LOOKIN' IN ON THE DARK SIDE OF HOLLYWOOD: BRITNEY SPEARS’S LOST ALBUM THE ORIGINAL DOLL (2005) & HER 5TH ALBUM BLACKOUT (2007) After the release of her 4th album "IN THE ZONE" in November 1st 2003 she said that she was going to take more control over her music and career. She publicly stated that, for her next album, she wanted to work with just one producer and take on a role in production. while promoting In the Zone, she told Entertainment Weekly that she was already writing songs for her fifth studio album. Now here's some info according to TIME magazine: All Eyes On Britney by: BENJAMIN SVETKEY November 16, 2003 12:00 AM EST Breet-a-nee, she iz not ‘ere. Ze show, eet aas been can-sealed.” This late-breaking news is delivered by a French cabbie idling in his taxi at the entrance of a Paris club called Espace Cardin. Inside, on this drizzly October evening, the world’s most obsessed-about pop star is supposed to be taping a French TV special in front of a crowd of adoring, gyrating Parisian partygoers. But outside, the scene now is much more grim, with workmen lugging huge amplifiers and other stage equipment onto waiting trucks while clusters of fans linger under umbrellas looking très misérables. The cabbie didn’t have to say a word: it’s all too obvious Britney Spears isn’t here. Instead, she’s just up the street, ensconced in a suite at the superluxe Plaza Athénée. Spears hasn’t left the hotel since she checked in two days ago and began canceling her every public appearance, press conference and interview, leaving some 350 frustrated journalists cursing in a dozen languages. About the only outsiders allowed near her have been the stream of French doctors making the house calls of a million teenage boys’ (and dirty old men’s) dreams. Britney Spears has the flu. And her sneezes are sending shock waves across France — and beyond. They’re feeling them at Jive Records in New York City, that’s for sure. Executives at Spears’ label must be watching in horror as their grand plans for the singer’s whirlwind two-week European publicity tour — to promote the Nov. 17 release of her fourth album, a pulsating dance disc called In the Zone, on which she moans and groans to a more grown-up and blatantly sexual beat — shiver and cough to a halt. Spears has made only one stop on the tour before Paris, five days and at least one allegedly shaky night in London. Now the rest of her jam-packed itinerary — showcases in Germany and Spain, a much-anticipated appearance in Scotland for the MTV Europe Music Awards — is about to go up like a puff of nasal spray. The singer will spend only one more day in Paris before abandoning the tour entirely and returning to the U.S. to convalesce at her mother’s house in Kentwood, Louisiana, the sleepy backwater where Britney was born in 1981. Of course, from time to time everyone gets the flu. But in this particular case, it’s impossible not to wonder if something less viral and potentially more serious (at least to her career) is what’s bugging Spears in Paris — something that might be more accurately diagnosed as growing pains. After all, ever since her breakup last year with first love Justin Timberlake, and that much- publicized but never-materialized yearlong hiatus she promised to take, there have been plenty of visible symptoms. Like her tear earlier this year through virtually half the nightclubs in New York City (where she couldn’t even light up a cigarette without tabloids making a huge fuss). Those rumors of a fling with the balding 32-year-old Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst were pretty shocking too. (Durst went on Howard Stern and gallantly described Spears’ pubic region to millions of listeners.) Add to all that the legitimate anxiety over her musical staying power (will anyone still buy Britney records now that she’s outgrown the plaid skirts and kneesocks?). And throw in all the other stresses and strains of being the world’s most scrutinized 21-year-old pop star — the grueling video shoots, the countless interviews, the endless grind of disrobing for magazine covers, not to mention the hurtful backlash from conservative Britney-haters like Kendel Ehrlich, the Governor of Maryland’s wife, who announced her desire to “shoot” Spears (while speaking at a domestic- violence conference, of all places) — and it’s easy to see why the poor girl got the flu. The only surprise is that she didn’t think of it sooner. She probably needs to get laid,” Spears says, rolling her eyes, when asked about that trigger-happy Governor’s wife. “These parents, they think I’m a role model for their kids, that their kids look at me as some sort of idol. But it’s the parents’ job to make sure their kids don’t turn out that shallow. It’s the parents who should be teaching their kids how to behave. That’s not my responsibility. I’m not responsible for your kid.” This provocative sound bite is served up during our first chat, in a hotel in Manhattan on Oct. 21, a few days before Spears begins her publicity swing through Europe — an interview that marks the start of our two-week, worldwide dash to keep up with her. At this point there is no sign of impending illness, but it’s clear something isn’t quite right. Fidgeting in her chair, doing her best to force a smile, she seems irritable, almost frosty, her normally cottony-soft drawl showing sharper edges. “I don’t want to talk about my private life at all,” she coolly commands, evidently reversing her long-held policy of discussing absolutely anything with the press, no matter how intimate (like chatting in W magazine last August about losing her virginity to Timberlake or, last week, sobbing about their breakup on U.S. TV). “I used to be a lot more open,” she explains, warming slightly. “But I didn’t realize that people were going to judge and ridicule every little thing I said. So now I’m trying to keep more things to myself. It’s something I’m working on.” Took her long enough. She’s been performing in front of cameras since she was 11, as the youngest member of the Disney Channel’s Mickey Mouse Club (in which she rubbed big ears with future pop rival Christina Aguilera and future ex-boyfriend Timberlake). She’s