Britney and Madonna Against the Music

“Me Against the Music,” Britney Spear’s first single from her forthcoming album is out and a lot is riding on it. She gets some help from Madonna who sings on it and makes appearance in the video. Britney as of yet, hasn’t broken out of the teen pop mold. She tried with her last album giving us the lame “I’m a Slave 4U” and the even lamer “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman,” which didn’t perform well on radio. To make matters worse, along comes Christina Aguilera who easily broke out of the teen pop market with two strong singles “Fighter” and “You Are Beautiful.”

“Me Against the Music,” is a decent dance song that gets catchier with repeated listens. With Madonna singing the chorus, it gives the song just enough bump to push it out of the generic, although when she calls “Hey Britney,” it gets pretty cheesy. It sure to be a big hit in the clubs but on radio is another matter. Britney will have to produce more then this one song to make her next album a huge success.

The video is actually entertaining. For most of the song, Britney is searching for Madonna in a club and finally finds her at the end. Britney is about to kiss Madonna when she suddenly vanishes.

Is this good career move for Madonna or a sign of desperation? In the late 80s, Madonna would never have sung on a Debbie Gibson album or a Paula Abdul song. On the positive side, this song will give Madonna more exposure to a younger audience and it returns Madonna to her roots of dance music.

By Clint Romag