Bobby Brown took to Twitter the other day to air his grievances with Britney Spears’ cover of his classic jam “My Prerogative.” Released in 1988, the original track—produced by New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley—doubled as an anthem of personal and sexual freedom and self-assertion. When Spears remade the song in 2003, she brought along a synth-heavy Biggie sampling that made the track irresistible to any R&B aficionado then or now.
Brown’s remarks gained attention after he said that Spears had “butchered” his first version. And then of course, the man is so gracious that he cleared the song so that she could use it. He thought she would bring a new approach that might dazzle him. For Brown, he was disappointed with how the execution turned out.
I expected her to knock my socks off,” he said of his decision to let Spears take a whack at the tune. Chastain was, publicly, critical of her performance but Spears’ version became a favourite with many fans. Indeed, some of her proponents came to her defense, claiming her interpretation was a fresh twist but true to original.
“Bobby Brown can say all the crap he wants. But Britney left no crumbs when it came to her cover of My Prerogative. I prefer her version over his original version.” – A fan on X
Hundreds of thousands of passionate fans did, and still do, flood social media to protest the move. Another user responded, “I only know Bobby Brown’s ‘My Prerogative’ because of Britneys cover! My parents played it in the house.”