been a top pop force since she was 18, when her debut album, 1999’s Baby One More Time, sold 10 million copies (followed a year later with her 9 million-selling Oops! … I Did It Again). Despite all that early exposure, she seems at times to have acquired not a shred of media savvy. That lip-lock with Madonna on MTV, for instance? She claims she was shocked — shocked! — by the attention it stirred up. Likewise the clamor over all those racy magazine covers (posing topless for Rolling Stone and bottomless for Esquire). “People make such a big deal out of it,” she says, sounding genuinely puzzled. “I honestly don’t get it. It’s weird. To me, the human body is beautiful.” It’s theoretically possible that this wide-eyed cluelessness is sincere. O.K., maybe not — some of that eye-batting innocence has to be an act. But even so, she’s no Madonna, the virtuosa media manipulator whose current reinvention of herself seems to be as Spears’ mentor, video co-star, and Cabala buddy. “Oh, she’s totally sincere,” insists her 26-year-old brother, Bryan, who runs the financial end of Spears’ licensing empire (now moving from dolls to more grown-up goods like cosmetics). “She really doesn’t understand the power she has. But then none of us in the family really understands it. I mean, to me, she’s just my little sister — why would anyone put her on a magazine cover? It’s only when I step back and think about what she’s done over the last four years that I go ‘Oh, my God!'” Spears has been experiencing some oh-my-God moments of her own lately — the sort of awkward self-examination of personal sexuality that many 21-year-old girls go through as they cross the threshold into womanhood. Except in Spears’ case, of course, she’s crossing it while the press snaps thousands of increasingly explicit pictures. “I’m really kind of over these magazine shoots,” she says. “Not that I regret anything I’ve done, but I’m tired of the reaction they get.” That Esquire shoot, it turns out, was a nightmare. (She claims the magazine gave her photo approval and then ran pictures without her blessing — something Esquire denies.) Even worse were those “retarded” wardrobe suggestions ABC made for the promo spots for Britney Spears: In the Zone, her Nov. 17 U.S. network special, which she’ll be taping just hours from now. “It was really obnoxious,” she says with a snort. “They wanted me to take my clothes off. It was all about my body, you know?”Can’t imagine what ABC was thinking. That TV special, by the way, is one place where she might have picked up the flu. “I spotted a lot of people sneezing and coughing during the rehearsals,” reports its director, Nick Whitham. “Something was definitely going around.” Watching the taping from the wings, though, one hardly notices. Spears sure looks hearty enough, prancing up and down the stage at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall, lip-synching songs from In the Zone while peeling off layer after layer of ever-tighter clothing. Her eight leather-clad backup dancers seem pretty robust too, particularly in a routine for a tune called Toxic, during which they blindfold Spears, roll her around the studio on an ottoman and run their hands — among other things — over her half-naked body. (Come to think of it, that guy who licked Spears’ face does look a tad peaked.) “More mature and more sensual” is how Jive Records president Barry Weiss describes Spears’ new sound. Her act has indeed come a long way since the days when her best move was skipping around in a skimpy schoolgirl outfit. Her music has evolved (thanks, in part, to techno and hip-hop infusions from Moby, RedZone, Ying Yang Twins and R. Kelly, who collaborated with Spears on some of the songs), and her lyrics are clearly crafted for older ears (“Would you undo my zipper, please”). “I think all my albums have been a little sexy,” Spears says, “but with this one I’m dealing with stuff that I haven’t really dealt with before. Not in a graphic way. On the contrary. The song called Breathe on Me isn’t about any actual physical connection with anybody — it’s breathe on me. Touch of My Hand is probably the one song that’s a little graphic. It’s about indulging in yourself, taking off your clothes and feeling kind of good. But there’s nothing about it I would personally find distasteful.” England welcomes spears to its shores as if she were the little American sister the Spice Girls should have had. Certainly the Fleet Street boys give her the royal treatment, sticking by her side from the moment she arrives on Oct. 24. And Spears, for her part, does her best to keep the local press hopping. She throws a party for herself at the Rex Cinema + Bar in Soho, records a session for a TV show called CD:UK, checks out the exclusive Players Club in East Ham, and — if the tabs can be trusted — gets so zonked at the Boujis club in South Kensington she has to be carried out, half-conscious, by her bodyguard and plopped into a waiting car. All in all, not bad for her first 48 hours in town. “A combination of jet lag, exhaustion and the odd cocktail,” is how Spears’ people explained the Boujis wooziness in the pages of the Evening Standard — although her reps now claim they were misquoted and that the whole thing never happened. In any case, Spears was well enough by Oct. 27 to guest-star on the V Graham Norton show, a bawdy late-night chat program hosted by a flamboyantly gay Irishman. Not exactly the sort of telly aimed at Spears’ more established fan base of 10- to 14-year-old girls. “We’re hoping to pick up a gay audience with this album,” says Larry Rudolph, the New York City-based manager who’s been guiding Spears since she was 15. “You know, in the same way Madonna and Cher appeal to a gay audience? So we’re doing appearances at gay clubs and things like that.” The audience tonight at Graham Norton doesn’t look all that gay — although some folks sure do seem happy, having apparently popped into a pub for a pint or two before attending. Still, everybody behaves impeccably, Spears included. She laughs gamely at the male dancers in schoolgirl skirts spoofing her old … Baby One More Time video and barely blushes when Norton shows her a website