In the mid-2000s, few people were more famous than Britney Spears. But as she began to stumble in her personal life, the price of the public’s fascination was more than just a few nasty late-night jokes. But when you’re a platinum-selling pop princess, the show goes on even when you desperately need an intermission. In the midst of the madness, Spears began recording an album that would become her defining statement, 2007’s Blackout. 

Collaborators and friends, from the A&R rep who was one of Spears’ closest allies to the producers who crafted visceral hits like “Piece of Me,” tell the story of how Spears’ made classic songs in the eye of a hurricane. The result was an album that stood as a middle finger to Spears’ critics and established a dark, danceable sound that influenced pop for years to come. 

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