Everytime
"Everytime" is a song by American singer-songwriter Britney Spears from her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003). It was released on April 21, 2004, by Jive Records as the third single from the album. After her relationship with singer Justin Timberlake ended in 2002, Spears became friends with her background singer Annet Artani. They started writing songs together at Spears' house in Los Angeles, and then traveled to Lombardy, Italy, where they collaborated on "Everytime". Spears composed the music herself and developed the lyrics with Artani. According to Artani, the song was written as a response to Timberlake's 2002 song "Cry Me a River", which Spears has neither confirmed nor denied.
"Everytime" is a pop ballad, which lyrically plea for forgiveness for inadvertently hurting a former lover. The song received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised its lyrics, composition, and Spears' breathy vocals and songwriting, deeming it amongst the highlights of the album. "Everytime" became a global success, topping the charts in five countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and reached the top ten in twelve other regions. In United States, it peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is certified Gold in seven countries. Spears did a series of live performances, such as for television shows Saturday Night Live on NBC and Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom. On tour, she also performed: the song on piano in a flowered-themed setting at The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004), while suspended on a giant umbrella at The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009), and in an angel costume at Britney: Piece of Me (2013). The song has been covered by artists like Glen Hansard, Kelly Clarkson, and James Franco in the film Spring Breakers (2013).
Inspired by the cinematography of the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas, the music video for "Everytime" was directed by David LaChapelle. It features Spears as a pop star fighting with a male companion as she is hounded by paparazzi. She starts to drown in her bathtub after bleeding from a head wound from a paparazzi camera hit. In the hospital, doctors fail to resuscitate her, while simultaneously a child is born in the next room (implying she has been reincarnated). The original concept had Spears kill herself from a drug overdose, but that part of the plot was removed after it received criticism from organizations such as Kidscape, who perceived it as a glamorization of suicide. Critics took note of the video for its religious references to The Passion of the Christ, Kabbalah, and stigmata, as well as for foreshadowing Spears's own struggles with fame.
