Britney Spears has released a song which was written by Justin Timberlake while they were dating.
The pop superstar has dropped She’ll Never Be Me, which was originally recorded for her 2001 album Britney and lists the N’Sync star as a co-composer and co-lyricist along with the boyband’s longtime collaborators Riprock ‘n’ Alex G – songwriters and producers Bradley Daymond and Alex Greggs.
The song had been recorded for Britney’s third studio album but it was left unfinished and was eventually dropped from the record.
However, She’ll Never Be Me has finally been released as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for the Britney album.
The song features on an anniversary edition of the album along with four other previously unreleased tracks – Am I a Sinner, When I Say So, My Big Secret and a full version of Britney’s 2002 Pepsi commercial son Right Now (Taste the Victory).
As well as co-writing the song, Justin also recorded background vocals for his then-girlfriend’s song.
Producer Greggs previously opened up about the song in a 2022 appearance on The Original Doll podcast, saying: “The song didn’t go on the album not because the label didn’t like it. There was just way better stuff to go with.
“Sometimes people don’t hear Justin’s voice [in She’ll Never Be Me] until I tell them. I said: ‘You don’t hear that Justin’s in the back?’
“They blend in there very well together. It’s kind of a shame that they never really got to do more. It would have been cool to have that kind of sweetheart duet.”
The former couple split in 2002 – a year after the Britney album’s release – and Greggs is convinced the pair would have eventually released a duet if they had stayed together.
He said: “It wasn’t the right time. But if they continued to be together, I’m sure it would have happened and it would have been a really cool thing.”
Britney’s self-titled album featured huge hits including I’m a Slave 4 U, Overprotected and I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman as well as What It’s Like to Be Me, which was also co-written by Timberlake.