Ache and heartbreak have resulted in among the most transferring and seminal works in pop music historical past, and this seems to be true for Britney Spears, in line with “Overprotected” music video director Chris Applebaum.
In an unique new clip from a forthcoming Affect x Nightline episode that particulars the aftermath of Spears’ memoir The Lady in Me, Applebaum recounts the fated breakup textual content that spurred an unforgettable efficiency.
“I stroll into her trailer, and Britney’s not dressed for the subsequent scene,” Applebaum recollects. “She’s not prepared, her hair and make-up isn’t prepared. She’s nonetheless in a Juicy Couture sweatsuit, and I may instantly inform one thing was mistaken. I requested her if every thing was OK, and he or she mentioned, ‘No, issues are usually not OK, as a result of look,’ and he or she held out her flip cellphone and I noticed this textual content which mentioned, ‘It’s over,’ which was from her boyfriend on the time, Justin Timberlake.”
Timberlake and Spears dated from 1999 to 2002, and their coupling rapidly grew to become one of the crucial recognizable relationships in popular culture historical past. In her memoir, Spears recounts her complete relationship with the “Cry Me a River” singer, revealing some bombshells within the course of. In The Lady in Me, Spears claimed that she had an abortion throughout their relationship. “If it had been left as much as me alone, I by no means would have executed it, and but Justin was so certain that he didn’t wish to be a father,” she wrote. “To today, it’s one of the crucial agonizing issues I’ve ever skilled in my life.”
That stunning revelation wouldn’t be the final time Timberlake shattered Spears’ world. “It appeared like that was the top of the video shoot, and I acknowledged that with all people,” Applebaum says. “However, however, in the event you really feel such as you wanna get on the market and present him that he simply misplaced the perfect factor that he ever had, let’s do it. Ten to fifteen minutes later, she got here out and he or she was on fireplace. This was the Britney that everyone is aware of and loves.”
Applebaum directed the music video for the tune’s Darkchild remix. The clip featured references to each Spears’ ardour for dance and the predatory nature of paparazzi. “Overprotected” — the second worldwide single from 2001’s Britney album — in the end peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Scorching 100 and earned a Grammy nomination for finest feminine pop vocal efficiency.
The forthcoming “It’s Britney” episode of Affect x Nightline will stream beginning Thursday (Nov. 2) on Hulu and is ready to function unique first-hand accounts of Spears’ expertise, work ethic and inventive genius within the wake of the discharge of The Lady In Me. Along with Applebaum, Dan George, the tour supervisor and inventive producer behind Spears’ 2009 Circus Tour, additionally gives a first-hand account of Spears’ life and profession across the time her conservatorship started.
Watch an unique clip from the upcoming Affect x Nightline “It’s Britney” episode above, and revisit the “Overprotected (Darkchild Remix)” video beneath.