Blackout (Britney Spears album)

Blackout
Studio album by Britney Spears
Released October 26, 2007 (2007-10-26)
(see release history)
Recorded February 2006 – August 2007
Genre Pop, dance-pop, techno[1], electropop, electronica, synthpop, urban, R&B, pop rock[2]
Length Standard Edition - 43:38
Target Edition - 47:22
Japan Edition - 60:36
Label Jive
Producer Danja, Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch, Kara DioGuardi, Freescha, Sean Garrett, Fredwreck, The Neptunes, Britney Spears (executive)
Professional reviews
Britney Spears chronology
B in the Mix: The Remixes
(2005)		 Blackout
(2007)		 Circus
(2008)
Singles from Blackout
  1. "Gimme More"
    Released: September 25, 2007
  2. "Piece of Me"
    Released: November 27, 2007
  3. "Break the Ice"
    Released: March 3, 2008
  4. "Radar"
    Released: July, 2008 (Europe only)

Blackout is the fifth studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears, released by Jive Records on October 27, 2007. Spears began working on this album as early as February 2006, exploring into electropop, synthpop and techno. The album has also a more R&B/urban sound and recording with new producers such as Danja. Blackout was her first studio album in four years since 2003's In the Zone[3] and is the first time Spears is the executive producer of one of her albums. The album's title refers to "blacking out negativity and embracing life fully".[4] The songs on the album are thematically focused on sex, love and Spears' relationship–struggle with the media.[5]

Blackout debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, becoming her first and so far only studio album not to debut at number one due to a last-minute rules change by the Billboard music association. According to the IFPI, the album was 32nd in terms of units shipped by the end of 2007.[6]

The album's first single, "Gimme More", peaked at number one in the Canadian Hot 100 and became a top five hit in twelve countries. The second single, "Piece of Me", reached number one in Ireland. The final single, "Break the Ice", reached number one in the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, making all the singles of the album go to the top position of at least a chart. All three songs frequently appeared on the lists that included the best records of the year. Even though initial critical response was mixed to positive, the album later won high critical acclaim and appeared on many lists that included the decade's best albums. The album was named the 5th "Best Pop Album of the Decade" by The Times, the 7th-best album of the decade on the Rolling Stones "The Decade-End Readers’ Poll", and the 3rd Best Album of the decade on the Billboard "Readers Poll", and won "Album of the Year" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008. To date, the album has sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide.[7]

Contents

Production

In February 2006, it was reported that Britney was "in the midst of recording her next album," which could possibly be released later that year. According to the People magazine article, Spears said her new music could "reinvigorate the current pop scene," which she said was "boring".[8] Three months later, Jonathan "J.R." Rotem was quoted as saying that Spears had "up-tempo club songs," and "relationship songs, [...] and everything in between."[9] Rotem said in September 2006, "Our goal is to try to one-up it," referring to the hits on the radio at the time. "I can tell you there's some dance stuff; there's some slow, more introspective stuff; some club things," the producer said.[10]

Britney Spears began working with Nate "Danja" Hills while she was pregnant with her second child. Recording began in Las Vegas and continued at Spears' home in Los Angeles.

At least one track was recorded at KMA Music in Manhattan.

Spears later revealed in a personal message on her official website that she planned to release her new album before the end of 2007.[11] After various songs from Blackout's recording sessions were leaked onto the internet, it was announced in August 2007 that the Danja-produced "Gimme More" would be released as the album's first single.[12]

Release

Due to these numerous unauthorized online leaks, Jive Records did everything possible to prevent and avoid any further illegal distribution of songs including moving up the release date of the album up two weeks to October 30, 2007[13] The album had poor promotions because Spears had "other parts of her life that she had to focus on".[14]

This is the first studio album for which Spears did not do any promotion prior to its release, with the exception of her performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Jive Records posted a commercial for the album on its official YouTube page.

In addition to the official "Piece of Me" music video, the "Britney Spears Wants a Piece of You" contest, in which fans could create videos for the "Piece of Me" single themselves using MTV's Video Remixer, began on November 30, 2007. The winning video aired on TRL on December 20, 2007. MTV, Jive Records, and Spears herself chose the winner.

On November 13, 2007, U.S. store Target released a special edition of Blackout with the bonus track, "Outta This World", a bonus mobile wallpaper, and a ringtone.[15]

Reception

Critical

According to the music review aggregater Metacritic, the album has received an positive score of 61/100 indicating generally favorable reviews.[16] Still, Digital Spy called it "the most danceable, modern and thrilling album that Spears has ever made, the disc where she finally shakes off the last remnants of her Mickey Mouse Club image."[17] Also, The Guardian stated that "It's a bold, exciting album: the question is whether anyone will be able to hear its contents over the deafening roar of tittle-tattle."[18] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating, and praised the album as "a perfectly serviceable dance album abundant in the kind of bouncy electro elements that buttressed her hottest hits."[19] Popjustice also stated the album was "modern sounding, and brilliantly produced."[20] Rolling Stone went on to give the album four stars out of five, and joked that Spears will "continue to crank the best pop booty jams until a social worker cuts off her supply of hits."[21] Critics have also noted new influences in Spears's music, such as the London-based underground electronic genre dubstep as the main influence for the track "Freakshow".[22]

In its first week of sale, Blackout peaked at number one at the Billboard Tastemakers Chart as the most well-received album by the critics in the U.S. that week.

This album was ranked at number fifty by Rolling Stone in its annual publication of Top 50 Albums of 2007. In addition, it was also called an "album sure to be remembered as a monument of deranged techno-pop amorality."[23] The album would later be ranked as the seventh best album of the 2000s in a readers poll.[24]

In November 2009, The Times named the album as the fifth best pop album of the decade.[25]

However, there were also negative reviews. Newsday titled its review "Save your money" and called the album "terrible."[26] Billboard stated "This is still pop, but the last bits of Spears's song-and-dance girl veneer are cracking, along with the rest of her public persona."[27] Other reviews noted the overwhelming presence of "studio trickery" had the effect of making her sound like a "Brit Bot." "If a blow-up sex doll could sing, this is what she'd sound like," wrote critic Jim Farber. "In terms of studio trickery, Paris Hilton's album [Paris] was practically 'unplugged' compared to this."[28] PopMatters was unimpressed with the album as well, writing, "Right down to its utterly garish cover, Blackout is utterly disposable and ultimately forgettable."[29] The New York Times wrote that she "cuts a startlingly low profile on Blackout, and there are times when it scarcely sounds like a Britney Spears album at all. Even when not buried in electronics, her distinctive singing voice sounds unusually vague, and sometimes it's hard to be sure it's hers".[30] The Hartford Courant was very negative in their review, saying that "there's a lackluster vocal or element of unintentional comedy that makes you wonder how much better Blackout might be as an instrumental club album".[31]

Commercial

The album sold 124,000 copies on its first day in the US, with sales of 290,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan.[32][33] Despite having good first week sales, the album became her first studio album not to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Instead, it debuted at number two with sales behind of The Eagles double disc, Long Road Out of Eden, which claimed the number one spot after selling nearly 711,000 units exclusively at Walmart. It was supposed to debut on the number one spot but two days before the charts came out, a policy changed, stating that albums that were sold exclusively at one retailer could now chart on the Billboard 200 which should have taken effect the next week thus allowing Blackout to occupy the number one spot for a week making all of her studio albums debut in the number one position, but it took effect the same week of Blackout's release.[34] As of July 2010, the album has sold 985,000 copies in the United States[35] becoming her least successful studio album there to date. The album re-entered the chart at #198, selling over 4,600 copies on the week Spears' sixth album, Circus, debuted at number one.[36]

The album was received equally well in the United Kingdom, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart, her highest debut since her sophomore album Oops!... I Did It Again, which debuted at number two. The album quickly fell out of the top forty, however, it managed to remain in the top seventy-five through continued sales. As a result of the success of the album's singles, "Gimme More", "Piece of Me", and "Break the Ice", the album climbed back into the top forty in its twenty second week of release, with a massive jump of eighteen places from number forty-three to number twenty-five in one week.[37] The following week, the album climbed another six places and re-entered the top twenty, placing at number nineteen in the chart, and chartting its ninth week back in the top forty.

In New Zealand, the album debuted at number eight on the New Zealand Albums Chart, making it, at the time, Spears' highest debuting and charting album since Oops!... I Did It Again in 2000. Although it quickly fell off the chart, it re-entered after the success of "Piece Of Me," and climbed back up to number eleven where it stayed for three weeks. Blackout was certified Gold for sales of over 7,500 after fifteen weeks, and remained on the chart for twenty-one weeks.

The album was also successful in Australia, debuting at number three on the Australian Albums Chart selling 9,987 copies in its first week,[38] and shortly after reaching double Platinum status for sales of over 140,000 copies.[39][40]

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the album was number 32 in terms of units shipped worldwide by the end of 2007, for shipments of over 2 million copies. The album has sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide as of 2010.[41][42]

Promotion

Britney Spears opened the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of "Gimme More". It became perhaps the most talked-about televised song and dance routine since Michael Jackson's appearance a quarter century earlier on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special. Her singing, her dancing and even her wardrobe were all commented on extensively.[43][44][45] The performance was mostly considered disappointing and hurtful to her career. Following the performance, Spears herself did no more promotional work for the album. It was reported in March 2008 that Spears would embark on a world tour, but the tour never happened. She didn't perform in the U.S. again until December 2, 2008 where she promoted her next album on Good Morning America.

However, in the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen herself did promote the album without Spears, she featured two songs of the album including "Toy Soldier" and "Gimme More" on her show, in which she danced along with the track and along with her studio audience. She also gave away copies of the album to the audience.[46]

Spears eventually embarked on her The Circus Starring Britney Spears world tour in March 3, 2009, which included performances of "Piece of Me", "Radar", "Ooh Ooh Baby", "Hot as Ice" "Freakshow" and "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)". The LAZRtag remix of "Gimme More" was used during the Martial Arts Segue part of the show. "Break the Ice" was used in a video interlude set to Spears' music videos and using a sample of Kat DeLuna's "Run the Show".[47][48]

Singles

Track listing

# Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Time
1. "Gimme More" N. Hills/J. Washington/K. Hilson/Marcella Araica Danja 4:11
2. "Piece of Me" C. Karlsson/P. Winnberg/K. Åhlund Bloodshy & Avant 3:32
3. "Radar" C. Karlsson/P. Winnberg/H. Jonback/B. Muhammad/C. Nelson/E. Lewis/J. Que 3:49
4. "Break the Ice" N. Hills/J. Washington/K. Hilson/Marcella Araica Danja 3:16
5. "Heaven on Earth" M. McGroarty/N. Huntington/Nicole Morier Kara DioGuardi & Freescha 4:52
6. "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" C. Ellis/N. Hills/Marcella Araica Danja 4:45
7. "Freakshow" B. Spears/C. Karlsson/P. Winnberg/H. Jonback/E. Lewis/J. Que Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch 2:55
8. "Toy Soldier" C. Karlsson/P. Winnberg/M. Wallbert/S. Garrett Bloodshy & Avant, Sean Garrett 3:22
9. "Hot as Ice" T-Pain/N. Hills/Marcella Araica Danja 3:17
10. "Ooh Ooh Baby" B. Spears/K. DioGuardi/F. Nasser/E. Coomes "Fredwreck" & Kara DioGuardi 3:28
11. "Perfect Lover" N. Hills/J. Washington/K. Hilson/Marcella Araica Danja, Devo Springsteen 3:02
12. "Why Should I Be Sad" P. Williams The Neptunes 3:10
13. "Outta This World" (Target & Japan bonus) N. Hills/J. Washington/K. Hilson/Marcella Araica Danja 3:44
14. "Everybody" (iTunes & Japan bonus) Britney Spears, Jonathan Rotem, Evan Bogart, Annie Lennox J.R. Rotem 3:18
15. "Get Back" (iTunes & Japan bonus) Marcella Araica; Corte Ellis; Nate Hills; Nigel Talley Danja 3:52

Bonus remixes

# Title Writer(s) Time
16. "Gimme More" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) (Japan Bonus) N. Hills/J. Washington/K. Hilson/Marcella Araica 6:06
17. "Gimme More" (Junkie XL Dub) (iTunes Bonus) 4:59
18. "Gimme More" (StoneBridge Dub) (Swiss & Italy Non-iTunes Digital Bonus) 7:23

Source:[50]

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[51] 3
Austrian Albums Chart[52] 6
Belgian Flemish Albums Chart[53] 17
Belgian Walloon Albums Chart[54] 6
Canadian Albums Chart[55] 1
Czech Republic Albums Chart[56] 27
Danish Albums Chart[57] 6
Dutch Albums Chart[58] 14
European Top 100 Albums Chart[59] 1
French SNEP Albums Chart[60] 2
Finnish Albums Chart[61] 22
German Albums Chart[59] 10
Hungarian Albums Chart[62] 24
Italian Albums Chart[63] 6
Mexican Albums Chart[64] 2
New Zealand Albums Chart[65] 8
Norwegian Albums Chart[66] 12
Swedish Albums Chart[67] 11
Swiss Albums Chart[68] 4
UK Albums Chart[69] 2
U.S. Billboard 200[55] 2

Sales and certifications

Region Provider Certification Sales/Shipments
Australia ARIA 2x Platinum[39] 140,000+[70]
Belgium IFPI Gold[71] 30,000+[72]
Brazil ABPD Gold[73] 50,000+[74]
Canada CRIA Platinum[75] 200,000
France SNEP Gold[76] 90,000+
Hungary Mahasz Gold[77] 10,000+
Ireland IRMA Platinum[78] 15,000
Japan RIAJ Gold[79] 120,000
New Zealand RIANZ Gold[80] 10,000+[70]
Russia NFPF 3× Platinum[81] 65,000+[70]
United Kingdom BPI Gold[82] 100,000[70]
United States RIAA - 985,000+[35]
Venezuela APFV Gold 8,000[83]
Worldwide - - 3,100,000[84]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
Carnival Ride by Carrie Underwood		 Canadian Albums Chart number-one album
November 17, 2007		 Succeeded by
The Ultimate Hits by Garth Brooks

End of year charts

Year Country Chart Ranking
2007 United States Billboard 200 138[85]
Australia ARIA 56[86]
Greece (International) IFPI 41[87]
2008 Australia ARIA 83[88]

Awards

2007

Awards ceremony Award Results
Billboard Readers' Choice Album of the Year Won[89]

2008

Awards ceremony Award Results
NRJ Music Awards Best International Album[90] Won[91]
Hit Music Awards[92] Best International Album Won
MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 Album of the Year Won
Shockwaves NME Awards 2008[93] Worst Album of the Year Won[94]

Release history

Region Date
Europe October 26, 2007
Latin America
Australia October 27, 2007
Philippines October 28, 2007
United Kingdom October 29, 2007
United States October 30, 2007
Brazil
Argentina
Worldwide

Personnel

Production

  • Executive Producer: Britney Spears
  • Producers: Nate "Danja" Hills, Bloodshy & Avant, Freescha, Kara DioGuardi, The Clutch, Sean Garrett, Candice Nelson, Farid "Fredwreck" Nassar, The Neptunes
  • Mastering: Tom Coyne
  • Engineers: Jim Carauna, Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young, Duro
  • A&R Executive: Teresa LaBarbera Whites
  • A&R Administration: Nancy Roof
  • A&R Coordination: Jenny Prince
  • Zomba Production Coordination: Cara Hutchinson
  • Clearances: David Schmidt, Kobie "The Quarterback" Brown, Jeff Monachino, Damon "Ellis" Ellis
  • Photography: Ellen von Unwerth
  • Art Direction and design: Jackie Murphy, Jeri Heiden, Glen Nakasako
  • Stylist: Patti Wilson
  • Makeup: Francesca Tolot
  • Prop stylist: Kirsten Vallow
  • Manicurist: Lisa Jachno

Trivia

It is Britney's only album cover to show her with black hair. Her past and follow up albums show Britney with blonde hair.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wxfrxzlhldse
  2. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wxfrxzlhldse
  3. ↑ Reuters (October 6, 2007). "Britney Spears Names New Album "Blackout"". Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN0328342220071006. 
  4. ↑ Reuters (October 27, 2007). "Britney Spears May Do It Again With Hit New Album". Herald Sun.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22640566-5006024,00.html. 
  5. ↑ bbc.co.uk (October 30, 2007). "Review: Britney Spears' Blackout". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7068992.stm. 
  6. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (June 9, 2008). "Ask Billboard". Billboard magazine. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003813908. Retrieved June 9, 2008. 
  7. ↑ "Britney Spears: Circus". The Guardian (London). November 27, 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/28/britney-spears-circus. 
  8. ↑ Chris Harris (2006-02-17). "Britney Spears Working On New Album To Boost 'Boring' Pop Scene". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1524509/20060217/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-01-30. 
  9. ↑ Jennifer Vineyard (2006-05-15). "Britney Working On 'Crazy-Ass' New Music And Even Rapping". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1531703/20060512/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-01-30. 
  10. ↑ Corey Moss (2006-09-18). "Britney's New Music Is 'The Next Level,' Producer Says". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1541093/20060918/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-01-30. 
  11. ↑ Gail Mitchell (2007-01-05). "Britney Coming Back 'Bigger And Better' In 2007". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003528425. Retrieved 2008-01-30. 
  12. ↑ Jonathon Cohen (2007-08-28). "Britney Wants 'More' On New Danjahandz Track". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003632483. Retrieved 2008-01-30. 
  13. ↑ Tim Nudd (October 10, 2007). "Britney Spears's Album Coming Early". People.com. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20151574,00.html. 
  14. ↑ Collis, Clark. "Britney Spears: 6 Possible Futures". Entertainment Weekly. pp. 2. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20241872_2,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
  15. ↑ "Britney Spears: release". Iomusic Weekly. pp. 2. http://iomusic.com/Bands_and_Artists/S/Spears__Britney/. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
  16. ↑ "Blackout reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic.com. 2007-10-30. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/spearsbritney/blackout?q=britney%20spears%20blackout. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
  17. ↑ Nick Levine (2007-10-29). "Album Review - Britney Spears: Blackout". Digital Spy. Digital Spy Limited. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a78828/britney-spears-blackout.html. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  18. ↑ Alexis Petridis (2007-10-26). "Britney Spears, Blackout". The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media). http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2198767,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  19. ↑ Margeaux Watson (2007-10-23). "Music Review: Blackout". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20153719,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  20. ↑ "A Proper Verdict on the Britney Album". Popjustice. Popjustice Ltd. 2007-10-22. http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1788&Itemid=206. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  21. ↑ Melissa Maerz (2007-11-15). "Album Review: Blackout". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/britneyspears/albums/album/17046611/review/17118068/blackout. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  22. ↑ Ewing, Tom (2007-11-20). "Column: Poptimist #10: Britney in the Black Lodge (Damn Fine Album)". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/47096-column-poptimist-10. Retrieved 2007-11-21. 
  23. ↑ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (2007-12-17). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601851/the_top_50_albums_of_2007/25. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  24. ↑ "Top Albums of the Decade". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. 2009-12-08. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31234753/the_decadeend_readers_poll/2. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
  25. ↑ "The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties". The Times (London). 2009-11-21. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6922991.ece. Retrieved 2009-11-21. 
  26. ↑ Glenn Gamboa (2007-10-25). "Britney Spears' New CD? Save Your Money". Newsday. Newsday Inc. http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/ny-etbrit1030,0,6803250.story?track=rss. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  27. ↑ Kerri Mason (2007-10-29). "Blackout". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3i11356e5762144f435c29e01edd1b695e. Retrieved 2008-01-12. 
  28. ↑ Reuters (2007-10-24). "Britney 'like a singing blow up doll'". NineMSN.com. Ninemsn Pty Ltd. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=308612. Retrieved 2008-01-12.  "Britney 'like a singing blow up doll'". NineMSN. Retrieved October 24, 2007.]
  29. ↑ "Britney Spears". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/50361/britney-spears-blackout/. Retrieved 2008-08-22. 
  30. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/arts/music/29spea.html?_r=2&ref=music&oref=slogin Retrieved on 2009-03-20.
  31. ↑ http://blogs.courant.com/eric_danton_sound_check/2007/10/cd-review-blackout-by-britney.html Retrieved on 2009-03-20.
  32. ↑ "Eagles Fly Past Britney To Debut At No. 1". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003669047. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
  33. ↑ Jim Farber (November 2, 2007). "Bad-news Britney Spears Bags No. 1 CD". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/11/02/2007-11-02_badnews_britney_spears_bags_no_1_cd.html. 
  34. ↑ Britney Spears Debuts #1 on European Albums Chart and Debuts #1 on U.S. Digital Albums Chart
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Paul Grein (July 11, 2010). "Week Ending July 11, 2010: A Full Recovery". new.music.yahoo.com. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/58392/week-ending-july-11-2010-eminem-in-overdrive/. Retrieved July 14, 2010. 
  36. ↑ Montgomery, James (20088-12-10). "Britney Spears Is Back On Top As Circus Sells More Than 500,000 Copies". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1601037/20081210/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-12-12. 
  37. ↑ Break The Ice: UK Chart Update For Week Ending April 20th
  38. ↑ http://www.undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=3367
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2008Albums.htm
  40. ↑ http://www.gimmebritney.com/2009/09/britney-a-platinum-princess/
  41. ↑ [1]
  42. ↑ "Britney Spears: Circus". The Guardian (London). November 27, 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/28/britney-spears-circus. 
  43. ↑ Catherine Elsworth (September 10, 2007). "Britney Spears disappoints in MTV comeback". London: Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/10/wbritney110.xml. Retrieved 2007-10-08. 
  44. ↑ "Britney Spears plans comeback at MTV Awards". news.xinhuanet.com. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/07/content_6679217.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-08. 
  45. ↑ Dean Goodman (September 10, 2007). "Britney Spears attempts comeback at MTV awards". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN0921491220070910. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 
  46. ↑ "Ellen Dances To Britney's Toy Soldier". Youtube. 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNpBN0mPwJ4&feature=related. Retrieved October 31, 2007. 
  47. ↑ http://britneyspearsblackout.com/?p=1886 Britneyspearsblackout.com, a fansite
  48. ↑ http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67034&st=40
  49. ↑ FMQB Single Release's
  50. ↑ http://www.britney.com/ph/music/blackout Britney Spears Official Website
  51. ↑ Australian Recording Industry Association (November 11, 2007). "Australian Albums Chart". Australian Charts. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  52. ↑ "Austrian Albums Chart". Austrian Charts. September 11, 2007. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  53. ↑ Ultratop (November 17, 2007). "Belgian Flemish Albums Chart". http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  54. ↑ Ultratop (November 10, 2007). "Belgian Walloon Albums Chart". http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Billboard magazine (November, 2007). "Billboard charts". All Music Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kpfuxq9jldte~T50. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  56. ↑ http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparada/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=14&titul=145455&sec=21e71ec416427f06d522d0adbfbb8f3a
  57. ↑ IFPI (November 9, 2007). "Danish Albums Chart". Danish Charts. http://danishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved June 12, 2009. 
  58. ↑ MegaCharts (November 3, 2007). "Dutch Albums Chart". Dutch Charts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 "Chart Data: Britney Spears". Mariah Charts. November 8, 2007. http://billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3if88fd1b957f073edf4e820786a79ef6a?imw=Y. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  60. ↑ Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (November, 2007). "French Albums Chart". Les Charts. http://acharts.us/album/29103. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  61. ↑ Mitä hittiä (Week 45, 2007). "Finnish Albums Chart". Finnish Charts. http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  62. ↑ "Hungarian Top 40 Albums Chart". Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/m/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  63. ↑ "Italian Top 20 Albums Chart". FIMI. http://italiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  64. ↑ "Mexican Top 100 Albums Chart". AMPROFON. http://mexicancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved October 4, 2009. 
