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Britney Spears to return with new Will.i.am song released today

Black Eyed Peas musician shared the news with a teaser clip of the new track

Annabel Nugent
Tuesday 18 July 2023 08:17 BST
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Britney Spears Carpool Karaoke

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Britney Spears will be releasing a new song together with Will.i.am on Tuesday (18 July).

The musicians surprised fans on Monday (17 July) with the announcement of a new collaboration hours before it is expected to drop.

Will.i.am – of the LA rap group Black Eyed Peas – shared the news on Twitter, captioning the post “Uh oh!!!” and tagging Spears.

The musician, 48, shared a clip teasing the forthcoming release, which included a very brief sample of what the song may sound like.

The 16-second video begins with the instantly recognisable vocals from the duo’s previous chart-topping 2013 collaboration “Scream & Shout”.

Will.i.am begins: “You are now, now rocking with / Will.I.Am and…,” before Spears adds her iconic “Britney, b****” line.”

Differentiating this soundbite from their existing song, however, Spears continues in this version to add: “Mind your business, b****”.

Spears, 41, has since shared the clip to her Instagram Story.

It remains unclear whether this is a standalone track or the first single off a possible new album.

The pair have worked together previously, with Will.i.am having produced several of the pop star’s tracks, including 2011’s “Big Fat Bass” and many of the songs on her 2013 album Britney Jean.

The song is Spears’s first release in almost a year, following on from her collaboration with Elton John on “Hold Me Closer”, a reimagining of “Tiny Dancer”, in 2022.

Fans have commented on the post in excitement. “Thank you universe!” wrote RuPaul’s Drag Race star Derrick Prentice Barry who also performs as a Britney Spears impersonator.

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“Definitely a banger,” said another. “Bring the action,” wrote a third person, quoting another lyric of the duo’s track “Scream & Shout”.

The so-far untitled song is yet to appear on streaming services at the time of writing, but is expected to be released at some point on Tuesday (18 July).

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