The Original Doll
The Original Doll was set to be Britney's fifth studio album, slated for release in 2005. A more personal album by Britney, it would have an organic, dark, intimate feel. However, the album's release was cancelled. It is unknown why the album was cancelled and there are many reasons why. The only song recorded for the album that was released was "Mona Lisa," included on the Britney and Kevin: Chaotic CD. Other songs recorded for the album were unknown until 2012, when Britney fans got in contact with Michelle Bell, who wrote some of the songs recorded for the album.
It is known that Britney started writing songs for the album in late 2003. She started recording the album in 2004 whilst on The Onyx Hotel Tour.
..."As Spears ticks off some of what's on her to-do list now that she's back on her feet: resume hyping In the Zone; shoot another video; brainstorm with her 'creative people' for the full-fledged performance tour she plans to kick off next March (she's organizing a group trip to Vegas for 'inspiration'), work on her next album ('I'm already writing songs') and, if she can squeeze it in, start her own record label ('Maybe by next year,' she hopes.)" November 21, 2003.
In December 2004, Britney made a surprise appearance on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles to premiere a new song she recorded. She premiered the rough demo of her song "Mona Lisa." She was also given an interview, where she stated she was halfway through recording the album called " orThe Original Doll.” She also stated it would be released very soon, probably in the summer of 2005. Jive were apparently furious that Britney had premiered the song on the radio without their permission, and they stated she had only started recording the album.
"Just weeks after Britney Spears announced that she was taking an extended break from her career to focus on her family, she's plunging into work on a new album. A spokesperson from Jive Records confirmed that Spears is in the "very early" stages of working on an album, which is not yet on the label's release schedule. In a surprise visit, Spears played a rough mix of a song from the album Thursday night on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles to get some fan reaction.”
"We got a call on the request line from Britney Spears saying she wanted to come by and play her new song," KIIS-FM music director Julie Pilat said. "Then she showed up and world-premiered her new song," which is called "Mona Lisa." "It definitely has the raw thing going on it," Spears said during her station visit. "I recorded this song when I was on tour, right before I hurt my knee. It was done, I think, four or five months ago. My band, we did not use ProTools or anything with it. It is all live. There is a lot of stuff you can do to make it better. It is going to get better. It will get better — this is a really, really rough mix."
Spears dedicated the song — a slinky, midtempo number with a descending synth line — to all the "legends and icons out there." The song's lyrics begin, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a story to tell/About Mona Lisa, and how she suddenly fell/See, everyone knew her, they knew her so well/Now I am taking over to release her from her spell." The song continues to lament Mona Lisa's "fall," calling her "unforgettable" and "unpredictable," and cautions listeners not to have a “breakdown": "You will hit the freakin' wall." Though Spears said she wants “Mona Lisa" to be the first single from the new album, she has not yet decided on a title for the project, though she's leaning toward The Original Doll. "It's untitled right now," she said during her visit to KIIS-FM. "It's not even all the way done." She also said that she hoped to release the album "probably before summertime, or maybe a little sooner than that." January 3, 2005.
A quote from one of the KIIS-FM radio DJ's regarding The Original Doll:
"In the back of my mind I’m thinking, 'No signed artist would ever do that [premiere song on the radio without label's permission], because [Jive/Zomba Label Group President/CEO] Barry Weiss would cut them in half with a cleaver," Barnes says. "If you don't have the record out yet, you're going to find some radio guy who will ship it out half done, and the whole project will be trashed." February 1, 2005.
The album's release was cancelled by Jive. It is unknown why Jive cancelled/shelved the album but there are many possible reasons:
- Britney's pregnancy, Jive may have wanted Britney to concentrate on starting a family rather than releasing a new album
- Britney premiering unreleased material without Jive's permission
- Jive not liking the material set to appear on the album
- Britney rush releasing it (she had released Greatest Hits: My Prerogative a few months prior)
Writers & Producers:
Michelle Bell is known to be one of the sole writers for songs on The Original Doll. She also worked with Britney in 2003 and recorded three songs with her for In the Zone (none of them made the album, however only one is unreleased. These are "Chaotic," "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun,)" and "Look Who's Talking Now." "Chaotic" was chosen as the theme song to Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, and appeared on the DVD's bonus disc. "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" was included on the In the Zone DVD bonus disc in North America and on Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.) Britney also co-wrote some of the songs for the album. Due to the album having a more personal feel, its possible Britney wrote some songs on her own.
Michelle Bell stated in an interview that she thought Britney was very "talented,’ and in another interview she said Britney played the piano on some of the songs they worked on (one of these could possibly be the intro to “Ouch", as piano can be heard in the background.)
