#FreeBritney: Can Spears’s new Backstreet Boys song collab help her?

As many of us Britney Spears fans continue to monitor the iconic popstar’s life (as well as bizarrely entertaining Instagram account), we were all overjoyed when news dropped Britney Spears was releasing the single “Matches” as part of a deluxe reissue of her 2016 album Glory. 

Fans of the “Hit Me Baby One More Time” singer were even more excited to learn the track featured another pair of nostalgia heartthrobs, The Backstreet Boys. Hopefully, this move will shine a positive light on Spears while equally taking away some of the negative focus, possibly freeing Spears of her troubles at long last. 

It’s 1999 all over again, and not a single soul is mad about it. 

Britney Spears

Shooting to fame in the late 1990s, Britney Spears was deemed by many as the “Princess of Pop”, a title that held true for much of the singers’ early career, where she would go on to earn multiple nominations as well as wins at the Grammy’s & Billboard Music Awards. (Only to ultimately get snubbed for a Best Actress nomination at the 2003 Oscars for her role in Crossroads.)

Unfortunately, Spears suffered many of the harsh realities young public figures do, struggling to escape the limelight. Spears had several public breakdowns spawning from multiple failed marriages as well as other personal battles. 

Today, Spears seems to be on the comeback trail, a journey she started with the release of her last studio album Glory in 2006, and we couldn’t be happier for her. 

Backstreet Boys

Going on nearly thirty years since their debut, The Backstreet Boys are still making music today almost as good as it was in the late 1990s. 

The Backstreet Boys is possibly the only band with new music you can say you danced to at your high school prom and your child’s father/daughter or mother/son dance.    

The Backstreet Boys have never seemed to lose their momentum producing iconic hits, giving us album after album of bangers. Their constant production of quality music leaves us wondering when will they ever slow down.

Collaboration

2020 was a rough one, but not for music lovers. The global pandemic inspired many artists to take new risks and create original sounds we were unfamiliar with – many singers & songwriters even collaborated with one another to produce new music.

Surprise, surprise! 

This music surge included the iconic Britney Spears and one of the greatest boybands to ever assemble, The Backstreet Boys. The collab produced the song “Matches”, which expresses the dangers of playing with fire – NOT your Smoky the Bear kind of fire.

“Matches”, which is currently climbing the charts at an impressive rate given the holiday season and the abundance of Amy Grant & Michael Bublé being played, gives fans of both Spears and Backstreet Boys a reason to rejoice for this 90s collaboration, as it highlights the talent & legacy of Britney Spears’s music, rather than the personal life she has been a victim of. 

This collaboration could possibly be an indication even more new music is to come from both parties, as the Backstreet Boys seemed to take a backseat on this track, embracing the sound of Spears’ style of music and we’re not just talking about the heavy autotune.

Maybe this is something they could tap into for future work? 

Future for Britney

The #FreeBritney movement has held strong for over a decade now, fans rooting for Britney Spears in all aspects of the singer’s life. This support includes her legal troubles involving a conservatorship approved in 2008, giving her lawyer & father control of the singer’s assets & finances since her public mental breakdowns over a decade ago. 

Spears will have to continue to fight for her own life back, and perhaps “Matches”, albeit a simple song, is another step in the right direction. Hopefully, the song gives Spears’ positive momentum as well as positive feedback from her fans, which will be the fuel she needs to keep this one-of-a-kind engine running. 

Go get’em, Britney. We’re all rooting for you.