How Britney Spears Stopped Being A ‘People Pleaser’ And Became More ‘Selfish’
Amid her nonstop promo tour, Britney Spears sat down for an exclusive interview with NME magazine. She also graced the cover of the magazine and opened up about the recording and songwriting process for her ninth studio album, Glory.
Spears spoke to NME magazine as part of their Apple Music Festival issue, which features her on her cover. In addition, Britney will take the stage for her first-ever performance at Apple Music Festival at London’s Roundhouse later this month.
In this week’s mag: It’s Britney baby! – the pop icon on her first UK gig in five years at #AMF16. Don’t miss it pic.twitter.com/EJ4KmmDG0G
— NME (@NME) September 15, 2016
Britney Spears has admitted that she has stopped being a “people pleaser” when it comes to making music. Although Femme Fatale received good reviews, it didn’t feel like a Britney Spears album. And while Britney Jean was her most “personal album” to date, it was not what fans expected from the pop princess. Spears revealed that she had to become a little more “selfish” with Glory in order to release an album that she’s proud of.
Spears told NME that although she wrote all of the 12 tracks on Britney Jean, she was a lot more hands-on with Glory.
“Honestly, this is the first project where I’ve really been hands-on. I was really specific about who I’ve worked with, and I’ve been learning to say no. I’m a people pleaser, so that’s hard for me. Even if I don’t like something, I’ll do it just to make a person happy. I made sure this album was everything I wanted it to be. I was really selfish with it.”
She even admitted that the beginning stages of the album were rough. She didn’t like the sound or the songs that she worked on.
“The beginning of the project was actually not that great. The songs that were coming in were not very good. So we got a new A&R girl, and we totally turned it around, gave it a new direction. I wanted to use my voice more. I did different stuff with my voice – more bluesy and urban stuff, and played around with different things.”
Despite the fact that Britney Spears has secured her legendary status in pop music, she admits that she still has doubts about her career. In the interview, Spears said that she sometimes wonders if she could just become a teacher, reports the Daily Mail.
“I try not to analyze too much. I love what I do and I think that helps because it speaks for itself when I perform. Seeing other artists continue to do this thing inspires me too. Because sometimes I’m like, ‘What am I doing? Like, I could be a teacher. But then I see other people doing it too and I’m like, ‘Well, you know, it’s probably all they’ve known for so long, so it just kind of makes sense.'”
Spears does teach, in a sense. According to E! Online and her Instagram page, she is back to teaching dance classes as she takes a break from her ongoing Las Vegas residency. Spears has taken to Instagram to post clips of herself teaching little girls and lucky fans some of her well-known dance routines.
Spears captioned one of the posts, “It’s sooo great to teach!”
Her dance classes also incorporate a little bit of yoga, as she and the girls were seen doing a downward dog and other positions. This isn’t the first time that Spears has been teaching dance classes. Last September, she taught another dance class and brought along her niece Lexie.
In the meantime, Spears will perform at the Apple Music Festival on Tuesday, September 27. It will be her first U.K. show since 2011. The full interview with Spears is in this week’s issue of NME, which is available Friday, September 16 and will be online soon.
[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]
