First, Madonna had this problem. She tried to kickstart her career with a duet featuring Sam Smith. Remember “Vulgar”? It sold around 30,000 copies, mostly streaming.
Now, Britney Spears faces a similar dilemma. Her new duet with will.i.am, called “Mind Your Business,” is a stiff.
Released last Thursday night, “Mind Your Business” is at number 45 on iTunes, and nowhere on the Apple streaming chart. On Spotify it’s’ had about 2.6 million streams. It’s also not on the Spotify Top 50 daily chart for streaming songs.
Britney had a novelty hit last year when Elton John welcomed her on to a remake of “Tiny Dancer.” But that had the advantage of being an existing song. “Mind Your Business” is the 4th time Britney and will.i.am have recorded together. But unlike his Black Eyed Peas songs with Fergie, this isn’t an actual song. It’s a dance track with Britney sometimes saying the word ‘bitch’. This worked for her a long time ago, but now it’s an outdated idea.
If Spears is going to make a new album, she has to get actual songs. She needs songwriters like Diane Warren or Max Martin. She needs a producer with a vision. Putting out one offs is not going to get her anywhere.
