Britney Spears, Will.I.Am. Shutterstock (2)
It’s Britney Spears (and Will.i.am), bitch! The artists are back for another collaboration with “Mind Your Business.”
Spears, 41, and Will.i.am, 48, dropped the upbeat, in-your-face track on Friday, July 21, just days after teasing a snippet of the song via Instagram.
“I’m sooo honored and excited for this release …,” the former Black Eyed Peas artist captioned the teaser on Wednesday, July 18. Thank you @britneyspears … you’re one of the most fearless, strongest, kindest, purest people I’ve met in my life … I always loved working with you and I always will.”
Spears wastes no time on the song telling haters exactly what they should do: “Mind yo business bitch.” Her verse continues, “Uptown, downtown, everywhere I turn around / Hollywood, London, snap-snap is the sound / Paparazzi shot me, I am the economy / Follow me, follow me, follow me, follow, follow me.”
Both musicians make references to living a life in the spotlight. “Too much looky-looky, I’m so sick of all these looky-loos / Everybody lookin’ at me like I was the breakin’ news / Police got a sting, watchin’ every step I take / Every move I make, every breath I take,” Will.i.am sings.
“Mind Your Business” marks the second collaboration between Spears and Will.i.am after their 2012 hit, “Scream & Shout.” The track went three-times platinum in the U.S. and reached the coveted 1 billion views mark on YouTube in May.
The track is also Spears’ first release of the year, following her 2022 collaboration with Elton John, “Hold Me Closer.” The tune — which interpolates a series of songs by John, including “Tiny Dancer” — was the first piece of music Spears dropped since the end of her 13-year conservatorship in November 2021.
One month later, she candidly explained why she took a years-long hiatus during her conservatorship.
“People have no idea the awful things that were done to me personally … and after what I’ve been through, I’m scared of people and the business,” Spears shared via social media at the time. “They really hurt me. Not doing my music anymore is my way of saying ‘F—k You’ in a sense when it only actually benefits my family by ignoring my real work … it’s like I’ve subconsciously let them win.”
While Britney has had many high points in her life following the termination of the conservatorship — including Relationship-timeline/”>marrying Sam Asghari and reconciling with sister Jamie Lynn Spears — “Mind Your Business” was released weeks after another headline-making moment. She was hit in the face by a member of NBA star Victor Wembanyama’s security.
Britney Spears Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Earlier this month, Britney shared via Instagram that she “tapped” the San Antonio Spurs player, 19, in a hotel lobby to get his attention — only to be smacked by his security guard.
“Traumatic experiences are not new to me and I have had my fair share of them. I was not prepared for what happened to me last night,” wrote Britney, who is releasing her memoir, The Woman in Me, this fall. “I recognized an athlete in my hotel lobby as I was heading to dinner. I later went to a restaurant at a different hotel and saw him again. I decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success.”
She elaborated: “His security then back-handed me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses [to fall] off my face.”
Though Britney filed a police report, she had “no say when it comes to taking legal action” against the guard, a source exclusively told Us Weekly. No charges were filed against the security team member.