In November 2001 , Spears released her third album , '' Britney '' , which portrayed more adult and provocative themes and featured the lead single " I 'm a Slave 4 U " . The album has sold over four million copies in the United States ; nevertheless , it was viewed as " poor-selling " in comparison to her previous efforts . The following year , her relationship of three years with pop singer Justin Timberlake ended after months of speculation . After the Dream Within a Dream Tour in support of '' Britney '' finalized in July 2002 , Spears announced she would take a break from her career for six months . In November 2002 , she revealed that she had started working on her next studio album . She explained , " Well , actually , I just said that I wanted two or three weeks off . .... And the whole world was like , ' Ohmigod , '' sic '' she 's gone ... " While in Europe , Spears met with William Orbit and Daft Punk about possible collaborations , and originally confirmed Darkchild and The Neptunes as producers . When asked by '' The Hollywood Reporter '' about the direction of the record , Spears responded it was an organic evolution , adding , " It should just happen naturally from the way you feel . ... Whatever happens , happens " . Additionally , Spears scheduled meet-and-greets with Timbaland and Missy Elliott in an effort to help evolve her sound . Elliott would also enlist in further production work with Nisan Stewart for Spears ' project , however none of the initial material saw the light of day . Spears also held a writing session with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem . Murphy stated , " We were both lying on the floor , head-to head , working on lyrics in a notepad . She seemed eager to please , but it went nowhere . She went to dinner and just never came back . " Fred Durst was asked by Spears ' management to submit material , and he wrote and produced three trip hop tracks that were recorded by Spears in January 2003 . However , after news of an affair between them broke , Durst told Jive Records he was not going to let them use the songs for the album . In March 2003 , Lauren Christy from The Matrix spoke about the development of the album with MTV News , and likened their work with Spears to Madonna 's 1998 album '' Ray of Light '' . Scott Spock , also from The Matrix , continued comparing her to Madonna , saying , " She 's taking it to the next level in her career . Madonna constantly takes what 's in the club and puts what she does on top of it and makes it mainstream . I think Britney is starting to embrace that concept where she 's looking to work on different stuff , instead of using the same familiar , and applying it to her . ... I do n't think her fans will be freaked out or upset . I think they 'll be really into what 's going to happen . " Spears also previewed several songs to Quddus Philippe of MTV in May 2003 , including " Touch of My Hand " , " Brave New Girl " and " Everytime " . Spears commented , " I 've really been able to take my time and have creative control and make the new album special , special , special . " On August 27 , 2003 , Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards performing a medley of " Like a Virgin/Hollywood " with Madonna , Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott . The performance started with Spears appearing on stage on top of a giant wedding cake while wearing a wedding gown and veil ; she sang the first few lines of " Like a Virgin " before Aguilera appeared from behind the cake and joined her . Madonna then emerged from the cake wearing a black coat and a hat and started singing " Hollywood " before proceeding to kiss Spears and Aguilera on the lips . Missy Elliott came out from a wedding chapel to sing her song " Work It " halfway through the performance . The kiss generated strong reaction from the media . The performance was listed by '' Blender '' magazine as one of the twenty-five sexiest music moments on television history . MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
In the Zone