What Britney Spears Thought of ‘Work B****’ in Retrospect

Music

Britney Spears' "Work B****" is one of her most unusual, memorable, and profane hit songs. The singer revealed she recorded "Work B****" during a time when she was struggling creatively.

Published on July 7, 2024

2 min read

Britney Spears' "Work B****" is one of her most unusual, memorable, and profane hit songs. The "…Baby One More Time" singer revealed she recorded "Work B****" during a time when she was struggling creatively. She felt that the track was different from the other tunes she recorded for its parent album. 

Britney Spears felt 'Work B****' was the 1 good song from 1 of her albums

In her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Spears discussed how she felt when she was recording her album, Britney Jean. The Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am served as one of the producers of the record. "Back in the studio, I made one good song with Will.i.am — 'Work B****,'" she wrote. "But I wasn't making a lot of music that I was proud of, probably because I wasn't into it. 

"I was so demoralized," she added. "It seemed like my father would pick the darkest and ugliest studios to record in. It felt like some people got a thrill from thinking I didn't notice those things. I felt cornered in those situations; I felt they set me up. It was like they thrived on my fear, turned it all into drama, which in turn made me unhappy, and so they would always win. All I knew was I had to work, and I wanted to do the right thing — to make an album that I was proud of. But it was as if I had forgotten that I was a powerful woman."

Britney Spears lost her love for making music

Spears said that, around that time, she lost her love for recording music. She didn't have the passion or fire she used to have in the studio. Perhaps that's why Britney Jean isn't generally considered one of the gems in Spears' catalog. Even hardcore fans usually aren't too impressed with it.

The "Womanizer" singer framed her state of mind as the result of her personal life. By the time she put Britney Jean on, Spears had become a mother of two, suffered a mental breakdown, and seen her parents take over her career. She decided to do a residency in Las Vegas simply because she was out of ideas.

'Work B****' was followed by a completely different, awful single

"Work B****" was a modest hit in the United States. It peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. On the other hand, Britney Jean reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 11 weeks.

"Work B****," a galumphing electronic track, was followed by a completely different single: "Perfume." "Perfume" is a gentle ballad about Spears wanting to get her perfume all over her lover to mark him as her "territory." It's ill-conceived and terrible. 

Listening to "Perfume," it's not hard to understand why Spears felt that Britney Jean was subpar. "Perfume" peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent six weeks on the chart. That fact that "Perfume" performed as well as it did despite being rancid is a testament to Spears' fame and following.

Britney Jean isn't a great album, but "Work B****" remains a dancefloor favorite. Spears' next album, Glory, is a much better display of her talents.