|
''In the Zone'' is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. It was released on November 12, 2003, by Jive Records. Its music incorporates dance, house, trip hop and hip hop styles with instrumentation from guitars, drums, synthesizers, strings, and Middle Eastern musical instruments. Its themes range from love, dancing, empowerment, and in the case of songs such as "Touch of My Hand", sex and masturbation. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers, including Bloodshy & Avant, R. Kelly, Trixster, Moby, Guy Sigsworth and The Matrix. With the conclusion of the Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and the end of her relationship with Justin Timberlake, Spears planned to take a six-month break from her career; however, work for ''In the Zone'' began later that November. She began writing songs for the album while touring internationally, despite not knowing the direction of the album. She experimented with different producers, trying to find those with whom she had chemistry. The first song recorded was "Touch of My Hand", which Spears claims set the mood for the album. She co-wrote all but four tracks, and often changed the lyrics to suit herself. Spears stated she was an autobiographical songwriter, although not to the point where she felt self-exploited. She also explained that the sexual nature of ''In the Zone'' was subconscious and happened while she was in the process of developing the album. Spears collaborated with artists such as Madonna in "Me Against the Music" and the Ying Yang Twins in "(I Got That) Boom Boom". ''In the Zone'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its mix of different styles and Spears's songwriting, but criticized her vocals for being distant and processed. Commercially, ''In the Zone'' became an international success, debuting atop of the charts in France and the United States, and peaking inside the top ten in fifteen countries. In the United States, she became the first female artist to have four consecutive number-one albums. ''In the Zone'' went on to become the eighth best selling album of 2003. Four singles were released from the album: "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime" became worldwide hits, all peaking at number one in Australia and Ireland and reaching top five positions worldwide. To promote ''In the Zone'', Spears performed the songs in a number of television appearances and also embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour. The album and its music videos are largely seen by critics as the end of her transition from teen pop star to a more adult female artist. In 2009, Amy Schriefer of NPR listed ''In the Zone'' as one of The 50 Most Important Recordings of the Decade, calling it "a primer on the sound of pop in the '00s". ==Background and development== In November 2001, Spears released her third album, ''Britney'', which portrayed more adult and provocative themes and featured the lead single "I'm a Slave 4 U". The album sold 4 million copies in the United States; nevertheless, it was viewed as "poor-selling" in comparison to her previous efforts. The following year, her relationship of three years with pop singer Justin Timberlake ended after months of speculation. After the Dream Within a Dream Tour in support of ''Britney'' finalized in July 2002, Spears announced she would take a break from her career for six months. In November 2002, she revealed that she had started working on her next studio album. She explained, "Well, actually, I just said that I wanted two or three weeks off. () And the whole world was like, 'Ohmigod, (HREF="http://www.kotoba.ne.jp/word/11/sic" TITLE="sic">sic'' ) she's gone..."〔 While in Europe, Spears met with William Orbit and Daft Punk about possible collaborations, and originally confirmed Darkchild and The Neptunes as producers. When asked by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' about the direction of the record, Spears responded it was an organic evolution, adding, "It should just happen naturally from the way you feel. () Whatever happens, happens". Additionally, Spears scheduled meet-and-greets with Timbaland and Missy Elliott in an effort to help evolve her sound. Elliott would also enlist in further production work with Nisan Stewart for Spears' project, however none of the initial material saw the light of day. Fred Durst was asked by Spears' management to submit material, and he wrote and produced three trip hop tracks that were recorded by Spears in January 2003. However, after news of an affair between them broke, Durst told Jive Records he was not going to let them use the songs for the album. In March 2003, Lauren Christy from The Matrix spoke about the development of the album with MTV News, and likened their work with Spears to Madonna's ''Ray of Light''. Scott Spock, also from The Matrix, continued comparing her to Madonna, saying,
Spears also previewed several songs to Quddus Philippe of MTV in May 2003, including "Touch of My Hand", "Brave New Girl" and "Everytime". Spears commented, "I've really been able to take my time and have creative control and make (new album ) special, special, special." On August 27, 2003, Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards performing a medley of "Like a Virgin/Hollywood" with Madonna, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott. The performance started with Spears appearing on stage on top of a giant wedding cake while wearing a wedding gown and veil; she sang the first few lines of "Like a Virgin" before Aguilera appeared from behind the cake and joined her. Madonna then emerged from the cake wearing a black coat and a hat and started singing "Hollywood" before proceededing to kiss Spears and Aguilera on the lips.〔 Missy Elliott came out from a wedding chapel to sing her song "Work It" halfway through the performance.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=MTV VMA 2003 highlights - Madonna performance video )〕 The kiss generated strong reaction from the media. The performance was listed by ''Blender'' magazine as one of the twenty-five sexiest music moments on television history. MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「In the Zone」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|