20 Years of the Original Doll Announcement

[27monster27 11,469]

(Credit to anon822613 on Reddit for the video.)

20 years ago today, Britney Spears made the infamous announcement of a mysterious album called (The) Original Doll. Without permission of her label, she went to a studio to announce the album and debut a track called "Mona Lisa":

Eventually, her label denied an album was coming and nothing every came of it. The album slowly faded into obscurity over time. Theories surge that the album may have been a fake for Britney to just get back at her management, just a concept that Britney was flirting with that had no major plan, or a legitimate album that was in the works. Regardless, this has become some of the most sought after music from a popstar in the history of pop music.

There are some confirmed and rumored songs:

Spoiler

Mona Lisa (The only truly confirmed song)

The Fugitive (Britney had a CD with this title on it in 2004)

Diary Of... (The last song Britney did with Michelle Bell in 2004; however, it may have been for "OnTourage", the Onyx Hotel Tour documentary cancelled in favor of the Chaotic reality show)

Do Somethin' Video Titles (Like Ariana Grande teased thank u, next titles in the Breathin video, Britney allegedly did this in the video for Do Somethin'; Mona Lisa, Love Boat, FIBS, Hole in the Wall, etc.)

Mad Love (Allegedly was written in 2004, though it wasn't recorded until 2006)

Money, Love, and Happiness (Possibly from 2004, though it could've been from 2006)

Usher collab (This was rumored in 2004, and then usher revealed in 2008 that he and Britney were supposed to collab which might confirm this)

----

Might have been for Original Doll under different circumstances:

Someday (I Will Understand) (Not written for the album, but probably would've appeared on it if it were released)

And Then We Kiss (Written for In The Zone, but Britneys management was clearly desperate to have it released on something)

After 20 years, Britney Spears has never referenced this, not even in The Woman In me. So what do we think 20 years later?

[River 106,035]

Isn't Chaotic the only song that has been officially released?

[27monster27 11,469]

16 minutes ago, River said:

Isn't Chaotic the only song that has been officially released?

Chaotic was always for In The Zone at first. Eventually, it was selected for the EP that was titled after it. This leaves Mona Lisa as the only truly released song from the project.

[Poker 3,638]

It’s crazy that she NEVER mentioned this again. I know other (more extreme) things happened in her life but given how popular this project is in the fandom she could have mentioned something on an instagram post/the woman in me. I’d love for her to shed some light on this situation but at the same time I love the mystery around it lol

[Lucas 24,384]

You forgot Rebellion, this was for OD right?

[culturalbaptism 2,342]

It's so sad the most we will get from The Original Doll is the maxi single from Someday. 

Japanese maxi single

"Someday (I Will Understand)" – 3:37

"Chaotic" – 3:33

"Mona Lisa" – 3:25

"Over to You Now" – 3:42

"Someday (I Will Understand)" (Hi-Bias Remix) – 3:46

[Railing 2,358]

59 minutes ago, Lucas said:

You forgot Rebellion, this was for OD right?

Rebellion was for Blackout; she leaked that snippet when she was making the album in 2006 

[faysalaaa 3,088]

Do you really think she will announce something? lol

[Blackout19 10,552]

maybe one day 

[Reject False Icons 4,672]

the fact that this happened the last day of 2004 marks the cherry on top of an iconic, amazing, full of bases for modern day entertainment year 

but really why her label lost its mind, was it really that damaging to her release run? Gaga and many other popstars said they have to fight their labels for releasing their music, why are they so strict about it cause when they do it the f up the releases too, they random kill momentum, delay everything, cancel, modify, shelf without reason

Edited December 31, 2024 by Reject False Icons

[Railing 2,358]

6 hours ago, Reject False Icons said:

the fact that this happened the last day of 2004 marks the cherry on top of an iconic, amazing, full of bases for modern day entertainment year 

but really why her label lost its mind, was it really that damaging to her release run? Gaga and many other popstars said they have to fight their labels for releasing their music, why are they so strict about it cause when they do it the f up the releases too, they random kill momentum, delay everything, cancel, modify, shelf without reason

Considering Mona Lisa, the My Prerogative era, and some of the early Blackout material (Rebellion), it seems like Britney wanted to veer in a more serious direction, but the label knew that clerb music by a sex symbol was way more profitable. 

[27monster27 11,469]

9 hours ago, Reject False Icons said:

the fact that this happened the last day of 2004 marks the cherry on top of an iconic, amazing, full of bases for modern day entertainment year 

but really why her label lost its mind, was it really that damaging to her release run? Gaga and many other popstars said they have to fight their labels for releasing their music, why are they so strict about it cause when they do it the f up the releases too, they random kill momentum, delay everything, cancel, modify, shelf without reason

 

2 hours ago, Railing said:

Considering Mona Lisa, the My Prerogative era, and some of the early Blackout material (Rebellion), it seems like Britney wanted to veer in a more serious direction, but the label knew that clerb music by a sex symbol was way more profitable. 

Capitalism is at fault. Record labels are banks that use humans for profit. This is why I side so heavily and loudly with Lady Gagas message with ARTPOP. Art itself should be seen as good enough to sell well without trying to make it "marketable".