of a Spears look-alike who turns out to be a man. On the whole, the appearance goes very well. Spears proves she’s a good sport, holds her own bantering with her clever host, and maybe even wins over a new fan or two old enough to stay up past 10 p.m. You’ve got to shake hands, kiss babies, press the flesh.” Jive Records’ Barry Weiss is on the phone to London from his office in New York City, explaining the importance of worldwide publicity tours for the launching of a major new release. “It’s standard procedure, really. Rudimentary stuff. Every superstar does it.” But there are no standard procedures for the far-from-rudimentary predicament Weiss and his label will find themselves in a few days later. On Oct. 28, Spears lands in France — where a horde of journalists, photographers, radio crews and TV producers (not to mention fans) are waiting to get their flesh pressed — and instantly collapses into bed. “Exhaustion” is the first diagnosis released to the press (a loaded word in show business, hinting at other underlying medical conditions, like way too much partying), but Spears’ publicists later amend it to “flu” and then change it again to the more elaborate “flu and a severe throat infection.” By any other name, though, it’s costing a bundle. Press tours don’t come cheap — $200,000 to half a million dollars, according to industry insiders. More expensive flu damage may come later, if the lost publicity ends up slowing sales of the new CD in Europe. And frankly, these days Spears could use a little extra sales help from every continent: her last album, 2001’s Britney, sold 4 million copies — hardly a flop but still less than half the numbers each of her previous CDs racked up. “To tell you the truth, I am concerned,” admits Bryan Spears, pointing out yet another potentially serious post-flu problem — one that’s already starting to turn up on the Internet and in gossip columns, and even sneaking into some magazine articles. “I’m worried people aren’t going to believe that she was really sick. She had a 104 fever. But I’m sure some in the media are going to raise questions about it and try to turn it into something else. You know how it works.” I’m feeling much better,” spears cheerfully announces, swatting away the hair curler dangling down her brow as a stylist and a makeup artist knock elbows trying to get at her head. It’s Monday, Nov. 10, and she’s back in a New York City hotel — the very one where this global saga began — preparing for tonight’s crucial album-launching showcase on MTV’s Total Request Live. And she does appear to be her perky old self again, if not entirely recovered. Her nose is a little stuffy and her eyes slightly watery, but after a week in her mom’s care, the flu, at least, is under control. “I never, ever get sick,” she says, “so when we got to Paris I thought I was dying. My fever was so high I was out of my head. Finally I was like, ‘This is silly, I just need to go home.'” Spears says her label was “not happy, not happy at all” with her decision to cut the tour short, “but sometimes you just have to say, ‘No, I’m not doing that — I have to get some sleep.'” Excessive partying and too much work, she insists, had nothing to do with her collapse. “It was the flu,” she states, flatly. “My assistant was sick before me, so there was something going around. And I really didn’t do a lot of partying. I went out one night with the dancers and there was this nice get-together for Planet Hollywood. But what do you do when you party? You sit there having hors d’oeuvres for an hour and then leave. It wasn’t wild or anything.” Maybe she’s right. Perhaps it was merely a bug. But it’s not hard to imagine a relapse — if not another flu, then some other costly public hiccup — as Spears ticks off some of what’s on her to-do list now that she’s back on her feet: resume hyping In the Zone; shoot another video; brainstorm with her “creative people” for the full-fledged performance tour she plans to kick off next March (she’s organizing a group trip to Vegas for “inspiration”); work on her next album (“I’m already writing songs”); and, if she can squeeze it in, start her own record label (“Maybe by next year”). But this well trained, media-driven Mouseketeer wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’ve never liked to chill out,” she says, ignoring the army of beauticians, bodyguards and publicists buzzing around the room in preparation for tonight’s big event. “I tried taking a break once. I announced that I was taking a year off. It lasted three weeks. I have so much energy, I need to be working all the time. It feels normal to me,” she says, sniffling into a tissue. “It feels healthy.” & Later...she was also hoping to start her own record label in 2004. During her fourth concert tour, "The Onyx Hotel Tour ", which was around March-June 2004, Spears started writing and recording new material, including a song titled "Mona Lisa," which she worked on with her tour band. In May 2004, Spears was photographed in Spain holding a disc labeled THE FUGITIVE and "New." That same month, she was seen with producer "Bloodshy" in Germany, which could possibly mean that he collaborated on the song. However, it could be a copy of the 1993 film "The Fugitive" but this remains unconfirmed. Here is a picture of Britney with “The Fugitive” by Britney Spears (Her own demo from Original Doll) in 2004: image found via: https://x.com/britmebaby/status/1270872995561603074 Now we go further till June 8th 2004 Britney was filming her music video for the single "OUTRAGEOUS" from her album "IN THE ZONE" music video and broke her leg and then the music video got cancelled only a little part of her music video was filmed and yes Snoop Dogg was in her music video. WATCH IT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWBKCzzNEeo During Summer 2004 Britney Spears Met Kfed a.k.a. "Kevin Federline" at a Hollywood nightclub called Joseph's. At the time, Britney, who was 22, was already a global superstar, while Kevin, at 26, was a dancer who had worked with big names like Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Destiny's Child, and Pink. 2 DAYS BEFORE HER WEDDING: The "My Prerogative" music