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Britney Spears’ fervent fan base is credited online with helping the singer’s 2011 song, “Selfish,” rise above Justin Timberlake’s new release of the same name on the iTunes charts. .
Timberlake, who will release a new album in March, the single debuted Thursday. On Friday, Spears’ 13-year-old hit was at No. 2, and Timberlake’s song was at No. 3 on iTunes. At one point, it held the No. 1 spot, but Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald’s “FACTS (feat. Ben Shapiro)” now tops the chart.
An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Spears and Timberlake also did not immediately respond.
Timberlake, who rose to fame in the group ‘N Sync, has come under scrutiny from many Spears fans in the past year following the release of her memoir, “The Woman in Me.” The couple, who met when they were children on the set of “The Mickey Mouse Club,” dated 1999 toh 2002.
In her book, Spears said she had an abortion after becoming pregnant with Timberlake. She wrote that he cheated on her “a couple of times” and that she also cheated on him once with a dancer.
Spears’ fan base has a strong parasocial connection to the singer, whom they have defended for years.
The singer has credited the #FreeBritney movement, a collective of fans who largely gathered online to ask whether the singer needed to be under her father’s conservatorship, for helping draw attention to that situation. The 13-year guardianship ended in 2021.
The movement to make Spears’ song trend “started as a joke,” according to a fan BritneyxYtubeWHO He spoke to EW on Thursday.
“Then we all came together and said Britney Spears was coming back with a ‘new’ song,” the fan told EW. “I still can’t believe it’s gotten so big and we’re seeing the results we’re seeing now.”
Many fans online said they were celebrating after Spears’ “Selfish” beat out Timberlake’s song.
“I just received a bottle of champagne to celebrate Britney’s number one hit. #Selfish“, a fan aware in X.
Other wrote: “Britney Stans finally realize how much power they have when they come together, and they could literally make Selfish trend on TikTok if they wanted to.”
One third aware“Hear #Selfish “For Britney Spears knowing it’s a number one hit, it feels different.”
Timberlake will perform on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend as the show’s musical guest.