Glory (Britney Spears album)

Glory
The album's original cover features a close-up image of Spears with a bright light in the background. The album title is written on top of the image, while Britney Spears' name is written below her image.
Studio album by Britney Spears
Released	August 26, 2016 (2016-08-26)
Recorded	September 2014 – June 2016
Studio	The Robo Dojo (New York) Studio at the Palms (Las Vegas) Chalice Recording (Hollywood) Conway Recording (Hollywood) Kasai (North Hollywood) The Lion's Den (North Hollywood) Zenseven (Woodland Hills) House of Blues (Encino) Sing Sing (Melbourne) Wolf Cousins (Stockholm)
Genre	Pop dance-pop R&B
Length	41:27
Label	RCA
Producer	Karen Kwak BloodPop Burns Cashmere Cat DJ Mustard Jason Evigan Oak Felder Andrew Goldstein Oscar Görres Ian Kirkpatrick Mattman & Robin Nick Monson Alex Nice Robopop Lance Eric Shipp Twice as Nice Tramaine Winfrey
Britney Spears chronology
Britney Jean (2013) Glory (2016) Oops!...I Did It Again (Remixes and B-Sides) (2020)
Singles from Glory (Britney Spears album)

Glory is the ninth studio album by American singer Britney Spears, released on August 26, 2016, through RCA Records. After renewing her contract with RCA, Spears began work on the album in 2014. Lacking a deadline for completion, she continued work into 2015 and 2016, which, according to Spears, provided her with the opportunity to create one of her favorite albums in her catalog. Primarily a pop record, it also contains elements of R&B, EDM, and hip-hop music.

Glory received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Spears' vocal performance on the album and called it her most involved and engaged record in over a decade. It was also included on year-end lists of best albums by several publications. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, moving 111,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It topped the charts in Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and also peaked within the top 10 of charts in another 20 countries.

"Make Me..." was released as the lead single for the record on July 15, 2016. The single debuted and peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Slumber Party" was released as the second single on November 16, 2016 and peaked at number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Glory was further promoted with three promotional singles—"Private Show", "Clumsy", and "Do You Wanna Come Over?", which premiered weeks prior to the album's debut. Spears promoted the album with television appearances and televised performances, including the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.

Glory was reissued in 2020; the standard edition was released on May 29 and the deluxe edition was released on December 4. "Mood Ring" was released as the album's third single on June 27, 2020, almost four years after the album's original release. "Swimming in the Stars" was released as the fourth single on December 2, 2020. "Matches" was released as the fifth single on December 18, 2020.

Recording and production

"'Pretty Girls' wasn't original. Britney wanted to do things that were fresh and unexpected this time. There was never a moment where she was given a song, and anybody said, 'This is a hit. You have to sing it'. Britney pursued the songs she wanted to do for herself. She came up with concepts and melodies. It's her baby. It's like being an athlete. If you're doing it that much, you're getting yourself into shape. She was always ready to work during the album sessions, and it was very important to her to be done by a certain time so she could pick up her boys from school."

 — Executive producer Karen Kwak describing the recording process of Glory.

In August 2014, Spears announced she had renewed her contract with RCA Records, and that she was writing and recording new music. The recording process for the album took two and a half years and "30–40" songs were recorded for the record. Six months into the recording of the album, Spears was dissatisfied with the results. Karen Kwak was then brought onto the record as executive producer following the release of "Pretty Girls" and helped Spears find "the most fun people to write with". Kwak wanted to recall the sounds of Spears's albums Blackout (2007) and In the Zone (2003) for Glory, and chose producers based on this. Kwak said of the album: "Britney pursued the songs she wanted to do for herself. She came up with concepts and melodies. It's her baby." In an interview with Billboard in March 2015, Spears said that she was working on a new album "slowly but surely."

In April 2015, Matthew Koma confirmed he had worked on material for the record, none of which made the final cut. In June 2015, Spears was pictured working with Sam Bruno, however, none of this material ended up on the record. In July 2015, Spears was pictured working with writers Chantal Kreviazuk and Simon Wilcox alongside producer Ian Kirkpatrick; in that same month, DJ Mustard announced that he was working on the album, later revealed to be "Mood Ring" which was recorded the previous month. Spears was also pictured working with producer Alex Da Kid in July 2015, however, his contributions did not make the cut for the album. In October 2015, Spears was pictured working in the studio with Burns and Mischke. Later that month, Spears teased the title for "Just Luv Me". In November 2015, Spears was pictured working in the studio with Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels.

In March 2016, Spears said that she was "being more hands-on" with the album and that it is "the best thing I've done in a long time," though she noted that she did not know when the album would be finished and that she was "not rushing anything [...] so that my fans will truly appreciate it." The final track recorded for the album was "Love Me Down".

Music and lyrics

Since the beginning of the album's recording process, Spears insisted that she wanted to do something different with the project and take a "left turn." During a Tumblr Q&A with fans in July 2016, when asked about the style of the album, Spears responded with "I'll just say this... We really explored some new things." On August 5, she revealed in a phone-in radio interview on the segment On Air with Ryan Seacrest that the album "took a lot of time, but I think we brought it to a level where I was really, really happy with what I had; it's cool, it's really different [...] there are like two or three songs that go in the direction of more urban that I've wanted to do for a long time now, and I just haven't really done that."

Glory is primarily a pop, R&B, and dance-pop record with influences of EDM and hip hop.

Title and artwork

On August 3, 2016, Spears unveiled the album's release date, the title and the album cover–which was a photograph taken by Randee St. Nicholas on the set of the music video for "Make Me..."–and that her new song "Private Show" would be instantly made available for digital download to those who pre-ordered the album via iTunes Store. On Most Requested Live with Romeo, Spears revealed that it was her son who chose the title of the album. In May 2020, following a fan campaign for the album, an alternate cover—featuring Spears in a gold bathing suit in the middle of the desert—was uploaded to streaming services for the standard edition of the album.

Release and promotion

File:Britney Spears Apple Music Festival 2016 1.jpg

Spears performing at the 2016 Apple Music Festival at the Roundhouse in Camden Town, London, England, United Kingdom on September 27, 2016.

Glory was released on August 26, 2016. On August 3, Spears appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, pranking Jimmy Kimmel with an impromptu bedside performance of "Make Me..." alongside male dancers. On August 5, Spears was interviewed for the radio program On Air with Ryan Seacrest, where she discussed the development of the album. On August 16, Spears announced that she would be performing "Make Me..." at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was announced following the cancellation of two Britney: Piece of Me show dates that were initially scheduled two days prior to the awards. The performance was her first at the VMAs since her 2007 performance of "Gimme More". On August 24, Spears was interviewed on BBC's Scott Mills. On August 25, Spears appeared on the "Carpool Karaoke" segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden where she sang along to "Make Me...", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "Womanizer", "Toxic" and "...Baby One More Time". On August 29, the day after the VMAs, she was interviewed on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and the Zach Sang Show. On September 1, 2016, Spears appeared for the first time in fifteen years on the Today Show for an interview and to perform "Make Me..." and "Do You Wanna Come Over?".

On September 7, Spears appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she went with Ellen DeGeneres to the mall and distributed signed copies of Glory. On September 24, Spears performed at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena, which aired on The CW. On September 27, Spears performed at the Apple Music Festival in London. On October 1, 2016, Spears appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show for an interview and to perform "Make Me...", marking her first performance on British TV since 2008. On December 2, 2016, Spears performed at 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball. She received a birthday cake and performed "Slumber Party" with Tinashe. A day after, she performed at 99.7 NOW's Triple Ho Show. On December 10, Spears performed at the B96 Pepsi Jingle Bash.

Singles

Rapper G-Eazy is the featured artist on "Make Me".

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Singer Tinashe is the featured artist on the remix version of "Slumber Party".

"Make Me..." was released as the lead single for the album on July 15, 2016. It was described as a "slinky" mid-tempo R&B song and features the vocal collaboration of American rapper G-Eazy. An accompanying music video for the single premiered on Vevo on August 5, 2016. The single debuted and peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her sixth-highest debut on the chart and 34th Hot 100 entry.

A new version of "Slumber Party" featuring Tinashe was released on November 18, 2016, as the second single. A music video also premiered the same day. The single debuted at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 issue dated December 10, 2016. It is also her 35th Hot 100 entry.

Promotional singles

"Private Show" was released as the first promotional single along with the pre-order on August 4, 2016. The song shares the title of her then-latest fragrance. The song was written by Spears, Carla Williams, Tramaine Winfrey and Simon Smith. "Clumsy" was released as the second promotional single on August 11, 2016. The third and final promotional single "Do You Wanna Come Over?" was released on August 18, 2016.

2020 reissues

Glory was reissued twice in 2020. The standard edition was reissued first on May 29, 2020. The reissue added the previously Japanese-exclusive track "Mood Ring", as well as a new cover. Spears announced the release on her Instagram page, acknowledging the fan demand for a new cover art.

The deluxe edition was reissued on December 4, 2020 and added the new songs "Swimming in the Stars" and "Matches",—the latter being a collaboration with the Backstreet Boys— alongside remixes of "Mood Ring". This reissue also removes the Tinashe version of "Slumber Party" and uses the original album version instead.

Singles

"Mood Ring" was released to contemporary hit radio in the Netherlands on June 27, 2020, and in Italy on July 10, 2020, as the lead single from the reissue and overall third single from the album, almost four years after its release.

"Swimming in the Stars" was released to digital music providers as the reissue's second single and overall fourth single from the album on December 2, 2020, coinciding with Spears's 39th birthday. The release took critics by surprise, having been released amidst the #FreeBritney movement and Spears's work hiatus.

"Matches" was issued to contemporary hit radio in Italy on December 18, 2020, as the reissue's third single and overall fifth single from the album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Boston Globe	(positive)
The Daily Telegraph
Entertainment Weekly	B
Los Angeles Times	(positive)
NME	3/5
The New York Times	(mixed)
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Vice (Expert Witness)	A–

Glory received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic the album received an average score of 71, indicating "generally positive reviews", based on 14 reviews. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, and called the album's sound "daring and mature", but criticized "Private Show", calling it "the album's only bona-fide misfire." In a positive review, Maura Johnston from The Boston Globe described the album as one with "an unbridled energy" that "operates on its own terms." Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph praised the production on the album, and noted that "every track sounds like a single". In a mixed review of the album, Jon Parales from The New York Times claimed that the album was "one-dimensional", but noted her as sounding like she "has emphatically returned to the foreground." Mesfin Fekadu from Associated Press noted Spears "has taken note and jumped on the bandwagon [of R&B]" but claimed that the songs were not "authentically Britney." In contrast, Nolan Feeney from Entertainment Weekly characterized the songs on the album as sounding "like glimpses of the real Britney—her musical tastes, her voice—imperfections and all."

In particular, Spears's vocals were generally praised. The Los Angeles Times described the vocals as a "vast improvement" over those on Britney Jean, remarking that "the very performed nature of the singing [...] makes Glory such a good time." The Boston Globe remarked that Spears was "throwing herself fully into her vocal performance" on the album and The New York Times described Spears as sounding "more involved, more present, than she has in a decade." Rolling Stone positively compared Spears's vocals to those on In the Zone, noting "she hasn't played around with her vocals so cleverly since the "Toxic" days." Entertainment Weekly described the album as "her most engaging vocally" in a decade and noted Spears as sounding "more present and enthusiastic than she has in years." In a similar sentiment, Idolator described Spears as sounding "more lucid, engaged and front-and-center than she's been in years." Slant Magazine credited Spears with a "willingness to stretch vocally and explore new sonic terrain", but also remarked that at times, this "highlight[s] her shortcomings".

Accolades

Accolades for Glory

Year	Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
2016	Slant Magazine	25 Best Albums of 2016	10
	Digital Spy	20 Best Albums of 2016	11
	Fuse	Best Albums of the Year 2016	9
	Glamour	20 Best Albums of the Year 2016	20
	AOL	Best Albums of 2016	5
	Rolling Stone	20 Best Pop Albums of 2016	5
	AllMusic	Favourite Pop Albums of 2016	5

Commercial performance

Glory debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, moving 111,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, an increase in sales as compared to her last studio album, Britney Jean (2013) which sold 107,000 copies in its first week. The record became Spears' tenth top 5 album in the nation. On the Canadian Albums Chart compiled by Billboard, the record debuted at number four, becoming her ninth top 5 album in the country. As of May 2020, the album has sold 157,000 copies in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, Glory debuted at number two, becoming her highest charting album in the country since Blackout (2007). In Germany, the album debuted at number three, becoming her highest charting album there in 13 years, since the release of In the Zone (2003). In Italy, the album debuted at number one, becoming Spears' first album to reach the top of the Italian album chart. The album also debuted at number one in Ireland and Taiwan. In Japan, the album peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. In South Korea, the album debuted at number 8 on the Gaon Album Chart and at number three on the international version of the same chart. After Spears's tour in Korea, the album rebounded on the Gaon International Chart and reached the top of the chart, higher than its debut position. Additionally, the album also charted within the top ten of charts in various international countries.

Track listing

Glory – Standard edition
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Invitation"	Monson Mischke	3:19
2.	"Do You Wanna Come Over?"	Mattman & Robin	3:22
3.	"Make Me..." (featuring G-Eazy)	Burns Mischke	3:50
4.	"Private Show"	Winfrey Mischke	3:55
5.	"Man on the Moon"	Evigan Dan Book Pat Thrall	3:46
6.	"Just Luv Me"	Cashmere Cat Robopop Mischke	4:01
7.	"Clumsy"	Felder Alex Nice Mischke	3:02
8.	"Slumber Party"	Mattman & Robin Mischke	3:34
9.	"Just like Me"	Monson Mischke	2:44
10.	"Love Me Down"	Goldstein Mischke	3:18
11.	"Hard to Forget Ya"	Görres Kirkpatrick Mischke	3:29
12.	"What You Need"	Winfrey Mischke	3:07
Total length:			41:27

Glory – Japanese / 2020 standard edition reissue bonus track
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Mood Ring"	DJ Mustard Twice as Nice Asher	3:49
Total length:			45:00

Glory – Deluxe edition
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Better"	BloodPop Mischke	3:09
14.	"Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortés)"	Mattman & Robin Mischke	2:59
15.	"Liar"	Evigan	3:16
16.	"If I'm Dancing"	Kirkpatrick Mischke	3:24
17.	"Coupure Électrique"	Shipp Mischke	2:20
Total length:			56:35

Glory – 2020 deluxe edition reissue
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Mood Ring (By Demand)"	DJ Mustard Twice as Nice Asher	3:49
19.	"Swimming in the Stars"	Koma Book	3:21
20.	"Matches" (with Backstreet Boys)	Wise Kirkpatrick	2:47
21.	"Mood Ring (By Demand)" (Pride Remix)	DJ Mustard Twice as Nice Asher	3:13
22.	"Mood Ring (By Demand)" (Wuki Remix)	DJ Mustard Twice as Nice Asher	3:06
23.	"Mood Ring (By Demand)" (Ape Drums Remix)	DJ Mustard Twice as Nice Asher	3:41
Total length:			77:00

Glory – Japan tour edition bonus disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Work Bitch"	4:08
2.	"Womanizer"	3:43
3.	"Piece of Me"	3:31
4.	"Me Against the Music" (Dragon Man Mix)	3:44
5.	"Gimme More"	4:11
6.	"Everytime"	3:50
7.	"...Baby One More Time"	3:31
8.	"Oops!... I Did It Again"	3:31
9.	"Boys"	3:28
10.	"Get Naked (I Got a Plan)"	4:45
11.	"I'm a Slave 4 U"	3:24
12.	"Freakshow"	2:55
13.	"Do Somethin'"	3:22
14.	"Circus"	3:11
15.	"If U Seek Amy"	3:36
16.	"Breathe on Me"	3:44
17.	"Touch of My Hand"	4:20
18.	"Toxic"	3:19
19.	"Stronger"	3:24
20.	"(You Drive Me) Crazy"	3:19
21.	"Till the World Ends"	3:58
Total length:		76:54

Notes

• On digital editions of the album, "Do You Wanna Come Over?" is the seventh after "Clumsy", prior to "Slumber Party", the rest of the songs remain in the same order. This does not apply to the 2020 deluxe edition reissue.
• The album was reissued on November 16, 2016, on digital and streaming platforms to include a new version of "Slumber Party" that features Tinashe, it is the same length as the original version. This does not apply to the 2020 deluxe edition reissue.
• ^[a] – vocal production
• ^[b] – primary and vocal production
• ^[c] – additional vocal production
• ^[d] – co-production

