Hey! @followers & @topfans 🎤 #ThrowbackThursday to those magical moments when Britney Spears & I were rehearsing and performing "Beauty and the Beast" at a Louisiana fair! 🌟 It brings back all the feels—taking voice lessons together, then heading next door for a sandwich at The Honey Baked Ham. 🥪

Can't believe 2025 will mark my 40th year in the music industry! 🎶 Stay tuned for an amazing project I'm working on to celebrate this milestone.

#johnclarkblackwell #britneyspears #BeautyAndTheBeast #MusicMemories

https://www.facebook.com/JCBlackwellmusic
Source John C Blackwell

JoJo is a staple in pop culture coming out of the new millennium. Millennials across the world remember "Leave (Get Out)" as the breakup anthem they consistently voted for on MTV's TRL, but now, the singer is back and opening up about everything in her new memoir Over The Influence.

During a recent appearance on "The Bright Side" podcast, JoJo talked about her upcoming book and why she decided to write and release it. She also spilled the tea on almost signing with Britney Spears' production label when she was just 10 years old, and why she's glad she ultimately didn't. Jojo explained:

"When I was like, I don't even think I was 10 yet. I was maybe nine or 10, I called into the local top 40 station in Boston because someone was like, 'Oh, they're giving tickets away to their summer concert. I always wanted to put myself in positions to be seen and to sing for people. I really wanted that. So, anyway, long story short, I ended up winning the tickets. So my mom and I went and I sang my way through security, from one security guard to the next, ended up meeting Britney Spears, and I did, and I still do think that she's amazing. I loved 'Baby One More Time' when it came out, there's some soul in that. First of all, I think it's a dope record. She was saying that she was going to start a production company. Her and her attorney at the time, Larry Rudolph, were going to start something. And basically, a few weeks after meeting her, a contract was sent to our little apartment in Massachusetts, and it was about signing to her production company. And my mom was like, 'No, you're too young.' And I'm like, 'You hate me. You wish death upon me. Like, you want me to die?' Because I was like, this is the chance. We're never going to get better than this. I'm grateful that she didn't go with that because first of all, I mean not that 12 is much older, but 10 is crazy, and I don't think Britney ever put out any artists on her production company. So, I thought I was shelved. I just don't even think my career would've gotten off the ground, because sometimes it is riskier to sign to an artist's label."

Hear JoJo on "The Bright Side" podcast on iHeartRadio

Source: https://www.americantop40.com/content/2024-10-02-jojo-recalls-almost-signing-with-britney-spears-at-10-years-old/

After years of quiet—at least when it came to releasing new music—Britney Spears returned to the medium that made her a superstar in 2022 with a high-profile collaboration. The singer celebrated becoming a free woman once again with “Hold Me Closer,” a duet with none other than Elton John. The tune was a quick win, and it showed that the world still loved her.

More than two years after it was released, “Hold Me Closer” earns its first certifications from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The organization hands out honors when tunes and albums hit certain consumption thresholds, such as gold (500,000 equivalent units) and platinum (one million units).

“Hold Me Closer” is now a platinum-certified smash in the U.S. The single collects both a gold plaque and a platinum one at the same time, going from no awards to two in a heartbeat.

Spears earns her first new RIAA-certified single in nearly a year. The last time she saw any of her releases collect any wins from the music industry organization was back in October 2023. That month turned out to be perhaps the biggest in the decades that Spears has been a household name, when it came to these honors.

On October 24, 2023, more than two dozen of Spears’ songs earned some kind of recognition from the RIAA. That’s most of her well-known hits. Some of her singles collected their first honor, like “Do Somethin’,” “Sometimes,” and “Overprotected,” which all went gold. Other smashes advanced much higher, such as “Womanizer” (six-times platinum) and “Circus” (five-times platinum).

John, meanwhile, hasn’t scored a new RIAA singles award in more than two years. He last collected any honor from the organization in May 2022 when “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” another superstar collaboration with Dua Lipa, went from nothing to double platinum at once.

“Hold Me Closer” saw John mashing up his past hits “Tiny Dancer,” “The One,” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” to create something fresh and new. He paired those lyrics with electronic pop production, which ensured the tune appealed to younger listeners. He tried the same thing with “Cold Heart,” and that turned out to be a huge global smash, so it made sense that he’d try it again.

John and Spears sent “Hold Me Closer” into the top 10 on the Hot 100, and it still stands as the latest major win for both musicians. While the track wasn’t a longstanding win, its lofty debut made it an important win, and it showed that there was still an appetite for pop smashes from Spears—though she has yet to follow the tune up with another big single.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/09/27/britney-spears-comeback-single-goes-platinum/

Britney Spears' biggest hits are coming to Beat Saber on October 8.

Meta revealed one of the biggest pop superstars of the 1990s will see her music arrive in Beat Saber from October 8 in the Britney Spears Music Pack.

The tracklist includes:

“…Baby One More Time”
“Circus”
“Gimme More”
“I’m A Slave 4 U”
“Me Against the Music” (feat. Madonna)
“Oops!...I Did It Again”
“Overprotected”
“Scream and Shout” (will.i.am feat. Britney Spears)
“Till the World Ends”
“Toxic”
“Womanizer”

The Britney Spears Music Pack also includes a dedicated environment and light shows with a promise that Spears' memorable choreography from her music videos will make an appearance as you play.

The pack joins a long list of popular music from world-famous artists that have added their songs to Meta's standout rhythm game. The 11-track pack is priced $13.99USD or $1.99 each, and Meta is also bundling it with the core game for $39.99USD.