Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ reaches 1 billion streams on Spotify just days after the release of her new will.i.am collaboration, ‘Mind Your Business’ — and the star’s social media goes dark.
Who’s the latest pop star to join the Spotify Billions Club? It’s Britney, b*tch. Britney Spears’ fan-favorite 2003 banger, “Toxic,” became the first of her beloved catalog to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.
A renewed spark of interest in Britney’s vast catalog of hits follows the heels of her newest single. The milestone comes just days after the release of her latest collaboration with will.i.am, “Mind Your Business.”
The third collaboration between Spears and the Black-Eyed Peas rapper and producer, “Mind Your Business,” dropped with just a day’s notice — more than a decade after the duo first worked together on the 2012 track “Scream & Shout.” The new song also utilizes the now-iconic line from “Scream & Shout,” Will’s, “You are now rockin’ with will.i.am and Britney, b*tch.”
“Mind Your Business” is also the first new music from Spears since last year’s hit collaboration with Elton John on “Hold Me Closer.” Her most recent release before that was the 2016 album Glory.
Spears has yet to announce a new album to accompany the single, but the superstar recently confirmed the release of her upcoming memoir, The Woman in Me, due October 24.
Shortly after the release of “Mind Your Business,” Britney deleted her Instagram account over the weekend, although this is not the first time her social media presence has gone dark with no warning. In the past, she has reactivated her accounts within days or weeks.
Still, her account suddenly going dark isn’t surprising, given the context of the new song. The catchy club track with a minimal beat serves as a not-so-subtle callout to those who can’t seem to help to stick their noses into Spears’ private life, with her spoken refrain: “Mind your business, b*tch.”