Why Britney Spears’ ‘Radar’ Appears on 2 of Her Albums

Music

Pop stars usually only release a song on one studio album. Britney Spears broke the mold when she included "Radar" on her hit album, 'Blackout', and its follow-up, 'Circus'.

Published on July 6, 2024

2 min read

Pop stars usually only release a song on one of their studio albums. Britney Spears broke the mold when she included "Radar" on the tracklist of her hit album, Blackout, and its follow-up, Circus. The story behind this inclusion is a little odd. Here's a look at why one of Spears' hits got so much extra attention.

The connection between Britney Spears' 'Radar' and 'Toxic'

Bloodshy & Avant are a pair of producers who are known for working on Spears hits such as "Toxic," "Do Somethin'," and "Piece of Me." The Guardian reports that "Radar" was contractually obligated to become a single. 

Putting one song onto two albums could be an artistic disaster. After all, different albums have different styles and sounds. However, "Radar" works just as well on Blackout as it does on Circus. Both records are heavy on synthesizers and sounded state-of-the-art in the 2000s. The main distinction between the two records is that Circus is much happier and more fun than Blackout. Regardless, "Radar" was one of the more upbeat tunes on Blackout, so it feels right at home on Circus.

A major producer revealed what it's like to work with Britney Spears

During a 2022 interview with American Songwriter, Bloodshy from Bloodshy & Avant revealed what it was like working with Spears. "She was always great, she was always great to work with," he said. "I felt like she had a lot of respect for my crazy ideas. Sometimes, I had her sing a huge part of a song in only one note, and I said, 'I'll do the melody later' … and she hung in there and stuck with me and trusted my crazy ideas."

Bloodshy gave fans insight into his creative process. "I feel like stepping out of your comfort zone and using a new method is always how the best ideas come about," he said. "I believe it's when you're out of your comfort zone when you dare to go somewhere you wouldn't have gone if you were doing something that you'd done so many times."

How 'Radar' performed on the charts

"Radar" was not a single when it was released on Blackout. That record reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for  34 weeks. Blackout didn't top the Billboard 200 but it is now considered the best album of Spears' career and one of the best albums of all time.

When "Radar" was released as a single from Circus, it became a modest hit. It peaked at No. 88 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for three weeks. Circus became far more popular. It was a No. 1 hit Billboard 200 for a week, lasting on the chart for 42 weeks in total.

Perhaps the reason why "Radar" failed was that it sounded too familiar to listeners in the mid-2000s. The track has an uncanny resemblance to "SOS" by Rihanna, a very popular song that came out before Blackout or Circus. After "SOS" became a ubiquitous hit, it's understandable that the public wouldn't have much interest in a song with a similar synthesizer riff.

"Radar" is a fun song and, for some fans, it was probably worth hearing twice on two different albums.