Britney fans punish Justin Timberlake by making a 13-year-old bonus track out-perform his new single
Britney Spears' 2011 song "Selfish" is kicking the butt of Timberlake's brand new single of the same name on the charts
Aux News Justin Timberlake
Were we Justin Timberlake or his management, we might take some time out of our days—every day—to think about not pissing off the fans of Britney Spears. Timberlake has, of course, a long history with Spears, dating back to their time together on The Mickey Mouse Club, through a three-year romantic relationship in the early 2000s, all the way up to late last year, when Spears revealed, in her memoir The Woman In Me, that Timberlake had convinced her to get an abortion in 2000, a decision she called “agonizing.” His treatment of, and attitude toward, Spears has been a huge part of his public perception over the years (combined, obviously, with the infamous incident where he exposed Janet Jackson’s breast to the Super Bowl-viewing world in 2004); treating her still-fervent fanbase with a healthy (bordering on fearful) dose of respect just sounds like good business sense.
What we would not do is kick off our latest promotional push for a new album with a new single carrying the same title as one of Spears’ songs, for fear of exactly what has happened this week: Spears fans getting together to elevate her 2011 track “Selfish” above Timberlake’s own single of the same name on the charts, meaning the “President Of Pop”’s latest offering is publicly getting its ass kicked by a song that’s more than a decade old.
This was reported by Variety, which notes that Spears’ song—a bonus track from her 2011 album Femme Fatale—is sitting comfortably above Timberlake’s just-released single, the lead-off song from his upcoming studio album Everything I Thought It Was. (Both songs, meanwhile, are sitting beneath a just-released track called “FACTS (feat. Ben Shapiro)” from right-wing rapper Tom MacDonald, which either does, or does not, feature internet aneurysm-inducer Shapiro rapping, but god willing we’ll never have to find out.)
This kind of chart manipulation isn’t the hardest thing in the world to pull off, but it is pretty funny—and a reminder that, for all that Taylor Swift’s fans get held up as an unstoppable juggernaut, it still pays to be smart, and leave Britney alone.
63 Comments
Fo’ shiz?
I’ve always been mildly bemused by pop stars reusing the names of world-famous songs. When Rihanna released ‘Sledgehammer’ for Star Trek, were her publishers just kind of sidestepping Peter Gabriel’s superhit single from the 80s?
I find it amusing that in 1983 it was still possible to have a hit song called “Jeopardy” that had nothing to do with the show(until Weird Al permanently associated them in people’s minds).
“Fire” is the most used song title.
I mean, to be fair, the 80s were 40 years ago. What’s the statute of limitations? ‘cause if it’s forever, eventually we’re just gonna run out of words.
Hey. Not ALL the 80s!
i recall christina aguilera naming her tune ‘drrty,’ or however one spells it, specifically to avoid this problem.
Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”
I find it really weird that there is a song called ‘Post Malone’, written by someone other than Post Malone, about Post Malone. It’s odd on a number of levels, the biggest of which is I never would have imagined anyone cared that much about the guy.
Let’s discuss this over some Post Raisin Bran.
There’s this weird assumption that young people dont recognise anything that occurred before they were born , which isn’t actually true (except for the ‘hard of thinking’ ones ) , which is why you get remakes that are use the same name as the movie or game they’re remaking (Ghostbusters/Modern Warfare, Battlefront) so after a while you dont know which version is being referenced , and songs with the same name as 80s/90s songs . Possibly its to mess with statistics , or just stupidity.Anyway , Cruel Summer is a Bananarama 80s song and nothing else.
I am so old I am mildly disappointed every time “Empire State of Mind” turns out not to be “New York State of Mind”
‘Title.’ It’s called a song ‘title,’ The Whole World.
Just listened to Spear’s Selfish for the first time. Damn, that slaps. I was doing isolation moves in my chair and then just got up for some body rolls. JT’s sad old dad song is sad. If he’s in as much agony as the guy he plays in his video… cry me a river.And people think Britney dances funny.
Slaps is what people say when they don’t really have much interesting to say about music, isn’t it?
I don’t speak GenZ. When it comes to music I let my body do the talking.