video, accompanying Britney Spears's cover of Bobby Brown's song, was released on September 16, 2004. It premiered on MTV's TRL and was included on the "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative" video album. WATCH IT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIOH8Trfas4&t=109 Later they got married...Britney Spears and Kevin Federline held their wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, at Radio City, California ...but their marriage was officially registered on October 6 and during these days Britney Spears' released a new single called "My Prerogative" was released on September 21, 2004 as the lead single from her "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative" album. The album itself was released on November 9, 2004 it also included " Do Somethin' " and the non-album bonus track called "(I've Just Begun) Having My Fun". At the beginning of the song, Spears says in a breathy voice the newly added lines "People can take everything away from you / But they can never take away your truth / But the question is, can you handle mine?". The rest of the lyrics do not deviate much from the original version, but instead are changed to fit a woman's perspective. Jennifer Vineyard of MTV commented that the cover could be interpreted as a statement on Spears' personal life and the media reaction to some of her decisions at the time, including her engagement to American backup dancer Kfed. FYI: THE SONG WAS ALSO A COVER OF BOBBY BROWN'S "MY PREROGATIVE" IN 1988 WATCH IT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cDLZqe735k&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD Now let's talk about this song called "(I've Just Begun) Having My Fun" : was originally recorded for Spears's fourth studio album, IN THE ZONE (2003) It was written by Spears, Michelle Bell, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and Henrik Jonback, and produced by Bloodshy & Avant. It was included as a bonus track on the European version of the In the Zone DVD. In the United States, the track was a free download with the Walmart edition of In the Zone, due to an exclusive deal with Walmart and Sony Connect. When the deal ended in mid-2004, Jive Records released it on the iTunes Store and Rhapsody on August 17, 2004. It peaked at number seven on the iTunes chart. It was then included on the tracklist of Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the 2011 film Bridesmaids. Composition: "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" is an electro-funk song, and according to the sheetmusic published at musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, is composed in the key of G minor with 108 beats per minute. It has a dance-oriented beat that has been compared by Jennifer Vineyard of MTV and Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic to No Doubt's 2002 single "Hella Good". Spears's vocal range spans from the high-tone of G3 to the low-tone of Eb5. The track features mainly guitar and bass, along with string arrangements and 1970s synthesizers reminiscent of Zapp and The Gap Band. Its lyrics refer to a make-believe situation in which Spears describes an encounter with a man at a party. During the song, she declares to prefer having a good time rather than settling down. Critical Reception: Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said "the In the Zone outtake [...] betters most of the songs that were featured on the album". Annabel Leathes of BBC Online commented that along with "Do Somethin'", they are "[two] robust, unreleased tracks [that] suggest, however, that she may still be churning out a few more No.1s before taking time out to sing lullabies to her brood". Ann Powers of Blender called the song "instantly forgettable and biographically inaccurate," while Mike McGuirk of Rhapsody said the song "is on a level with her best work, namely "I'm a Slave 4 U". Louis Pattison of the New Musical Express stated that the lyrics "chime rather oddly with Britney’s much-vaunted desire to start a family". On the week of September 4, 2004, "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" debuted at number twenty-three on Billboard Hot Digital Tracks, and falling at number forty-one in the following. LISTEN HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGjhVLj-ytw Now for DO SOMETHIN': "Do Somethin'" is a song served as the second single from her debut compilation album, GREATEST HITS: MY PREROGATIVE , though the release excluded the United States. It was released on January 19, 2005, by JIVE RECORDS. The producers recorded and arranged the main instrumentation of "Do Somethin'" at Murlyn Studios, in Stockholm, Sweden. Spears recorded her vocals at Battery Studios in New York City. Background vocals were provided by Spears, Angela Hunte and BlackCell. The song was never planned to be released as a single. However, Spears wanted to shoot a music video for the song and had to fight with her record label to do it. She explained she was "a little disappointed" that she had to convince them "that making this video was the right thing to do at that time". "Do Somethin'" was released as the second single from Greatest Hits: My Prerogative on February 14, 2005. YES IT'S ICONIC THAT SHE WAS THE DIRECTOR AND CHEROGARPHED THE MUSIC VIDEO. Although "Do Somethin'" was never physically released in the United States, the song peaked at number one hundred on the Billboard Hot 100 due to digital downloads on April 26, 2005. The song also charted on Billboard's Pop 100 and Hot Digital Songs at number sixty-three and forty-nine, respectively. As of August 2010, "Do Somethin'" has sold 363,000 paid digital downloads in the United States. In Australia, the song debuted at number eight on the week of March 7, 2005. It has since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) with sales of over 35,000 copies. On the same week, it debuted in the UK Singles Chart at number six. "Do Somethin'" was also successful in Europe, peaking inside the top ten in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark and Ireland, and inside the top twenty in Belgium (Wallonia), Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The