Shattered Glass (Britney Spears song)
Encyclopedia
"Shattered Glass" is a song recorded by American recording artist Britney Spears
. The song was written by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Claude Kelly
, Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
, and produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco for Spears' sixth studio album, Circus
(2008). "Shattered Glass" is an up-tempo dance-pop
song with elements of disco
, while Spears' vocals have been Auto-Tuned
on the track. Lyrically, the song is very emotional, with Spears singing of entrapment and self loathing in her relationship with fame.
Reception of the track from music critics was mixed, with some noting its dance and pop sound, while others called it "generic" and filler. Although the song was never released independently from Circus, it managed to peak on many of the Billboard
component charts
, including number seventy on the Billboard Hot 100
, seventy-five on the Canadian Hot 100
, and number fifty-seven on the Billboard Pop 100.
song with guitar riffs
, jagged and distorted vocals in the verses, and a melodic chorus. Spears' "robotic electro-sound", Auto-Tuned
vocals on the track have drawn comparisons to her 2007 album Blackout, though it has been noted by ABC News
' Allan Raible that her vocals sound more "alive" than on the rest of Circus. The song contains elements of teen pop
, electronic, and dance music. Lyrically, the song has varying emotions in its lyrics, speaking of flirting, betrayal, and a sense of entrapment as well as self loathing in her relationship with fame. The song was written and produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, who is also working as co-executive producer on Spears' seventh studio album Femme Fatale
, and Bejamin "Benny Blanco" Levin, with co-writing credits to Claude Kelly. Background vocals were provided by Kelly and Windy Wagner.
Chris William said that "Dr. Luke and Max Martin [were] bringing their B game" to the track. The New York Times'
John Pareles said the song and "Womanizer
," the lead single single from Circus, "use their pulsing electro arrangements for teen-pop tales of flirting and betrayal." PopMatters
, however, called the song part of the "mid-album slump", saying that "she reveals her proclivity for the same stomping, unsubtle beefiness of 'Womanizer', but there’s a notable lapse in quality." Jim Farber from Daily News said the song had "real bubblegum snap" while Ben Noramn from About.com
called it a "beautiful upbeat pop tune." National Post's
Ben Kaplan called the song a "kiss-off guitar-laden hard disco."
Despite only being included as a B-side for "Unusual You", the song managed to chart on many of the Billboard charts. Due to digital downloads
from Circus, the song managed to peak at number seventy on the Billboard Hot 100
chart on the week of December 15, 2008 before dropping off the next week. "Shattered Glass" charted at number fifty-seven on the Pop Songs and number twenty-nine on the Hot Digital Songs
. It received similar reception in Canada, debuting at number seventy-five on the Canadian Hot 100
and number thirty-six on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles in the same week.
Source:
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
. The song was written by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly
Claude Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. He has a prolific discography, well known for writing for artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Jay Sean, Adam Lambert, Jessie J and Charice.-Career:He began playing the piano...
, Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Levin , better known as Benny Blanco, is an American songwriter and producer from Reston, Virginia. He first came to the attention of Internet blogosphere producing a collaborative EP with Spank Rock. Working with producer Dr...
, and produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco for Spears' sixth studio album, Circus
Circus (Britney Spears album)
Circus is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was first released on November 28, 2008 by Jive Records. Spears started work on the album in early 2008 with a range of producers including long-time producers Bloodshy & Avant and Danja...
(2008). "Shattered Glass" is an up-tempo dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song with elements of disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, while Spears' vocals have been Auto-Tuned
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
on the track. Lyrically, the song is very emotional, with Spears singing of entrapment and self loathing in her relationship with fame.
Reception of the track from music critics was mixed, with some noting its dance and pop sound, while others called it "generic" and filler. Although the song was never released independently from Circus, it managed to peak on many of the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
component charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
, including number seventy on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, seventy-five on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, and number fifty-seven on the Billboard Pop 100.
Background and composition
"Shattered Glass" is an up-tempo popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song with guitar riffs
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
, jagged and distorted vocals in the verses, and a melodic chorus. Spears' "robotic electro-sound", Auto-Tuned
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
vocals on the track have drawn comparisons to her 2007 album Blackout, though it has been noted by ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' Allan Raible that her vocals sound more "alive" than on the rest of Circus. The song contains elements of teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
, electronic, and dance music. Lyrically, the song has varying emotions in its lyrics, speaking of flirting, betrayal, and a sense of entrapment as well as self loathing in her relationship with fame. The song was written and produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, who is also working as co-executive producer on Spears' seventh studio album Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...
, and Bejamin "Benny Blanco" Levin, with co-writing credits to Claude Kelly. Background vocals were provided by Kelly and Windy Wagner.
Reception
Entertainment Weekly'sEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Chris William said that "Dr. Luke and Max Martin [were] bringing their B game" to the track. The New York Times'
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
John Pareles said the song and "Womanizer
Womanizer (song)
"Womanizer" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her sixth studio album, Circus. It was released on September 26, 2008 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. Produced and co-written by Nikesha Briscoe and Rafael Akinyemi of The Outsyders, the song had to be...
," the lead single single from Circus, "use their pulsing electro arrangements for teen-pop tales of flirting and betrayal." PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, however, called the song part of the "mid-album slump", saying that "she reveals her proclivity for the same stomping, unsubtle beefiness of 'Womanizer', but there’s a notable lapse in quality." Jim Farber from Daily News said the song had "real bubblegum snap" while Ben Noramn from About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
called it a "beautiful upbeat pop tune." National Post's
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
Ben Kaplan called the song a "kiss-off guitar-laden hard disco."
Despite only being included as a B-side for "Unusual You", the song managed to chart on many of the Billboard charts. Due to digital downloads
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
from Circus, the song managed to peak at number seventy on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart on the week of December 15, 2008 before dropping off the next week. "Shattered Glass" charted at number fifty-seven on the Pop Songs and number twenty-nine on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
. It received similar reception in Canada, debuting at number seventy-five on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
and number thirty-six on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles in the same week.
Credits and personnel
- Lukasz Gottwald – songwriter, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Claude KellyClaude KellyClaude Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. He has a prolific discography, well known for writing for artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Kelly Clarkson, Jay Sean, Adam Lambert, Jessie J and Charice.-Career:He began playing the piano...
– songwriter, backing vocalistBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Benjamin Levin – songwriter
- Benny Blanco – producer
- Britney Spears – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Windy Wagner – backing vocalist
Source:
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
75 |
| Hot Canadian Digital Singles | 36 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
70 |
| US Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
57 |