Britney Spears and Will.i.am’s ‘Mind Your Business’ divides the internet: ‘Britney deserved better’
Britney Spears has a very simple message for all the trolls and gossips out there, and she’s delivering it via song in the form of a new single with Will.i.am, “Mind Your Business”.
Despite not releasing a solo album since 2016’s startlingly good effort Glory, pop princess Britney Spears has been very, very busy.
Of course, she’s been through hell and back in her bid to free herself from her 13-year-long conservatorship, which saw her father Jamie Spears placed in control of her finances, work, and personal freedom.
In 2021, she was finally freed from the controversial legal order, meaning she could marry her now-husband Sam Asghari and begin to rebuild her life.
That process included having “a lot of therapy” to unpack the trauma caused by the conservatorship and putting her experiences on paper in a brand new memoir, The Woman In Me, released this October.
On the music side of things, things have been a little quieter, though not completely silent. In August last year, she teamed up with gay music legend Elton John on “Hold Me Closer” – a remake of his ‘70s hit “Tiny Dancer”.
The track hit the top five on music charts globally, and evidently inspired Britney to get back into the studio, as one year on, and she’s just dropped her brand new single “Mind Your Business” with The Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am.
“Mind Your Business” is an electronic earworm and a flip-off to the paparazzi who have tracked Britney’s every move for the past 25 years.
“Uptown, downtown, everywhere I turn around, Hollywood, London, snap-snap is the sound,” she sings on the second verse, before the Shakespearean chorus kicks in: “Mind your B, mind your B, mind your B, mind your B”.
Will.i.am began teasing the song on social media on Monday (17 July), sharing a short clip featuring a snippet of his 2012 Britney collaboration, “Scream & Shout”.
“You are now, now, rocking with, Will.i.am and Britney Bitch,” the audio began, before merging into a new clip of Britney singing: “Mind your business, b**ch!”
Before the single dropped, fans were torn: on the one side, many were besotted by the idea of new Britney music in any capacity, with the hashtag #BritneyIsComing trending for hours after the song was announced.
On the flipside, some fans were concerned about the song, with many questioning whether it would be a castoff from her poorly-received 2013 record Britney Jean, which Will.i.am executively produced.
Since its release a decade ago, Britney Jean has been steeped in controversy, with many fans believing that Britney is not the lead vocalist on most of the album’s tracks. The popular fan theory, though denied by Britney’s team, is that Britney back-up singer Myah Marie was the lead vocalist on the majority of the album.
The ghost of Britney Jean past resurrected to ruin our lives https://t.co/svWzj91qum
— Harrison Brocklehurst (@harrisonjbrock) July 17, 2023
As rumours about the release of “Mind Your Business” gathered wind last weekend, fans dug up an old clip of Marie referencing a song about “business” that Will.i.am wrote for Britney Jean. Putting two and two together, fans believed the so-called new single is actually a reworked version of a Britney Jean reject.
Myah Marie, interviewed by Breatheheavy back in 2020, talks about the rumored upcoming https://t.co/UbUBzo3RtV and Britney Spears' collab "Mind Your Business", a previously unreleased track considered for Britney Jean [2013]. pic.twitter.com/Ck3JtrTeJE
—
(@andreafly1) July 10, 2023
Britney's fans leaving Rihanna's Navy in the retirement room and then returning after the #MindYourBusiness rumors turn out to be true and it's a Britney Jean reject with vocals from Myah Mariepic.twitter.com/9z7KYBbrGs https://t.co/nlPUQZdYCH
— Bobby. (@bobfaget__) July 17, 2023
Very curious to hear if we're getting Britney or Myah Marie vocals on "Mind Your Business," which was originally written for Britney Jean. Anything associated with that album is sus.
— G30РGE (@g30rgiii) July 17, 2023
i dont mean to be a hater but why the fuck does she think that releasing a britney jean reject would be a good career move pic.twitter.com/I9WO2izWyE
— izael (@theneondinghy) July 17, 2023
However, since the single dropped today (21 July), fans are convinced that Myah Marie doesn’t feature on the song, but many feel that some artificial intelligence (AI) maybe have been involved.
Reactions to the song are firmly split down the middle, with some fans simply coming together to enjoy the release of a new Britney “bop”, while others are wishing the track had stayed locked in the vault.
Myah Marie is NOT credited as a background singer on MIND YOUR BUSINESS pic.twitter.com/WQMnQgOk1m
— Kate
Fan Account (@shadysanctuary) July 21, 2023
You can't convince that's Britney, it's literally Al, spent the whole day excited waiting for this song for nothing I fear
https://t.co/Hoktx98yvC
— 𝐆𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧 (@dieforgevin) July 21, 2023
“Mind Your Business is so truly awful that it just might be good,” one fan wrote on social media. “I need to hear it in the club to form a final opinion but it’s certainly memorable if nothing else.”
“I wasn’t sure I was feeling this from the first snippet I heard but I kinda get it now,” another shared. “She just wants people to mind their business, like, message received!”
“Song of the decade, no lies,” a third fan declared.
MIND YOUR BUSINESS SLAPS OMFG pic.twitter.com/WI6DnEBswM
— Britney Stan
(@BritneyTheStan) July 20, 2023
Genuinely obsessed with mind your business
like I did not even have to listen to it twice to be hooked pic.twitter.com/O0vxuYhCnZ
— king lilibet MIND YOUR BUSINESS (@KingLilibet) July 21, 2023
Me all night tonight! #MINDyourBUSINESS pic.twitter.com/UJVy65RMz2
— She Is Britney
(@LatinQueenE) July 21, 2023
At first I was like "oh…
" and after a few listens I got it
#MINDyourBUSINESS pic.twitter.com/N0nMS9SVf9
— Jan
(@PrinceBubbleney) July 20, 2023
There’s a pretty hefty number of fans airing their disappointment with the song, too.
“Can they unrelease it?,” one fan questioned, while another asserted that “this is NOT the Britney production and sound I know she’s able to produce”.
“Not really feeling it. It sounds so dated,” another fan shared.
They shoulda kept it in the vault…
https://t.co/0kSkvTfotk
— badboykundo
(@mrlikeag6) July 21, 2023
This makes Scream and Shout sound like Ray Of Light in comparison https://t.co/Q3Uz8pS8yH
— Amy Adams at the Barbieheimer Premiere (@KeptAdams) July 21, 2023
I wish Britney nothing but the best but was this made in GCSE Music class on Garageband? https://t.co/rU48e2hWOT
— Sophie Hall (@SophLouiseHall) July 21, 2023
britney deserved better
https://t.co/SG7MhSA8cm
— dimelo (@inHamood_like) July 21, 2023
“Mind Your Business” is out now.