music video for "Do Somethin'" was filmed in 10-13 December 2004 in Los Angeles, California. It was co-directed by Spears and Billie Woodruff, who previously worked with her in "Born to Make You Happy". Spears described the shoot as "hectic", adding it was filmed "in a record-breaking five hours". She also commented about co-directing with Woodruff, saying that "he had no no ego whatsoever, and the whole process was just so much fun". Spears is credited as "Mona Lisa" in the video, as she said "I kinda think she's like my alter ego whenever I feel like being mean or possibly like bustin' people around to get stuff right ... It's kinda easier to be called 'Mona Lisa' instead of Britney". The video was also choreographed and styled entirely by Spears, with clothing from Juicy Couture. Spears ultimately added that working behind the camera inspired her to become a director in the future, explaining, "After doing about 20 videos, it gets kind of boring playing the same role. I feel like being behind the camera is sometimes more satisfying than being in front of it". In the music video, Spears wears a pink mid-riff t-shirt reading "Love Boat" and a pin capelet going to a club named Hole in the Wall with four blond bandmates. During the first verse, they fly in a pink Hummer and move their heads to the beat on the song, while Spears puts the truck on autopilot. The Hummer's dashboard has a Louis Vuitton pattern. They finally arrive to the club and dance in the dancefloor while being stared at by other people. Near the end of the video, Spears and her bandmates start performing on a stage. The video also includes intercut scenes of Spears in a separate room, wearing black underwear and a white mini fur coat, that was compared to the black-and-white scenes in the music video for "My Prerogative". Jennifer Vineyard of MTV described Spears's attitude in the video as "[going] back and forth between trying to look sexy and then goofy". Since the music video was not going to be serviced in the United States, it was set to premiere in MTV UK on January 21, 2005. However, it was leaked online on January 18, 2005. On November 18, 2007, it was reported by Forbes that LVMH's Louis Vuitton won a lawsuit on 80,000 EUR in damages for the close-up shots of the truck's dashboard, which featured the brand's logo without authorisation. The tribunal found the director of the video had clearly emphasised the logo. The tribunal ruled that responsibility for the unauthorised use lay with Sony BMG, its subsidiary Zomba Group of Companies as well as MTV Online, and not Spears herself. The music video was also banned in all European TV channels. WATCH IT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb1ad7r5oN8 NOW FOR THE MOMENT THAT YOU GUYS WERE WAITING FOR: "THE ORIGINAL DOLL" : It was written and partially recorded in 2004 and intended to be released as her 5th album in 2005. However, the album was shelved for unknown reasons. It was first introduced on a commercial radio station. Spears' next official release became "BLACKOUT" in 2007. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE ORIGINAL DOLL ALSO WANTED TO INCLUDE BRITNEY SPEARS UNRELEASED TRACKS FROM HER 3RD ALBUM "BRITNEY" (2001) AND HER 4TH ALBUM "IN THE ZONE" (2003) THERE ARE SOME SONGS THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FEATURED ON THE ORIGINAL DOLL AND THEY ARE : MONA LISA FROM CHAOTIC (EP) SOMEDAY I WILL UNDERSTAND FROM CHAOTIC (EP) AND THE REMIX OF "AND THEN WE KISS" FROM B IN THE MIX VOL.1 THOUGH THE ORIGINAL VERSION IS UNRELEASED ALL THESE WERE BACK IN (2005). Henrik Jonback confirmed writing with Spears during her European tour. He described the experience of writing songs with her on her tour bus and in hotel rooms as intense and surreal. Around this time, the Swedish duo Bloodshy & Avant, who had worked with Spears before, also confirmed that she frequently called them, sometimes in the middle of the night, to share new song ideas. The songs recorded from these sessions were possibly "Follow Me" and "Do Somethin'" which are not attached to this project. "Follow Me" was supposed to be for her but instead it went to a theme song for a TV show on NICKELODEON which is ZOEY101 starring Britney's little sister JAMIELYNN SPEARS also Jamielynn is the singer for that TV show intro in 2004. On December 30, 2004, Spears made an unannounced visit to KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. In a surprising move, she premiered the demo of "Mona Lisa" live on air and announced that it would be included on a new album she was working on, tentatively titled The Original Doll. During the broadcast, Spears said the album was halfway finished and that she hoped to release it "probably before summertime" of 2005. She described "Mona Lisa" as a cautionary tale and dedicated it to all the "legends and icons." The rough demo, recorded live with her band on tour, lacked heavy studio production without ProTools, just raw instrumentation. Though Spears claimed she was taking a break from being "told what to do," she clarified in a New Year's letter to fans that she was still actively involved in the creative side of her career and feeling more in control than ever. At this point, Spears had fired her manager and was operating independently of her label, Jive Records. The unexpected radio premiere of "Mona Lisa" alarmed industry insiders. KIIS-FM’s music director recalled the event, saying, "No signed artist would ever do that… Barry Weiss [Zomba Label Group CEO] would cut them in half with a cleaver." Despite Spears’ announcement, Jive Records swiftly stated that while she had been recording, no album was scheduled, and there were no plans to service "Mona Lisa" to radio. The only song from the project to see an official release was the finished version of "Mona Lisa," which appeared as a B-side on the debut extended play, Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. Rumors and fake tracklists for The Original Doll continued to circulate online for years, often including leaked songs from earlier projects or fan-created titles, but no additional tracks from the sessions have ever surfaced. Songs Spears co-wrote with Michelle