Two 1990’s powerhouses — Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys — have finally collaborated! Britney and the classic boy band (made up of members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson) united their voices for a track called “Matches” that arrived on Dec. 11, which can be found on the deluxe version of Britney’s 2016 album, Glory.
Britney dropped another surprise track, “Swimming in the Stars,” ahead of this collab. The track was actually recorded in 2016 while Britney was prepping her Glory album, and so fans were delighted to receive this unreleased track as a gift from Britney on her 39th birthday on Dec. 2. In May, Britney released another bonus track from Glory — “Mood Ring” — which had previously been unavailable unless you lived in Japan. At the time, it was the first time in four years since Britney had released (technically) new music.
Britney took to her Instagram and happily announced that her collaboration with her “friends,” the Backstreet Boys, is out now. She also reminded fans that they could now listen to all three of her previously unreleased tracks on the deluxe version of Glory. “I’m so excited to hear what you think about our song together,” Britney gushed in her post, adding, “You can also listen to Glory Deluxe everywhere now … including ‘Swimming in the Stars’ and the ‘Mood Ring’ remixes !!!! The love you guys have shown this album this year has been stupid amazing [rose emojis] …. like I can’t even believe it !!! I hope it brings you joy. GOD BLESS YOU ALL [lip emojis] !!!!!”
What a GLORIOUS day it is… we’ve been asked about the possibility of a collab like this for the past 20 years and today is the day!! #BritneyXBackstreet is finally here! #Matches is out now on @britneyspears’ Glory Deluxe 🔥 https://t.co/Yhh6X3aH0P pic.twitter.com/bsE6CFGSCS
— Backstreet Boys (@backstreetboys) December 11, 2020
The Backstreet Boys’ Twitter account also shared a message, writing, “What a GLORIOUS day it is… we’ve been asked about the possibility of a collab like this for the past 20 years and today is the day!! #BritneyXBackstreet is finally here! #Matches is out now on @britneyspears’ Glory Deluxe.” Fans rejoiced over the collaboration between the ’90s greats. “Honestly, they should just do a whole album together,” one fan wrote, while another fan tweeted, “I love this amazing 90’s pop collaboration.”
It looks like Britney is taking a break from the recording studio these days, though. She is allegedly refusing to perform as long as her father, Jamie Spears, “is in charge of her career,” which her attorney Samuel D. Ingham III claimed at her conservatorship hearing on Nov. 10. Britney has been trying to remove her father from her conservatorship, a request that the Los Angeles superior court judge reportedly denied during the Nov. 10 hearing, which our sister website Variety reported. Glory was the last studio album Britney has released, since making her debut in the music world with “Baby One More Time” in 1998.