Interviewer: “Word has it that you're penning joints on the next albums by Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears - Can you give us a hint on what to expect from both of them hits?”
Michelle: "Britney's claim to fame is music and I think as always she'll deliver. You have to respect someone who gives so much. We'll see how L&W [Lynne and Wade] pans out with her." September 22, 2007.
Another quote from Michelle:
"Britney Spears was awesome. She actually surprised me because she can play the piano. She is down to earth and very nice. She hides it but I think people can tell she is a real artist. I hope someday she gets to bring that side of herself out more. We had a nice time working." September 22, 2007.
Henrik Jonback, co-writer of Toxic, said he wrote with Britney in 2004 whilst she was on tour. This quote is from an interview with him:
Interviewer: "Any particular encounter you remember over the others?"
Henrik: "Not really, but I have to say that it was quite an experience to hang out with Britney Spears in her tour bus in Germany during her European tour in 2004. We wrote songs in the bus and in her hotel room between the concerts. I got a good look into the hysterical life of a superstar and I must say, I'm very happy not to be one myself." November 30, 2007.
In 2004, Mona Lisa producers, Bloodshy & Avant, also mentioned that Britney was writing and working on new material. "A Swedish program interviewed Bloodshy & Avant who wrote the mega Britney Spears' hit 'Toxic.' They are both from Sweden and Britney will perform there on May 11. During the interview, they said Britney sometimes gives them a call in the middle of the night saying: "Listen to this and record it!", and sings a new song she wrote so they can work on it. They also said they are working on a new material for Britney." May 10, 2004
Britney mentioned in an interview in late 2003 she would only like to work with one producer for her next album. This could possibly be Bloodshy & Avant - they produced Mona Lisa, the only song from The Original Doll released. Britney also stated she would like to do some more producing on her own:
Interviewer: “It might be a little too early to talk about the next album, but if you had the choice of producers or artists you'd like to collaborate with, who
would you like to name?”
Britney: "I haven't really thought about that too much; specific producers, but I think because I did collaborate on this record with so many people I would probably, on the next one, make it kind of my own and just probably work with one producer, because I really know how the process works now and I know that I could do it on my own." December 12, 2003
Confirmed Writers & Producers:
Britney Spears, David Kochanski, Teddy Campbell, Michelle Bell, Nadir Khayat, Nana Christiansan, Rhonda Robinson, Bloodshy & Avant, Larry "Precision" Gates, Nanna Kritiansson, Wade Robson, Carole Bayer Sager, Guy Sigsworth, Imogen Heap, Robyn, Alex Kronlund.
Songs:
Mona Lisa was thought to be the only known song recorded for The Original Doll. In 2005, four new songs listed with Britney as the performer were registered on ASCAP, and were presumed to be recorded by her for The Original Doll:
- Money, Love, & Happiness
- Ouch
- Like I'm Fallin'
- Take Off
Disguise My Love is registered under ASCAP in 2005 without a performer, but has Michelle Bell as writer and Bloodshy & Avant as producers. In 2014, Michelle Bell confirmed Britney to be the singer on her Twitter, @BIZZYBELL.
Cheap Cologne is also known to be another demo for The Original Doll. It can be heard on BreatheHeavy's SoundCloud page.
Welcome to Me is a sultry track featuring breathy vocals over a thumping instrumental. It is penned by dancer and choreographer Wade Robson and Carole Bayer Sager. It leaked on May 9, 2014.
Conscience was leaked by Michelle Bell and features melodic strings and is about calling out to your lover.
In March 2012, members of Britney Spears fan forum, Exhale, managed to get in contact with writer Michelle Lynn Bell on Twitter and Tumblr. On her Tumblr, Michelle wrote about the experiences she had working with Britney on The Original Doll. She then later leaked snippets of two songs she said were recorded for the album: Money, Love, and Happiness and Peep Show. She then leaked much longer snippets of the songs. In April 2012, she revealed on her Tumblr blog she had been asked to stop leaking the songs by her management, but gave fans a special treat in leaking Money, Love, and Happiness in full. She later stated because of her actions, she would not be able to leak Peep Show or any other song recorded for The Original Doll in full. Later that month, someone in contact with Britney's management got a hold of Ouch, another song from The Original Doll, and leaked it in full.
Michelle Bell has also tweeted some lyrics from Take Off:
"I wanna feel connected." "They say get ready for the revolution; I think we oughta find some sorta solution."