Bell, such as "Ouch," "Money, Love and Happiness," and "Peep Show," were confirmed to be from the In the Zone era and not part of this project. ACCORDING TO VIA MTV WEBSITE: Jan 3 2005 5:37 PM EST So Much For 'Taking Time Off': Britney Previews New Song On L.A. Radio Station 'Mona Lisa' was recorded last fall, before singer injured her knee. By Jennifer Vineyard Just weeks after Britney Spears announced that she was taking an extended break from her career to focus on her family, she's plunging into work on a new album. A spokesperson from Jive Records confirmed that Spears is in the "very early" stages of working on an album, which is not yet on the label's release schedule. In a surprise visit, Spears played a rough mix of a song from the album Thursday night on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles to get some fan reaction. "We got a call on the request line from Britney Spears saying she wanted to come by and play her new song," KIIS-FM music director Julie Pilat said. "Then she showed up and world-premiered her new song," which is called "Mona Lisa." "It definitely has the raw thing going on it," Spears said during her station visit. "I recorded this song when I was on tour, right before I hurt my knee [see "Britney's Fall: The Never-Before-Seen Footage"]. It was done, I think, four or five months ago. My band, we didn't use ProTools or anything with it. It's all live. There's a lot of stuff you can do to make it better. It's going to get better. It will get better — this is a really, really rough mix." Spears dedicated the song — a slinky, midtempo number with a descending synth line that recalls 'NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" — to all the "legends and icons out there." The song's lyrics begin, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a story to tell/ About Mona Lisa, and how she suddenly fell/ See, everyone knew her, they knew her so well/ Now I am taking over to release her from her spell." The song continues to lament Mona Lisa's "fall," calling her "unforgettable" and "unpredictable," and cautions listeners not to have a "breakdown": "You will hit the freakin' wall." Though Spears said she wants "Mona Lisa" to be the first single from the new album, she hasn't yet decided on a title for the project, though she's leaning toward The Original Doll. "It's untitled right now," she said during her visit to KIIS-FM. "It's not even all the way done." She also said that she hoped to release the album "probably before summertime, or maybe a little sooner than that." ACCORDING TO THE ROLLING STONE WEBSITE: Britney Spears Gets "Dolled" UpHiatus already over as pop star readies new album By Alex Mar January 4, 2005 12:00 AM ET Despite her recent announcement that she would be "taking some time off," Britney Spears is in the early stages of work on a new album, tentatively titled The Original Doll. During a surprise appearance at Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM last Thursday, the singer previewed a rough mix of a new track, "Mona Lisa," recorded while Spears was on her Onyx Hotel tour. The song begins with the lyrics, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a story to tell/About Mona Lisa, and how she suddenly fell/ See, everyone knew her, they knew her so well/Now I am taking over to release her from her spell." A cautionary tale, "Mona Lisa" goes on to warn against having a "breakdown": "You will hit the freakin' wall." Spears announced her need for a break from the business last October in a letter on her Web site. "I understand now what they mean when they talk about child stars," she wrote. "Going and going and going is all I've ever known since I was fifteen years old." Yesterday, the pop star posted a New Year's letter to her fans on the site explaining her reversal: "What I meant was I am taking a break from being told what to do . . . I've been even more 'hands on' in my management and the business side of things, and I feel more in control than ever." Spears announced that The Original Doll will hit stores "probably before summertime." AND FROM A DEAD WEBSITE FOUND VIA WAYBACK MACHINE KNOWN AS "BRITNEYSPY": FEB 1 2005 The Day Britney Became Mona Lisa Written by admin. Posted in Uncategorized Radio & Records print edition: Spears makes a surprise visit to KIIS/Los Angeles. It was just your average day in beautiful downtown Burbank. At least it started out that way for Clarence Barnes, who has been doing weekends for quite sometime at KIIS/Los Angeles – when he’s not doing mornings at KOSS/Palmdale, CA or his other gig as executive producer of The Rick Dees Top 40. On the Thursday before New Year’s, otherwise known as New Year’s Eve Eve, Barnes was minding his own business while filling in for KIIS afternoon driver Valentine when he received a call on the request line – a call that not only profoundly changed his life and the lives of everyone in Southern California, but, more important, a call that was instrumental in helping us fill this entire page with words. No Way In Hell At around 6 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2004, Barnes’ phone op burst into the studio to breathlessly give him the news: Someone claiming to be Britney Spears was on the request line. Now, Barnes is not fresh out of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting; he’s been around a while, and he knew that it was a distinct possibility that the person on the phone could be someone doing a bad Britney impersonation trying to get on the radio. His initial suspicion centered on several bored teenagers out in Pacoima, CA betting on whether they could fool the dude on the radio. “I took the call, and I’m thinking, ‘I’ve spoken to Britney before, and this sounds like her,’” Barnes says. “So I start asking her things like who her manager is. She said she didn’t have one, but she gave me the name of her previous manager. I kept going back – I was trying to get Johnny Wright out of her.” Illustrating what an incredibly small world this industry is, Barnes spent some time early in his career in the lovely tourist area of Cape Cod, MA, where he worked with Wright at WKPE (Cape 104) – oddly enough, a