I’m sure your detailed descriptions of the music you like are super duper interesting
Everyone be cool it’s a music cop!
What a pedantic and out-of-place criticism of someones perfectly valid opinion.
Being a dick is what people do when they don’t have a personality, isn’t it?
This comment of yours is a bop.
BreadnMaters doesn’t ever have anything interesting to say.About anything.
But you have to admit that this song slaps
No, this slaps:
No, this slaps:
Turns out we’re both wrong. This slaps:
Bravo!
STOP it! That’s SILLY!
Yes, this is exactly what I meant 😀
This brings back memories. The summer I finally heard a Sanborn album (I was always a late bloomer). I call it “the summer of cocaine,” lol.
looks like the horn is inflating his head.
It’s just another way to say it’s good, grandpa.
You forgot to end with “and then everyone cheered”.
Is that some sort of martial art you practice?
You mean body rolls? Try some. You decide if they’re dangerous, lol
looks like somebody might get hurt.
Good.
“FACTS (feat. Ben Shapiro)” from right-wing rapper Tom MacDonald
Something tells me it won’t, in fact, be about facts and will probably contain a bunch of their hurt feefees.
Yes, because Ben is always preaches “feefees” (sic) over facts.
I have read the lyrics, out of morbid curiousity.
50% is stale conservative ‘comedy’ about how many genders they think exist, how fat Lizzo is, and how offended they are by WAP existing. The other 50% of the song is them telling you how offended you are, and how little they care about how offended you are. Oh, there is one line about how the police are now defunded and progressives are now defenceless against… I don’t know, something I guess.
What a stupid time to be alive.
That sentence should apologise to the English language for existing.
…right-wing rapper Tom MacDonaldIs…is that his street name? Is that what he chose?
Be careful. If you jump off window and end up offing yourself, you’d be stuck in hell forever, and you know what music they make poor penitent souls in hell hear for ever and ever: yes, exactly that, Ben Shapiro’s voice in a loop.
I tried to care but could only muster a weak fart.
That’s what your mom said to the doc in the delivery room.
Why is an old song from 2011 on the charts at all? That’s not even retro, that’s just depressing.
Nowhere in this does it mention that they’re iTunes charts. You know, where you buy tracks. It’s incredibly easy to manipulate because nobody actually buys them anymore. The article makes it sound like the Billboard 100 or something.
I don’t know. On principle, not letting the psychotic internet fan base of someone you dated 20 years ago dictate your career decisions seems healthy.
especially since Britney’s nutjob fans will go after him for anything he says or does. Seriously a lot of those people are sick in the head
i’ll do you one better: i don’t think even every individual listen of every song ever released should count on the charts in perpetuity.
Team Justin.
Do they think this affects his single’s performance in some way?
Do you think? Like at all ever?
But the new song I’m writing, ‘Hit Me Baby, One More Time’, will do fine, right?
Cult of personality sells records. Who knew?
Man. It’s slightly disturbing watching fully grown adults… on their phones… critique a college aged kid… for the douchey way he handled a break up… 22 years ago… while surrounded by nothing but agents, managers, PR people and ‘yes men’ looking to capitalize on the situation. Must be nice to have been so perfect during your high school and college dating years – haha! This general attack on Justin Timberlake is really pathetic and sad. Where were all these people and their pitchforks 13 years ago when “Selfish” came out? Or in 2004, for that matter? Britney certainly has every right to share the details of how she supposedly felt at the time. But all these ‘Monday Morning Quarterbacks’ who said nothing 22 years ago, but get to be all comfortably high and mighty today, are really pathetic.
And unless this was some bizarre dream and it’s still
2006 – since when has paying $1.29 on the iTunes Store for a song been what
accurately depicts a song’s success? Do people other than the Fox News anchors
still buy songs on the iTunes Store?
I’m sure Justin spent a LOT of time considering how his new single would affect the empty shell with a nice bod that he used to fuck; as he dries his tears with hundred dollar bills and goes home to the empty shell with a perfect body that he married.
Your life is so pointless boo
and you can’t seem to stop swinging on me.boo?