Passenger (Britney Spears song)

"Passenger"
Song by Britney Spears from the album Britney Jean
Recorded 2013
Genre
Length 3:40
Label RCA
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Britney Jean track listing

"Til It's Gone"
(7)		 "Passenger"
(8)		 "Chillin' With You"
(9)

"Passenger" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for the eighth studio album Britney Jean. It was written by Spears, Sia Furler, Katy Perry, Andrew Swanson and Diplo, being produced by the latter, while the vocal production was done by Anthony Preston, who produced most of the album. The song has received critical acclaim from music critics.

Background

After serving as a judge on the second season of the American version of The X Factor, Spears began work on her eighth studio album in December 2012.[1]

In April 2013, Diplo, who already had worked with Spears previously in a remix of her 2008 single Circus, was revealed to be working with Spears for her eighth album by Jean Baptiste via Twitter.[2] Later in July, Spears revealed that she had a session with Sia, with whom she also co-wrote her single Perfume.[3] It was later revealed by Diplo that the song was actually written for Katy Perry's (who co-wrote the song) third album Prism.

In November 2013, the song leaked on the internet, with people pretending it as a demo from the final track,[4] however, with the release of the album, it was later revealed that it was the final version of the song.

Composition

"Passenger" is a mid-tempo EDM-inspired pop rock song,[5] written by Spears, Diplo, Furler, Swanson and Perry, originally supposed to be included on Perry's third album, Prism. The song lasts for three minutes and forty seconds, with background vocals by Furler. In a review, Jason Lipshutz from Billboard said that the song "finds the singer ruminating on romantic trust while delivering an empowering vocal performance over Diplo's guitar-driven production."

Controversy

When the song leaked in November 2013, Passenger became object of controversy by the social media, who claimed that the voice in the song doesn't appear to be Spears, and the voice behind the song could be Myah Marie, Spears's background singer who recorded for her albums Circus and Femme Fatale.[6] However, days later, Marie said that "[...]most certainly cannot take credit for her tremendous talent as a singer.".[7]

When the album was released in December 2013, the name of Marie was not included in the song's credits, although she was credited on Britney Jean's other songs like Work Bitch, Tik Tik Boom, Til It's Gone, Chillin' With You and Now That I Found You.

Critical reception

Following the release of the album, "Passenger" received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised Spears voice and the composition of the song. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard praised the pop rock influence of the song, also saying that "Spears does her part by delivering resonant melismas and lyrics about giving your inhibitions over to another(...)".[5] Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stones called it a "Brit's answer to Beyoncé's "Halo, as she emotes about finding someone to take the wheel and drive her home."[8] Michael Gragg, writing for The Guardian, said that "the Diplo-produced Passenger sounds refreshingly experimental",[9] while Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine compared it favorably to Alien, saying that "it's one of the few moments on Britney Jean that even make an attempt to push Britney's sound forward."[10]

Some critics compared the track to Spears's single at the time, Perfume, with Kevin Harley of The Independent saying: ""Passenger" revisits that self-image [of Perfume], words yielding no surprises here: any fool knows that "You never know what you've got" completes the lyric of "Til it's Gone".",[11] while Genevieve Koski from A.V. Club noted that both songs were "well-developed conceit and its genuine-seeming vulnerability, something Spears is much better at than most of her collaborators usually to give her credit for", later completing that Passenger "could easily be mistaken for a cover of a lost Katy Perry single."[12] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic highlighted the track by calling it "the purest pop moment on the record that finds a counterpart in the album's best ballad, "Perfume" and saying that Spears was "on focus" on the track.[13]

Rudy Klap from Sputnikmusic gave a mixed review, praising Diplo production and Spears voice, while criticizing the lyrics for being too submissive: "Spears should be the dominating one here, the force of her personality and that voracious hunger that powers her best songs pushing and pulling".[14] Barry Walters from Spin too gave a mixed review by comparing it to the works of Perry, more specifically on 2013's Prism, finishing by saying that the track "features Perry's straightforward vocal style (...) while delivering the album's only meaty melody, but its lyrics about living without a map aren't believable coming from Brit's lips. Unlike Madonna or Janet Jackson (or Katy Perry), Spears never seems in control."

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Britney Jean

Recording

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Britney Spears begins work on eighth studio album - Music News". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Flobama Care". Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Britney Spears & Sia Wrote A "Special" Song Together". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com.
  4. ↑ "Britney Spears' "Passenger": Hear The 'Britney Jean' Demo". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com.
  5. 1 2 "Britney Spears, 'Britney Jean': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard.
  6. ↑ "Is Britney Really Singing On Her Album? As Accusations Of Dubbing Fly Online, Spears' Backup Singer Reveals The Shocking Truth". Radar Online.
  7. ↑ "Britney Spears' backup singer Myah Marie denies dubbing new album - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.
  8. ↑ Rob Sheffield (26 November 2013). "Britney Spears Britney Jean Album Review". Rolling Stone.
  9. ↑ Michael Cragg. "Britney Spears: Britney Jean – review". the Guardian.
  10. ↑ Sal Cinquemani (26 November 2013). "Britney Spears: Britney Jean - Album Review - Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine.
  11. ↑ Kevin Harley (29 November 2013). "Britney Spears, 'Britney Jean' (RCA) - album review". The Independent.
  12. ↑ "Britney Spears hands the reins to Will.i.am for her "most personal album ever"". avclub.com.
  13. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Britney Jean". AllMusic.
  14. ↑ "Review: Britney Spears - Britney Jean - Sputnikmusic". sputnikmusic.com.
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