station owned by David Lee Roth’s uncle. But I digress. Wright later went on to manage a few artists you may have heard of, including New Kids On The Block, *NSYNC – and Britney Spears. Wright’s name finally came up in Barnes’ conversation with the caller, but he still wasn’t full convinced, because Wright has been pretty visible on TV. And when the person on the other end of the phone said she wanted to come down to the station and play a track from her new, unfinished CD, Barnes was still skeptical. Cue Spears & Chihuahua “In the back of my mind I’m thinking, ‘No signed artist would ever do that, because [Zomba Label Group President/CEO] Barry Weiss would cut them in half with a cleaver,” Barnes says. “If you don’t have the record out yet, you’re going to find some radio guy who will ship it out half done, and the whole project will be trashed.” Barnes finally agreed to give the woman/possible psycho directions to the station, expecting that a) no one would ever show up or b) some half-baked Britney lookalike/soundalike would appear shortly thereafter at KIIS’s Burbank studios. “About half an hour later my phone op says, ‘She just called back. She’s going to give the CD to her bodyguard and have him drop it off,’” Barnes says. At this point he was more certain than ever that it was a hoax. “I predicted some random guy was going to walk into the station and drop this CD off,” he says. “If we were stupid enough to think it was Britney Spears, we’d play it, and someone in Pacoima would get a big laugh. It’s a clever thing to do, because if you do sound like Britney, the papers will all pick it up if we’re stupid enough to put it on.” Fast forward to an hour later. It’s about 7:50 p.m., and Barnes is headed into his last stopset and getting ready to turn things over to Boy Toy Jesse at 8 p.m. The two of them are chatting in the studio when Barnes turns his head to see a huge guy holding a tiny Chihuahua with painted toenails … standing next to none other than Britney Spears, who is clutching a CD in her hand. OH.MY.GOD! CD Players, Brains Hit Overload Spears apparently had some trouble getting up to the studio and had been standing downstairs until a security guard asked her if she needed help. “I don’t even think the security guard knew who she was,” Barnes says. “But she said, ‘Hi, I’m Britney Spears, and I’m supposed to be up there.’” And then things got weird. “Jesse’s brain went on pause,” Barnes says. At the same time, Manny – a member of the KIIS street team who also works on Ryan Seacrest’s morning show – began chatting up Spears and attempted to give her his business card and pitch his band. Things had been so calm just a minute earlier, and now everything was threatening to spin out of control. Barnes’ brain kicked into warp speed as he tried to figure out what to do as the last spot in the break played. It was time to, er, spit or get off the pot. Turns out the studio CD players had gone unused for so long – thanks to the in-house computer system – that they weren’t accepting Britney’s CD. The clock continued to tick down toward zero as Barnes tried to coax them back to life. What to do? Oh, hell – let’s just crack the mike and see what happens: “Ladies and gentlemen, you’re never going to believe who’s here. Come over and say hi,” Barnes said, turning to look at Spears. “I was trying to signal the guys to help me with the CD or pull a microphone over,” he says. “She couldn’t get close to the mike, so I was sh*tting bricks. Manny was still talking to her, so I told him to shut up, and I told Jesse to move the mike over, but it was like someone had given them some weird potion and their brains were gone.” Delicious Britney Goodness Barnes knew he had to act quickly not only because he was vamping live on a 50,000-watt radio station, but also because he was afraid that Spears would change her mind at the last second. “I had to do it ASAP, because if she started thinking it through, any normal person would think they were crazy to do it, and I wanted to get the record on,” he says. “I went live because I wanted to ask her to play it on the air. I don’t like people who hijack the interview and use it against people they’re interviewing – it’s not my thing – but I wanted to get the record on the air and just have a little fun.” Just then the hot line rang as KIIS MD Julie Pilat called in, the CD player finally fired up, and the delectable sounds of Britney’s track “Mona Lisa” began pulsating out of the studio monitors and over the airwaves. “We taped some stuff for later in the show,” Barnes says. “Britney was only there for, like, eight minutes, and then she left. She couldn’t have been nicer.” He adds that she also looked pretty damn good, despite the fact that she wore no make-up and was in your average hang-around-the-house-and-then-spontaneously-decide-to-debut-your-new-song-on-KIIS clothes. Needless to say, the request lines went crazy as half of the greater L.A. area – including building security – called in to ask if that was really Britney Spears. In the end, Barnes has yet another close encounter with Ms. Spears under his belt, KIIS got an exclusive shot at Britney’s new record, and no animals were harmed in the process. All in all, it made a great late Christmas, er, generic, nonspecific, nonreligious holiday present for all involved. As usual, Associate Radio Editor/Evil Minion Keith Berman claims he had a good deal to do with the creation of this column. Credit: UBritney.com NOW ACCORDING TO POPDIRT WEBSITE: Interview With ‘Toxic’ Songwriters Posted on May 10, 2004 by popdirt According to WobForums.com, a Swedish program interviewed the Bloodshy and Avant who wrote the mega Britney Spears’ hit ‘Toxic’. They are both from Sweden and Britney will perform there on May 11th. During the interview, they said Britney sometimes gives them a call in the middle of the night saying: “Listen to this and record it!”, and sings a new song she wrote so they can work on it. They also said they are working on a new material for Britney. HERE IS THE FULL INTERVIEW IN DECEMBER 30 2004 FOR THE ORIGINAL DOLL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRpZAX7I378 MONALISA HAS DIFERRENT LYRICS