My Prerogative (Britney Spears song)

In 2004, American singer Britney Spears recorded a cover of "My Prerogative" with Swedish production team Bloodshy & Avant, who produced her single "Toxic" from her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003). Bloodshy & Avant recorded the song at Murlyn Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Spears recorded the vocals at Teldex Studios in Berlin, Germany during the European leg of her The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004.[50] On August 13, 2004, Spears's label Jive Records announced through a press release that she had covered the song and was planning to release it on her first greatest hits compilation, titled Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The song was set to premiere on radio stations on September 14, 2004,[51] however, it leaked in the Real Tapemasters Inc.'s mixtape The Future of R&B on September 10, 2004.[52] The song is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 100 beats per minute. It is written in the key of B♭ minor and follows the chord progression of B♭m–F–B♭m throughout, making it in the harmonic minor scale.[53] Spears' cover of "My Prerogative" is musically different from its original version, with the bass and new jack swing sound replaced with a synthpop sound, synthesizers and elements typical of Bloodshy & Avant productions.[54][51][52] It was noted by Christy Lemire of msnbc.com that the cover also contains elements of Bollywood music.[55] At the beginning of the song, Spears says in a breathy voice the lines "People can take everything away from you / But they can never take away your truth / But the question is, can you handle mine?". The rest of the lyrics do not deviate much from the original version, instead they are changed to fit a woman's perspective.[52] Jennifer Vineyard of MTV commented the cover could be interpreted as a statement on Spears' life and the media reaction to some of her decisions at the time, including her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline.[51]