Personnel

• Denisia Andrews – background vocals
• Jon Asher – vocal producer, background vocals
• Jessica Ashley – background vocals
• Venus Barr – keyboards, producer
• Erik Belz – assistant vocal engineer
• BloodPop – producer
• Julian Gramma – producer
• Dan Book – vocal producer
• Trevor Brown – background vocals
• Burns – engineer, producer
• Cashmere Cat – instrumentation, producer, programming
• Maddox Chhim – mixing assistant
• Brittany Coney – background vocals
• John Cranfield – engineer
• Alex DeGroot – assistant vocal engineer
• Aaron Dobos – vocal engineer
• Ed Drewett – background vocals
• Jason Evigan – instrumentation, producer, vocal engineer, vocal producer, background vocals
• Vanessa Evigan – background vocals
• Victoria Evigan – background vocals
• Benny Faccone – assistant engineer, assistant vocal engineer
• Oak Felder – producer, background vocals
• Robin Florent – mixing engineer
• Melanie Fontana – background vocals
• Ina Forsberg – background vocals
• Sterling Fox – guitar, background vocals
• Livvi Franc – background vocals
• Robin Fredriksson – bass, brass, drums, guitar, handclapping, kalimba, marimba, percussion, producer, programming, snaps, synthesizer, vocal engineer, vocal producer
• Michael Freeman – mixing assistant
• G-Eazy – rap vocals
• Chris Galland – mixing engineer
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Andrew Goldstein – engineer, keyboards, producer, programming
• Erwin Gorostiza – creative director
• Oscar Görres – bass, guitar, percussion, producer, programming, shaker, snaps, synthesizer, vocal engineer, vocal producer, background vocals
• Angella Grossi – background vocals
• John Hanes – engineer, mixing engineer
• Breyan Isaac – background vocals
• Jeff Jackson – mixing engineer
• Jermaine Jackson – background vocals
• Joe Janiak – background vocals
• Kathleen Janzen – background vocals
• Jaycen Joshua – mixing
• Ilsey Juber – background vocals
• Rob Katz – assistant vocal engineer
• Ian Kirkpatrick – producer, programming, background vocals
• Zaire Koalo – background vocals
• Dave Kutch – mastering
• Karen Kwak – A&R, executive producer
• Mattias Larsson – bass, brass, drums, guitar, handclapping, kalimba, marimba, percussion, producer, programming, snaps, synthesizer, vocal engineer, vocal producer
• Marcus Lomax – background vocals
• Kevin Luu – assistant engineer, assistant vocal engineer
• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• Nathalia Marshall – vocal production assistance
• Julia Michaels – background vocals
• Mischke – vocal engineer, vocal producer, background vocals
• Nick Monson – producer
• David Nakaji – mixing assistant
• Alex Niceford – producer
• Randee St. Nicholas – photography
• Jason Patterson – assistant vocal engineer
• Phoebe Ryan – background vocals
• Linda Pritchard – background vocals
• Benjamin Rice – vocal engineer
• Talay Riley – background vocals
• Robopop – instrumentation, producer, programming
• James Royo – engineer
• Lance Shipp – podorythmie
• Venus Shipp – background vocals, assistant engineer
• Dawn Soul – background vocals, programming
• Britney Spears – lead vocals, background vocals
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
• Gavin Taylor – art direction, design
• Isaiah Tejada – assistant engineer
• Pat Thrall – vocal producer
• Carla Marie Williams – background vocals
• Tramaine "Youngfyre" Winfrey – producer, background vocals
• Sadaharu Yagi – assistant vocal engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Glory

Chart (2016–2017)	Peak position
Argentine Albums (CAPIF)	5
Australian Albums (ARIA)	4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	4
Brazilian Albums (ABPD)	1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	4
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)	1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	35
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)	8
Estonian Albums (Eesti Ekspress)	8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	8
French Albums (SNEP)	6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	3
Greek Albums (IFPI)	4
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)	10
Irish Albums (IRMA)	1
Italian Albums (FIMI)	1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)	19
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	10
Polish Albums (ZPAV)	12
Portuguese Albums (AFP)	3
Scottish Albums (OCC)	4
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	6
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)	1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	12
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	4
UK Albums (OCC)	2
US Billboard 200	3

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Glory

Chart (2016)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	142
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)	87
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)	88
US Billboard 200	172
Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)	98

Release history

Release dates and formats for Glory

Region	Date	Formats	Editions	Labels	Ref.
Various	August 26, 2016	CD digital download LP streaming	Standard deluxe	RCA
South Korea	August 30, 2016	CD		Sony Music
Japan	September 14, 2016		Exclusive
Various	November 16, 2016	Digital download streaming	2016 reissue	RCA
Japan	May 31, 2017	Double CD	Tour	Sony Music
China	June 18, 2017
Various	May 29, 2020	Digital download streaming	2020 reissue	RCA
	December 4, 2020	LP	2020 deluxe reissue
	December 11, 2020	Digital download streaming

External links

• Official website