Confirmed Songs:
- Mona Lisa
- Welcome to Me
- Someday (I Will Understand)
- Chaotic
- Money, Love, and Happiness
- Look Who’s Talking Now
- Peep Show
- Ouch
- Take Off
- Like I’m Fallin’
- Conscience
It is known that Britney started writing songs for the album in late 2003. She started recording the album in 2004 whilst on The Onyx Hotel Tour.
..."As Spears ticks off some of what's on her to-do list now that she's back on her feet: resume hyping In the Zone; shoot another video; brainstorm with her 'creative people' for the full-fledged performance tour she plans to kick off next March (she's organizing a group trip to Vegas for 'inspiration'), work on her next album ('I'm already writing songs') and, if she can squeeze it in, start her own record label ('Maybe by next year,' she hopes.)" November 21, 2003.
In December 2004, Britney made a surprise appearance on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles to premiere a new song she recorded. She premiered the rough demo of her song "Mona Lisa." She was also given an interview, where she stated she was halfway through recording the album called " orThe Original Doll.” She also stated it would be released very soon, probably in the summer of 2005. Jive were apparently furious that Britney had premiered the song on the radio without their permission, and they stated she had only started recording the album.
"Just weeks after Britney Spears announced that she was taking an extended break from her career to focus on her family, she's plunging into work on a new album. A spokesperson from Jive Records confirmed that Spears is in the "very early" stages of working on an album, which is not yet on the label's release schedule. In a surprise visit, Spears played a rough mix of a song from the album Thursday night on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles to get some fan reaction.”
"We got a call on the request line from Britney Spears saying she wanted to come by and play her new song," KIIS-FM music director Julie Pilat said. "Then she showed up and world-premiered her new song," which is called "Mona Lisa." "It definitely has the raw thing going on it," Spears said during her station visit. "I recorded this song when I was on tour, right before I hurt my knee. It was done, I think, four or five months ago. My band, we did not use ProTools or anything with it. It is all live. There is a lot of stuff you can do to make it better. It is going to get better. It will get better — this is a really, really rough mix."
Spears dedicated the song — a slinky, midtempo number with a descending synth line — to all the "legends and icons out there." The song's lyrics begin, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a story to tell/About Mona Lisa, and how she suddenly fell/See, everyone knew her, they knew her so well/Now I am taking over to release her from her spell." The song continues to lament Mona Lisa's "fall," calling her "unforgettable" and "unpredictable," and cautions listeners not to have a “breakdown": "You will hit the freakin' wall." Though Spears said she wants “Mona Lisa" to be the first single from the new album, she has not yet decided on a title for the project, though she's leaning toward The Original Doll. "It's untitled right now," she said during her visit to KIIS-FM. "It's not even all the way done." She also said that she hoped to release the album "probably before summertime, or maybe a little sooner than that." January 3, 2005.
A quote from one of the KIIS-FM radio DJ's regarding The Original Doll:
"In the back of my mind I’m thinking, 'No signed artist would ever do that [premiere song on the radio without label's permission], because [Jive/Zomba Label Group President/CEO] Barry Weiss would cut them in half with a cleaver," Barnes says. "If you don't have the record out yet, you're going to find some radio guy who will ship it out half done, and the whole project will be trashed." February 1, 2005.
The album's release was cancelled by Jive. It is unknown why Jive cancelled/shelved the album but there are many possible reasons:
- Britney's pregnancy, Jive may have wanted Britney to concentrate on starting a family rather than releasing a new album
- Britney premiering unreleased material without Jive's permission
- Jive not liking the material set to appear on the album
- Britney rush releasing it (she had released Greatest Hits: My Prerogative a few months prior)
Writers & Producers:
Michelle Bell is known to be one of the sole writers for songs on The Original Doll. She also worked with Britney in 2003 and recorded three songs with her for In the Zone (none of them made the album, however only one is unreleased. These are "Chaotic," "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun,)" and "Look Who's Talking Now." "Chaotic" was chosen as the theme song to Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, and appeared on the DVD's bonus disc. "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" was included on the In the Zone DVD bonus disc in North America and on Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.) Britney also co-wrote some of the songs for the album. Due to the album having a more personal feel, its possible Britney wrote some songs on her own.
Michelle Bell stated in an interview that she thought Britney was very "talented,’ and in another interview she said Britney played the piano on some of the songs they worked on (one of these could possibly be the intro to “Ouch", as piano can be heard in the background.)
Interviewer: “Word has it that you're penning joints on the next albums by Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears - Can you give us a hint on what to expect from both of them hits?”
