrageous! My sex drive! Outrageous! My shopping spree! Outrageous! We're on a world tour!" Spears warbles, sounding like a "Saturday Night Live (news - Y! TV)" parody, or maybe the theme song for Paris Hilton.


And Spears and Madonna generated more heat smooching on the MTV Awards than they do on the vapid "Me Against the Music," proving that simply throwing two superstars together isn't enough to make a hit.


There's also a sappy ballad, "Everytime," which is only worthwhile listening for tabloid fans playing pop psychologist, trying to discern if it's the epilogue of her much-dissected breakup with Timberlake.


Making the transition from teen star to adult performer is always a tricky adjustment, and plenty of singers have stumbled along the way — we need only look back to Christina Aguilera (news)'s embarrassing peep video "Dirrty" to be reminded of that.


But Spears seems unable to make the leap from child's play to adult fare. She seems stuck in Barbie mode, unable to morph into a three-dimensional artist with anything more to offer than pretty poses.

From USA Today:

On In the Zone (* * stars out of four), Britney Spears (news), who turns 22 in December, strives to present a more adult image, in every connotation that word suggests. With its breathy vocals, sinuous electro-pop arrangements and frankly sexual topics, the album could be Spears' answer to Madonna (news - web sites)'s carnal manifesto Erotica. The elder icon even turns up on the funky but forgettable Me Against the Music(Related item: Listen to a clip from In the Zone).


But Spears' self-styled maturity is that of a young woman who has come of age in a plastic bubble, aware that she is always on display. Madonna may have catered to voyeuristic fantasies, but her ultimate message has been one of self-fulfillment. Spears has been so conditioned to tease and please others that she seems unable to distinguish between titillation and genuine desire. Purring and moaning through overheated numbers such as Breathe on Me and Early Mornin', she still sounds creepily like a little girl trying to excite the older boys. -Elysa Gardner

i like your view of the album. sounds right on it to me.

i not only think she is just a stripper gone famous, but she is still very much a little girl that is so marketed and made up that she no longer has any sense or hint of artistic talent or freedom.

she is trying to do what Madonna did but is failing in difference because madonna was true to her being and truely was expressing herself.


yea the country just likes the blonde bombshell no matter whether they can sing or not.



sad but true. have a body and show it your famous.

purplegypsy said:

"We fixin' to go to the club to get crunked with Britney!"


What’s more pathedic, a white pop star trying to prove she’s “down” or the cats on her record talking like she’s someone they would really hang with?

If u look at all that Britney is doing 2 promote this album, it's as if she's desperate. The Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, all the specials on MTV and sudden appearances elsewhere... Please! If Britney is really all that popular and so powerful in the pathetic world of pop music, she shouldn't need all this exposure just 2 sell records. Seems 2 me the artists with REAL talent are the ones who could care less about mainstream exposure. Makes me even more proud 2 be a Prince fam!

paisley2002 said:

puh-lease. when prince has material coming out he tries to get publicity. unfortunately, no one cares what he's doing. i'm just being honest, so don't get upset. every pop star isall over the place when something new of theirs comes out. look at madonna (childrens books, cds, tours, she promotes the hell out of them all), janet, michael, cher...all pop stars do this. its simple promotion. britney is no dummy. she realizes what kind of importance this holds on her career. saturating the market is the smartest thing to do.

we see where prince's previous silence ultimately got him.

That song with the Ying Yang twins is terrible and the Madonna song is nothing great either. Frankly, if she ever releases "Breathe On Me" as a single, I might just buy that as it is the only song that I really found myself digging of hers. While I'm not getting the CD and have to admit that I don't care how it does, I also don't understand hating her so much. I just never understood that. She ain't hurting no one, is she?

one review? jeez

paisley2002 said:

It's called promotion
How are you gonna know if a new album's out if nothing is said, you have to have some type of buzz around it.
She goes on shows, has specials, ect. to sell her album, true, it's called promotion.
Hate on the music all you want, what's said is probably right 99.9% of the time.
But damn, I'm sick of stupid excuses to diss the girl, "she's on tv too much!!!" blah, blah, blah

oh okay, well Princce did the same thing in '99, remember that? Yeah, he was even at the VMAs of that year, remember? Even his albums we're hyped to hell back in the day, the real reason why he wouldn't say anything is because he was a total recluse. He DID do that ridiculous interview on mtv in '86, remember that?
And what other true great hasn't hyped their stuff?
Prince doesn't talk because Prince has problem, get it right.

If you don't like the gil, cool, but don't come up with lame-ass reasons to say so

I think the major fault in her "trying to become an adult" is that adulthood is more about what you do than what you say. And someone releasing an album of a bunch of club songs don't really make me think "Hey, look! It's an adult!" (granted I haven't heard the album but based on the review I'm guessing it's geared towards a clubbing audience) She's still hot though! But once she starts to get a little long in the tooth...how many tv interviews do ya think she'll be doing?

purplegypsy said:

Britney is such a fake Janet! It is sooo sad! Her "in the zone" mtv special. ALL those dance moves are a few seconds here or there from tons of Janet's Videos!

She also does that stupid dance move with her head going back & forth..

It reminds me of the Christmas Charlie Brown epsisode



she is sooo fake.. sooo bad! HAS she sang anywhere LIVE???

This review and others that I have read are right on! I guess I can see how her fans would disagree, but to be honest, I can't see anyone over the age of 12 actually saying they think her music is good. Her music sucks and she has no talent beyond a few sexy moves. She's a complete fake!! There are so many real artists out there that are completely ignored or get very little attention. She gets way too much attention for dancing and lip-syncing. It's ludicrous!!

allmusic.com usually says it best. The album sucks and I hope MTV (and the rest of mankind) forgets about her once and for all.

I agree..

Whoelse is sick and tried of NON-Muscians getting the #1 push from the Music Industry!

WHO would go to a Concert from these people??? Basically you are watching a Dance Class. they are just dancing in front of you.. sure they have that "janet jackson microphone" attached to there face & mouthing the words.

BUT.. reall is this music?

WHY were Milli Vinilli sooo bad? whats the difference now???

WE have people in a recording studio taking 500 takes to get one song to sound "OK" ..then they NEVER EVER sing live anywhere! They just go to dance class.

I guess the music industry are looking for someone that gives them NO Problem or Ego.. because they are NOT Musicans.. they don't write anything (sure they might give the ghost writer a vibe/idea of what they will like to be) They can't sing.. singing once in a stuido when you can redo it a million times isn't a musican or singer.

They are just looking for "The Look"... and then they can sell Toothbrushes,Posters,Clothes,Key Chains ,ect with that persons face on it.

The Music is "Smoke & Mirror".. but that keeps the reason you are buying all this crap.

one big catch 22

uh in case you forgot that wasn't Milli and Vanilli singing on the record!!!

locoarts said:

Look, I understand Britney is not that talented. But her new album is more of a product of her producers than it is her. And it just happens to be a very enjoyable pop/dance album, if you let go of your bias and listen to it.

jtgillia said:

well, sometimes people just take music too seriously. some people forget that it is supposed to be entertainment and, most of all, fun. i mean, at the end of the day, it is not world peace we are talking about. its just music. some people think its good, some people think it sucks. but all the ragging that goes on about it is just stupid.

i like the album. i'm not gonna get mad if someone else doesn't. they don't have to listen to it if they choose not to.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said: