Two girls. One genre. And a bevy of handlers.
TWENTY-ONE/BLACKOUT/BRITNEY SPEARS AND GOOD GIRL GONE BAD/RIHANNA
An interesting thing happened at this year's VMA's. [No, not that. More on her later...] Rihanna comes out to sing her now ubiquitous chart topping hit Umbrella during the middle of yet another Chris Brown dance-a-thon awards show spectacular. Obligatory cut to the audience to get some celebrity/peer reactions in real time. Blink and you miss it. Ashanti singing along on camera, ella, ella eh, eh, eh.
Weird huh?
What a difference a few years make.
Confident, sexier, and [seeming] in control, Rihanna came hard in 2007, with this, her third album in as many years. The intentions are clear: Pump up jams! Pump up the volume! Each time with thrilling results! For the first five tracks [before the cool down relax duet with Ne-Yo, Hate that I Love You], Rihanna and her producers take two step forwards and one step back channeling Pebbles, Sheila E., Janet Jackson, Madonna, and the ladies of Klymaxx all within the span of 20 or so minutes, arming Rihanna with a swagger and multiple personalities that we never knew existed.
And then there's Britney.
If Rihanna was busy proving to the world that she's not a girl, not yet a woman, Ms. Spears with Blackout, finally unleashed the beast that we all knew was there in the first place. In other words, the image she had been known to project on the pages of your magazine and on the stage finally coalesced with the words that came out of her mouth and the beats that provided backup. From the start of track one ["It's Britney bitch!" spoken at the top of Gimme More] right on down to the last "Britney let's go!" uttered by Skateboard P on album closer Why Should I Be Sad?, the intentions are clear: Pump up the jams! Pump up the volume! Dance on tables, push hot bubonic whips, get naked, ride wit a soldier, and block away the darkness cause new Britney's on a mission. It's a nice return to form [and improvement on albums past] that just so happens to be something that, if the past year or two have been any indication, we have to come to terms with. [Britney the studio star. No time for concerts and publicity. Or caring for that matter.] And you know what? The promise of what's to come present on Blackout makes that A-OK!
KEY TRACKS [RIHANNA]: Umbrella/Push Up On Me/Don't Stop The Music
KEY TRACKS [Britney]: Break The Ice/Heaven On Earth/Get Naked (I Got A Plan)
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