Michelle: "Britney's claim to fame is music and I think as always she'll deliver. You have to respect someone who gives so much. We'll see how L&W [Lynne and Wade] pans out with her." September 22, 2007.
Another quote from Michelle:
"Britney Spears was awesome. She actually surprised me because she can play the piano. She is down to earth and very nice. She hides it but I think people can tell she is a real artist. I hope someday she gets to bring that side of herself out more. We had a nice time working." September 22, 2007.
Henrik Jonback, co-writer of Toxic, said he wrote with Britney in 2004 whilst she was on tour. This quote is from an interview with him:
Interviewer: "Any particular encounter you remember over the others?"
Henrik: "Not really, but I have to say that it was quite an experience to hang out with Britney Spears in her tour bus in Germany during her European tour in 2004. We wrote songs in the bus and in her hotel room between the concerts. I got a good look into the hysterical life of a superstar and I must say, I'm very happy not to be one myself." November 30, 2007.
In 2004, Mona Lisa producers, Bloodshy & Avant, also mentioned that Britney was writing and working on new material. "A Swedish program interviewed Bloodshy & Avant who wrote the mega Britney Spears' hit 'Toxic.' They are both from Sweden and Britney will perform there on May 11. During the interview, they said Britney sometimes gives them a call in the middle of the night saying: "Listen to this and record it!", and sings a new song she wrote so they can work on it. They also said they are working on a new material for Britney." May 10, 2004
Britney mentioned in an interview in late 2003 she would only like to work with one producer for her next album. This could possibly be Bloodshy & Avant - they produced Mona Lisa, the only song from The Original Doll released. Britney also stated she would like to do some more producing on her own:
Interviewer: “It might be a little too early to talk about the next album, but if you had the choice of producers or artists you'd like to collaborate with, who
would you like to name?”
Britney: "I haven't really thought about that too much; specific producers, but I think because I did collaborate on this record with so many people I would probably, on the next one, make it kind of my own and just probably work with one producer, because I really know how the process works now and I know that I could do it on my own." December 12, 2003
Confirmed Writers & Producers:
Britney Spears, David Kochanski, Teddy Campbell, Michelle Bell, Nadir Khayat, Nana Christiansan, Rhonda Robinson, Bloodshy & Avant, Larry "Precision" Gates, Nanna Kritiansson, Wade Robson, Carole Bayer Sager, Guy Sigsworth, Imogen Heap, Robyn, Alex Kronlund.
Songs:
Mona Lisa was thought to be the only known song recorded for The Original Doll. In 2005, four new songs listed with Britney as the performer were registered on ASCAP, and were presumed to be recorded by her for The Original Doll:
- Money, Love, & Happiness
- Ouch
- Like I'm Fallin'
- Take Off
Disguise My Love is registered under ASCAP in 2005 without a performer, but has Michelle Bell as writer and Bloodshy & Avant as producers. In 2014, Michelle Bell confirmed Britney to be the singer on her Twitter, @BIZZYBELL.
Cheap Cologne is also known to be another demo for The Original Doll. It can be heard on BreatheHeavy's SoundCloud page.
Welcome to Me is a sultry track featuring breathy vocals over a thumping instrumental. It is penned by dancer and choreographer Wade Robson and Carole Bayer Sager. It leaked on May 9, 2014.
Conscience was leaked by Michelle Bell and features melodic strings and is about calling out to your lover.
In March 2012, members of Britney Spears fan forum, Exhale, managed to get in contact with writer Michelle Lynn Bell on Twitter and Tumblr. On her Tumblr, Michelle wrote about the experiences she had working with Britney on The Original Doll. She then later leaked snippets of two songs she said were recorded for the album: Money, Love, and Happiness and Peep Show. She then leaked much longer snippets of the songs. In April 2012, she revealed on her Tumblr blog she had been asked to stop leaking the songs by her management, but gave fans a special treat in leaking Money, Love, and Happiness in full. She later stated because of her actions, she would not be able to leak Peep Show or any other song recorded for The Original Doll in full. Later that month, someone in contact with Britney's management got a hold of Ouch, another song from The Original Doll, and leaked it in full.
Michelle Bell has also tweeted some lyrics from Take Off:
"I wanna feel connected." "They say get ready for the revolution; I think we oughta find some sorta solution."
Confirmed Songs:
- Mona Lisa
- Welcome to Me
- Someday (I Will Understand)
- Chaotic
- Money, Love, and Happiness
- Look Who’s Talking Now
- Peep Show
- Ouch
- Take Off
- Like I’m Fallin’
- Conscience