IN THE EP VERSION AND THE DEMO VERSION: THE DEMO VERSION RELEASED ON DECEMBER 30 2004 DURING THE RADIO INTERVIEW AND THE EP VERSION ON SEPTEMBER 27 2005 LISTEN TO THE DEMO VERSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzDcH9A1f50 LISTEN TO THE EP VERSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGx5rHQhZmc DEMO VERSION LYRICS: [Intro] This is a story about Mona Lisa That was her name, Mona Lisa [Verse 1] Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a little story to tell About Mona Lisa, and how she suddenly fell, huh! Now, see, everyone knew her, they knew her, oh, so well Now I am taking over to release her from her spell [Chorus] She's unforgettable (Yeah) She was a legend though (Yeah, yeah) It's kind of pitiful (Yeah) That she's gone It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah) It's time to let her go (Yeah) 'Cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone [Verse 2] She was taken under, drowning in her sea, huh! Running like an angel, she was crying but could not see (Oh, no) Now, see, everyone's watching as she starts to fall Now don't have a breakdown, you will hit the freaking wall [Chorus] She's unforgettable (Yeah) She was a legend though (Yeah, yeah) It's kind of pitiful (Yeah) That she's gone It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah) It's time to let her go (Yeah) 'Cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone [Bridge] Now ladies does that make you cry? huh! Now fellas you have to say bye bye 'Cause Mona Lisa's got to fly Everyone, may we have a moment of silence? Right here, huh! God? [Chorus] She's unforgettable (Yeah) She was a legend though (Yeah, yeah) It's kind of pitiful (Yeah) That she's gone It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah) It's time to let her go (Yeah) 'Cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone [Chorus] She's unforgettable (Yeah) She was a legend though (Yeah, yeah) It's kind of pitiful (Yeah) That she's gone It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah) It's time to let her go (Yeah) 'Cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone 'Cause she's gone, 'cause she's gone THE EP VERSION LYRICS: [Intro] This is a story about Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa [Verse 1] Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a little story to tell About Mona Lisa, and how she suddenly fell Now, see, everyone knew her, they knew her, oh, so well Now I'm taking over to release her from her spell [Chorus] She's the original (Yeah, yeah) She's unforgettable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) She's been cloned It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) She's been cloned, she's been cloned, she's been cloned [Verse 2] She was taken under, drowning in her sea Running like an angel, she was crying and could not see (Oh, no) Now, see, everyone's watching as she starts to fall They want her to break down There will be a legend of her fall [Chorus] She's the original (Yeah, yeah) She's unforgettable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) She's been cloned It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) She's been cloned, she's been cloned, she's been cloned [Bridge] Now, ladies, does that make you cry? Mona Lisa's got to fly Nobody really dies Everyone, may we have a moment of silence? Right here God [Chorus] She's the original (Yeah, yeah) She's unforgettable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) She's been cloned It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) That she's home, that she's home [Chorus] She's the original (Yeah, yeah) She's unforgettable (Yeah, yeah) She want's you to know (Yeah) She's been cloned It's kind of incredible (Yeah, yeah) She's so unpredictable (Yeah, yeah, yeah) She wants you to know (Yeah) That she's home, that she's home, that she's home "Mona Lisa" was written by Spears, Teddy Campbell and David Kochanski. It was produced by Bloodshy & Avant. In December 2004, Spears went to a radio station in Los Angeles without her record label's permission, Jive Records. She gave them the song and asked them to play it live on air. She said it was part of a new album she was working on, called Original Doll. But her record label, didn't like that she did this without telling them. They said that were no plans for a new album, and the project was canceled. Original Doll was never released, and "Mona Lisa" was included as a bonus track on her 2005 extended play, Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. Mona Lisa" delves into themes of identity, fame, and the pressures of the entertainment industry. The lyrics tell the story of a woman named Mona Lisa, described as "unforgettable" and "unpredictable." The chorus emphasizes her uniqueness and the notion that she has been "cloned." "Mona Lisa" is composed in the key of C♯ minor and has a tempo of approximately 80 beats per minute. The song features a blend of live instrumentation and studio production, reflecting a raw and edgy sound that complements its introspective lyrics. ALTHOUGH IT WAS DARK THE DEMO VERSION WAS DARK SERIOUSLY DARK IT SPARKED SO MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES ALSO BOTH VERSIONS GAVE A HINT ABOUT BRITNEY'S BREAKDOWN IN 2007 WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE MEDIA AND HER HEADSHAVE AND BEING CHASED BY PAPARAZZI BRITNEY PORTAYED HERSELF AS "MONA LISA" THO THAT ALBUM KNOWN AS "THE ORIGINAL DOLL" IS HELLA SCARY EXPOSING THE MEDIA, THE DARKSIDE OF HOLLYWOOD AND EVEN DEEPER AND ONE PERSON SAID I FORGOT WHERE: she disappeared, and was doing really weird things. like shaving her head, and having a seizure or panic hectic movement on the floor, and got carried off stage. when she first started singing, she was about 9 and she had a very deep and big voice. now its very high pitch because she signed a contract to stay high pitched and have a doll like voice. thats why she VERY rarely sings live. its become difficult for her vocal chords to do such intense songs with a forced tone. her manager is forcing her to act like another person for fame and money. please spread the word, she needs help. its all forced. and faked.