Fans of Britney Spears are streaming her older track ‘Selfish’ in reaction to her ex’s lead single from his upcoming album ‘Everything I Thought It Was.
Britney Spears‘ fans, also known as stans, are streaming a 13-year-old song from her ‘Femme Fatale’ album titled “Selfish” in response to her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake‘s new single with the same title. This collective effort has propelled the song into the charts.
After Justin Timberlake released the lead single from his forthcoming album ‘Everything I Thought It Was’ on January 25, fervent efforts from Britney Spears’ fans ensued. Spearheaded by a fan account, @britneyxytube, supporters mobilized to stream and purchase Britney’s 2011 track titled “Selfish,” which, as a bonus on the deluxe edition of her ‘Femme Fatale’ album, had been relatively dormant.
This concerted endeavor proved successful, propelling the song into the Top 40 of the iTunes Charts in the United States, as reported by Entertainment Tonight.
Notably, some enthusiasts took a lighthearted approach, creating mock album artwork and facetiously acting as if Britney herself were releasing the song on the same day as Justin’s single, injecting an element of playful rivalry into the fan-driven resurgence.
Justin’s “Selfish” marks the debut track from his upcoming album set for release on March 14. This album will be his first since 2018’s “Man of the Woods.” In addition to the album, Justin has announced an arena tour scheduled between April and July of 2024.
Despite their breakup over 20 years ago, the details of Justin and Britney’s past romance resurfaced when Britney shared new insights in her 2023 memoir, “The Woman In Me.” The revelations, including an abortion claim after becoming pregnant with Justin and allegations of mutual infidelity, stirred considerable drama surrounding their historical relationship.
Following the release of Britney Spears’ memoir, Justin Timberlake took the step of disabling comments on his Instagram account in response to an overwhelming flood of messages from Britney’s fans. Despite choosing not to directly address Britney’s specific comments in the memoir, reports indicated that Justin was discontented with the level of personal detail she had chosen to divulge.
A source shared with Us Weekly at the time that Justin had anticipated a more general discussion of their relationship’s highs and lows, rather than an airing of what he perceived as their “very personal, dirty laundry.” The situation highlighted the challenges of navigating personal narratives and public scrutiny in the aftermath of such high-profile relationships.
In the aftermath of Britney Spears’ revealing memoir, Justin Timberlake, though not directly addressing the book, seemed to make a reference during an unanticipated performance in Las Vegas. Just before performing “Cry Me a River,” a song highlighted in Britney’s memoir as a source of hurt, Justin prefaced with “No disrespect.” Subsequently, he incorporated lyrics from his collaboration with Jay-Z, “Holy Grail”: “Ain’t we all just entertainers?
I feel stupid and contagious. Yeah, we all just entertainers.” This choice of lyrics appeared to serve as a nuanced response or commentary on the complexities of their public personas and the intricacies of their shared history, alluding to the challenges faced as public figures in the entertainment industry..
