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Killer

Britney Spears aims for top of charts with new album that solidifies her place as music industry

When Britney Spears' first album, Baby One More Time, debuted in 1999, her only real competition for Queen of Pop was fellow blond-haired former MouseketeerChristina Aguilera. Twelve years after she single-handedly revitalized the Catholic schoolgirl fantasy, Spears releases her seventh album, Femme Fatale, into a decidedly more crowded field of dance-pop sirens. With Ke$ha, Rihanna and Katy Perry dropping new singles seemingly every week, space at the top of the charts is limited. How will Spears, nearing 30, make yet another "comeback" and reclaim her throne?

The answer is beating the competition at its own game, or rather reminding Perry and company that Spears wrote the rules while they were still singing into hairbrushes. Spears and her studio team are masters at reinvention, continually evolving to satisfy the tastes of the masses, and what the masses want these days is hook-laden, stylized electro-pop. Femme Fatale, her sixth album to debut at No. 1, more than delivers. The songs command you to dance 'til you drop, preferably in a sweaty rave. The album's first single, "Hold It Against Me," is no lyrical revelation, but the way Spears smolders singing, "If I said I want your body now/ Would you hold it against me?" has me close to switching teams, and the genius dubstep breakdown in the third quarter makes it clear why the single went straight to the top of the charts.

Album opener "Till the World Ends" and "I Wanna Go" are even better; both are club bangers with irresistible, stuttering chant choruses. These songs are just as suited for European clubs as top 40 stations and probably will be played exhaustively by both. "How I Roll," the best track on the album, breaks from the synth-induced daze in favor of a summery pop vibe, with Spears mewing, "If you know what it takes to be my man/ We can go make love together." Subtle she ain't, but that's the beauty of this album. The hooks are tight and ubiquitous, the bass is bad and thumping - this is unapologetic excess at its finest.

Still, no one's pretending that Spears' vocals are anything to write to the Grammys about, and she's taking some heat for not having a single songwriting credit on the album. But these days, for better or worse, the pop music industry isn't about being an artist. It's about being a brand, and when she's at her best - as in not getting a quickie marriage, shaving her head or going to rehab - no one is better at marketing herself than Spears.

So that brings us back to where she fits in with today's music scene. Here's the thing: Before Katy Perry bragged about kissing a girl and liking it, Spears actually was kissing a girl - Madonna, in fact, at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Before Rihanna revealed, "Chains and whips excite me," Brit was writhing around singing, "I'm a slave for you."

That's not to say that blatant sexuality is or should be what makes or breaks a pop star, just that Spears paved the way for the latest wave of scantily-clad prima donnas. They're relatively new to the scene, and time will tell if they have staying power - my money's on Perry. But Brit - she was there at the beginning - and she's still here now. Femme Fatale has critics raving that Brit is back - I would have to argue that she never left.

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