Music

Did someone else sing for Britney Spears on her last album?

by Mark Teo

Britney Spears’ last album, Britney Jean, proved to be a contentious one: While the singer promised her “most personal album yet,” it was marred with controversy. That was partly due to a lukewarm reception among fans; but also, accusations emerged that one of her longtime backup singers, Myah Marie, handled much of the singing duties.

It’s easy to hear why Marie was selected to back up Spears: She, after all, is a dead ringer for the “Toxic” singer. Check out a Marie original below. The resemblance is startling.

Things began before the album was even released: One of the first leaks, “Passenger,” was accused of being dubbed, with Marie handling a large bulk of singing duties. Then, tabloids claimed that as many as seven songs were sang by the backup singer—and, to add fuel to the fire, Marie’s father, Murray Langston, chimed in.

“My daughter sings for Britney Spears. The truth is, Myah can sound just like her,” Langston said. “She has a knack. Maybe Britney doesn’t know whose voice is on her album and it doesn’t even interest her. Maybe she just comes in, lays down the track and leaves, and doesn’t care.”

Marie, for her part, disputed her father’s commments. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to provide background vocals for Britney Spears on a small number of her most recent works,” she said. “I most certainly cannot take credit for her tremendous talent as a singer.”

Due to the similarities between the singers, though, the allegations against Spears remained, well, allegations. But this week, a track leaked that—if it’s real, of course—seemingly proves that Spears only partially handled singing duties on her LP.

Raw versions of Britney Jean tracks have been circulating, and, as LA Deli notes, many of these tracks featuring the original vocal tracks for the songs without the production work.

Many have used these raw tracks to create acoustic renditions. And when the raw version of “Passenger” leaked, it was missing Britney’s vocals in the bridge and choruses. In this version, Marie sings most of the song.

And actually, it sounds a lot better than the original.

For added context, here’s the album version of “Passenger.”

Welp. This certainly doesn’t help the allegations that Britney checked out of much her last album—and, as La Deli suggests, other songs, like the Marie-penned “Body Ache,” might’ve been heavily leaned on Marie’s vocals.

So, what do you think? Did Britney try to pass off her backup singer’s vocals as her own?