Britney Spears Outshines Justin Timberlake’s ‘Selfish’ on Music Charts, Fans Celebrate the Queen of Pop!
Fans are eagerly streaming and buying Britney Spears’ 2011 track titled “Selfish” with the aim of outperforming her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake’s latest release bearing the same name. Coincidentally, on Thursday, which also marked the release of Timberlake’s first single from his upcoming album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” Spears’ relatively obscure song from the deluxe edition of her album “Femme Fatale” made a surprising entry into the Top 40 of the US iTunes chart.
Credit for this clever move goes to BritneyxYtube, a dedicated account within the Britney Spears fandom, who humorously described it as starting as a joke when Justin Timberlake revealed the title of his new song. Playfully, fans began speculating that Britney Spears was making a grand return with a “fresh track.” With the aim of reaching the top 10, this well-executed initiative gained rapid momentum, propelling the timeless song “Selfish” into the top 40 on the US iTunes chart.
Since the publication of Britney’s revealing book, “The Woman In Me,” last year, Justin Timberlake has faced significant criticism. In her book, Spears disclosed shocking details about their relationship, including her admission of having had an abortion while they were dating, and accusing Timberlake of infidelity with a fellow band member. She later expressed regret over the abortion, claiming it haunted her, especially before she gave birth to her children, Sean Preston in 2005 and Jayden James in 2006, with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline.
While Timberlake refrained from directly addressing the accusations outlined in the book regarding his alleged behavior during their relationship, he did take the step of disabling comments on his Instagram page as Spears’ fans inundated it with negative comments. In a December performance held in Las Vegas, he did appear to allude to the controversy. Prior to performing his 2002 solo hit “Cry Me a River,” he informed the audience that he intended “no disrespect,” a statement widely interpreted as a reference to their breakup in March 2002, following three years of dating.
One week following the debut of the documentary “Framing Britney Spears” on Hulu in 2021, Timberlake took to Instagram to express his remorse towards both Spears and Janet Jackson. According to Billboard, his post stated, “I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns, and I feel the need to respond. I deeply apologize for instances in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or failed to stand up for what was right. I want to offer a specific apology to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson, individually, as I have great care and respect for these women, and I acknowledge my shortcomings.” Spears referenced their tumultuous relationship in her 2023 biography, which dates back to the early 2000s. While Spears claimed that both of them were unfaithful to each other, Timberlake appeared to place the blame squarely on Spears when he recorded “Cry Me A River” after their 2002 breakup.
