Britney back with new CD

Those talented divas are still lording it in the pop charts. You know them, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Pink, Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry, who just notched a major milestone. Perry now has four No. 1 singles out of her Teenage Dream album. These are California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Firework and her latest E.T. If I remember right the only other artist who accomplished the same in recent times was Marian Carey and that was many years ago.

I am sure that the going will continue to be great for the females, collectively for many more months to come. Take note that there are also very strong new products from Jennifer Lopez, Adele and Jennifer Hudson. But unless these girls have something brilliant hiding up their sleeves though, there is no way they can expect to be the dominant diva in the hit charts these days. This is because, the real teen-age dream, the purring sex kitten of the airlanes, is back with what must be her best album to date.

What do nymphets grow up into? Femme Fatales. That is, if they manage to make the transition. Now, for a while there, it looked like Britney Spears will never be able to do so. Remember she was a nymphet of the first order. Given the tumultuous lifestyle and the often weak, uneven singing of the former Disney Mouseketeer, it did look like, the only Britney destined for the future was a zonked out, aging diva. I really did not think she still had the drive to go to the studio and hanker down to work. But she did and I am truly surprised by the results. She sparkles throughout.

Released only a few days ago, here now is the aptly titled Femme Fatale by Britney Spears and it is a wonderfully danceable, techno feast of the incessant, infectious kind. This is the sort of album that you listen to once or twice but will stay in your mind for a long time. The driving beat and the seductive, whispery vocals conjure up images of club nights on the town with the hip set. It is a beautiful image, as beautiful as those new pictures of Britney in the CD cover. There are 10 photographs and she looks absolutely gorgeous in all of them.

Is this the same girl who shaved her head a few years ago? The same one who scandalized the world by not wearing undies? The one who lost her sons in a bitter custody case? Who married and then divorced a few hours later in Las Vegas? And who treated herself to behavior that proved shocking or at the very least nerve wracking for everybody? Well, she was able to redeem herself with her last album Blackout. But now she’s back again and would you believe, she not only looks great, she also sounds better than she ever did before.

I cannot help but marvel at the way the album was put together and how it successfully set the intended mood. The catchy Till The World Ends, which enjoins the listener to keep on dancing till the world ends, sets the tone. Hold It Against Me keeps the tempo up, and then steps it down a bit for the break up ballad Inside Out. The next cuts vary but the excitement never falters. The cuts are not perfect. The lyrics, mostly double entendre are too sexy at times and could have been better written. Britney’s vocals also come across as too processed at times. Does this mean several runs with the autotune? Maybe.

There was really no need for too much of this as Britney, the singer, is also very much present. Trouble For Me, Don’t Keep Me Waiting and Inside Out show this off very well. Also included are I Wanna Go; How I Roll; Seal It With A Kiss; Trip To Your Heart; Gasoline; Criminal; Up N’ Down; He About To Lose Me; Selfish and Big Fat Bass featuring will.i.am, which sounds like the Black Eyed Peas go Eurodisco. Special mention goes to (Drop Dead) Beautiful, feat. new rapper Sabi, which has the makings of a sure hit single.