Jamie Lynn Spears attends the 50th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 2, 2016 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesBritney isn’t the only Spears with the world’s attention on her.
Jamie Lynn Spears, Brit’s younger sister, has penned her memoir which, judging by an excerpt published by People, will drill deep into her painful past.
The singer and actress recounts the struggles she faced when, in 2007, she became pregnant with her daughter Maddie, aged just 16 years old.
After coming out with the news to her family, “one person after another—and there were many—came to my room trying to convince me that having a baby at this point in my life was a terrible idea,” she says. The topic of a termination was put forward.
Home “felt like a prison without a smartphone or connection to the outside world. My team believed everyone outside of the inner circle was a potential threat,” she explains. “They went so far as hiding my pregnancy from my sister, claiming, ‘It's too risky to tell Britney about the baby.' I needed her more than ever and she wasn't able help me in my most vulnerable time.”
At the time, Britney's “condition” was “spiraling into something more concerning,” she writes, in an extract from Things I Should Have Said. “They were concerned her instability at that time made her untrustworthy. I went along with what my team told me to do because I was a minor and didn't want to create any more issues. Britney learned of the pregnancy when the article was released. To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself lingers.”
Spears, now aged 30, announced the book in October, explaining at the time that she began writing it shortly after her Maddie, then-aged 13-year-old, had a near-fatal ATV accident in 2017.
"I owe it to myself, my younger self, and to my daughters to be an example that you should never edit yourself or your truth to please anyone else,” she explained in an Instagram post, announcing the book. “I know I still have ALOT of learning to do, but I feel like finishing this book gave me closure on this '30 year long' chapter of my life, and hopefully helps anyone else out there who forgot their worth, lost their voice, or is trying to break an unhealthy cycle in their life."
Things I Should Have Said is set to be released on Jan. 18, 2022 via Worthy Publishing.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