[Windowlicker 3,110]

19 hours ago, Poker said:

It’s crazy that she NEVER mentioned this again. I know other (more extreme) things happened in her life but given how popular this project is in the fandom she could have mentioned something on an instagram post/the woman in me. I’d love for her to shed some light on this situation but at the same time I love the mystery around it lol

 

Probably because it was never a real thing. Britney was writing on her blog at the time that she was going to take a break from music in order to start a family and that she wanted to work more behind the scenes developing other artists and producing film projects. She made it very clear music was not a priority at that point. She later said in her 2006 interview with Matt Lauer that she had only recorded about 3 songs in the time between 2004-2006, just prior to starting work on Blackout. A lot of the songs people associate with Original Doll are from the In The Zone sessions (2002), when at most she had a handful of demos and nothing more. I think her Instagram confirms she's just a bit of a troll; constantly announcing things that aren't actually happening or saying she's traveling places she never goes to, etc. Original Doll is more than likely another one of these things. She also claimed she was writing a Broadway musical around this time and that she was starting a baby clothing line, none of which actually materialized or were mentioned ever again.

[27monster27 11,469]

2 hours ago, Windowlicker said:

 

Probably because it was never a real thing. Britney was writing on her blog at the time that she was going to take a break from music in order to start a family and that she wanted to work more behind the scenes developing other artists and producing film projects. She made it very clear music was not a priority at that point. She later said in her 2006 interview with Matt Lauer that she had only recorded about 3 songs in the time between 2004-2006, just prior to starting work on Blackout. A lot of the songs people associate with Original Doll are from the In The Zone sessions (2002), when at most she had a handful of demos and nothing more. I think her Instagram confirms she's just a bit of a troll; constantly announcing things that aren't actually happening or saying she's traveling places she never goes to, etc. Original Doll is more than likely another one of these things. She also claimed she was writing a Broadway musical around this time and that she was starting a baby clothing line, none of which actually materialized or were mentioned ever again.

While I never heard about the Matt Lauer, Britney herself clarified that the "break" she took was actually a "break from being told what to do". You are right that a lot of songs people think are for Original Doll are actually for In The Zone.

[Windowlicker 3,110]

3 hours ago, 27monster27 said:

While I never heard about the Matt Lauer, Britney herself clarified that the "break" she took was actually a "break from being told what to do". You are right that a lot of songs people think are for Original Doll are actually for In The Zone.

Yes, she said she was taking a break from being told what to do, as she was still technically working on other things. But she wasn't actively working on an album. She said she took her injury as a sign that she needed to slow down and reiterated many times that she was focused on other aspects of her career and personal life:

"I am also going to take some time off to enjoy life. I’ve actually learned to say “NO!” With this newly found freedom, its like people don’t know how to act around me. Should we talk to her like we did when she was 16 or like the Icon everyone says she is? My prerogative right now is to just chill & let all of the other overexposed blondes on the cover of Us Weekly be your entertainment… GOOD LUCK GIRLS!! I’m sorry that my life seemed like it was all over the place the past 2 years, it’s probably because IT WAS! I understand now what they mean when they talk about child stars. Going & going & going is all I’ve ever know since I was 15 years old. It’s amazing what advisors will push you to do, even if it means taking a naive young blonde girl & putting her on the cover of every magazine.

I know now that my knee gave out on me this past summer so that I would have no choice but to stop. My body was shutting down and needed rest. It’s funny how the Man upstairs works"

https://britslettersoftruth.tumblr.com/post/96371123384/october-15-2004

And:

"I haven’t really thought a lot about work lately. What better time for a greatest hits album to come out? I can actually enjoy & reflect on my success at this point in my life. I may be disappointing some fans out there, but I don’t think I’ll do another tour for a couple of years. My priorities in life have changed. I am having fun again reading all the magazines that I enjoy (mainly because I am not on them). At this point and time, what I want is not my face on every cover, but someone else’s instead. I really want to help other people achieve their dreams and possibly even develop new artists. Everything is in the very beginning stages and it feels great to just think about different opportunities that I am interested in pursuing.

I’m not the type of person to put blame on other people, but I do feel that some things which were done for me were not always in my best interests. Looking back, I feel now that on my 4th album “less is more” should have been the way to go. As for me quitting the business for good, that is kind of harsh. As I said earlier, my priorities have changed and I am going to be focusing on three main areas of my life for the immediate future. Myself, my husband, Kevin and starting a family. When I really come back, things will be totally different."

https://britslettersoftruth.tumblr.com/post/96371200444/november-8-2004

These were both just a couple of months before she played "Mona Lisa" on radio and claimed she had an album almost finished.

After all this, in early 2006, she told People Magazine she needed a break so she could be hungry for music and performing again, and finally confirmed she was beginning work on an album:

But yeah, as far as Original Doll goes. I know the more interesting story amongst fans is that Britney had some deep, artistic statement album that the record label snuffed out becasue she rebelled against them by leaking one of the songs to radio, but it's very unlikely anything beyond a handful of rough demos existed and that she was workig on anything solid. Either way, I think the 2001-2007 period of her recording career is fascinating and truly peak for her creatively. She was really coming into her own before the conservatorship.