  65. ↑ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (November 5, 2007). "New Zealand Albums Chart". New Zealand Charts. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  66. ↑ VG-lista (Week 45, 2007). "Norwegian Albums Chart". Norwegian Charts. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  67. ↑ Sverigetopplistan (November 8, 2007). "Swedish Albums Chart". Swedish Charts. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  68. ↑ "Swiss Albums Chart". Swiss Charts. November 11, 2007. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Blackout&cat=a. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  69. ↑ The Official Charts Company (November, 2007). "UK Albums Chart". Every Hit. http://www.everyhit.com/searchsec.php. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  70. ↑ 70.0 70.1 70.2 70.3 Various (2009). "International Awards Levels of 2009" (PDF). IFPI Recording Industry In Numbers 2009. http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/international-award-levels.pdf. Retrieved March 18, 2010. 
  71. ↑ http://www.ultratop.be/fr/certifications.asp?year=2007
  72. ↑ http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/international-award-levels.pdf
  73. ↑ Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (2007). "Brazilian Certification". http://www.abpd.org.br/certificados_interna.asp?sArtista=Britney%20Spears. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  74. ↑ Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (1999). "Brazilian Certification Levels". http://www.abpd.org.br/certificados_interna.asp. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
  75. ↑ [2]
  76. ↑ http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259165&year=2007&type=8
  77. ↑ http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=arany_es_platinalemezek&menu2=adatbazis
  78. ↑ http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/platinum07.htm
  79. ↑ http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/gold/200711.html&rurl=translate.google.com.do&usg=ALkJrhgmydZJXfIxqkys1b2FwwKEDrrCFw
  80. ↑ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (November, 2007). "New Zealand Certification". http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  81. ↑ "Russian International Certifications 2007". 2007. http://2m-online.ru/gold_n_platinum/detail.php?COUNTRY=5077. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  82. ↑ British Phonographic Industry (2007). "U.K. Certification". http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=33072. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
  83. ↑ Sony BMG Music Entertainment Venezuela (2008). "Blackout: Certificado Disco de Oro en Venezuela". http://www.britney.com.ve/noticias.php?subaction=showfull&id=1200709330&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&. Retrieved January 19, 2008. 
  84. ↑ "Britney Spears: Circus". The Guardian (London). November 27, 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/28/britney-spears-circus. 
  85. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=412&cfgn=Year-end+Albums&cfn=The+Billboard+200&ci=3089761&cdi=9580535&cid=12%2F31%2F2007
  86. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-albums-2007.htm
  87. ↑ http://www.ifpi.gr/chart01_annual.htm
  88. ↑ http://www.vanessaamorosi.net/2009/01/02/official-aria-charts-top-100-2008/
  89. ↑ "2007: The Year in Music - Readers' Choice". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 2008. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2007/readers/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-17. 
  90. ↑ Editors from NRJ Awards. Britney Spears' Blackout Best International Album Retrieved on December, 2007.
  91. ↑ [3]
  92. ↑ HIT MUSIC AWARDS Winners
  93. ↑ "NME Awards 2008: The victors". BBC News. February 29, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7269000/7269401.stm. 
  94. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/nme-awards/34781
Britney Spears
Discography · Videos · Unreleased songs · Tours · Films · Products · Awards and nominations
Studio albums
Compilations
Greatest Hits: My Prerogative · B in the Mix: The Remixes · The Singles Collection
Video releases
Time Out with Britney Spears · Live and More! · Britney: The Videos · Live from Las Vegas · In the Zone · Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
Concert tours
...Baby One More Time Tour · Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour · Dream Within a Dream Tour · The Onyx Hotel Tour · The Circus Starring Britney Spears
Filmography
Longshot · Crossroads · Austin Powers in Goldmember · Britney: For the Record
Television
The Mickey Mouse Club · Britney & Kevin: Chaotic
Related topics
Jive Records · "The Mansion Family" · "Buy, Buy Baby" · "Ten Sessions" · "Everything Must Go" · "Britney/Brittany" · Lynne Spears · Jamie Lynn Spears · Larry Rudolph · Kevin Federline
Wikipedia book Book:Britney Spears · Category Category:Britney Spears · Portal Portal:Britney Spears
Britney Spears singles
...Baby One More Time
"...Baby One More Time" · "Sometimes" · "(You Drive Me) Crazy" · "Born to Make You Happy" · "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart"
Oops!... I Did It Again
"Oops!...I Did It Again" · "Lucky" · "Stronger" · "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know"
Britney
"I'm a Slave 4 U" · "Overprotected" · "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" · "Anticipating" / "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" · "Boys"
In the Zone
Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
"My Prerogative" · "Do Somethin'"
Blackout
Circus
"Womanizer" · "Circus" · "If U Seek Amy" · "Radar"
The Singles Collection
"3"
Other singles
"What's Going On" · "Someday (I Will Understand)"
Other songs
"My Only Wish (This Year)" · "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)"
Wikipedia book Book:Britney Spears · Category Category:Britney Spears · Portal Portal:Britney Spears