Britney Spears: In the Zone

Background

In November 2003, it was announced through Billboard that Spears planned to release a DVD in mid-March 2004, with previously unreleased footage. On February 26, 2004, it was reported by MTV that the release would concentrate on the live performances to promote In the Zone, such as her performances of "Me Against the Music" and "(I Got That) Boom Boom" from TRL and the half-hour surprise appearance at Rain Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort. The DVD also includes Britney Spears: In the Zone, her concert special in ABC that aired on November 17, 2003. Shot in New York's Gotham Hall in October, the show featured stage settings evoking Cabaret. The release also contains the music videos of "Me Against the Music" and "Toxic" with their respective episodes of Making the Video. The North American edition includes two bonus tracks, "Don't Hang Up" and "The Answer", whereas other editions contain the songs "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" and "Girls and Boys".

Also included are a photo gallery and an additional interview. The total running time is 88 minutes. The presentation is offered in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, aside from the "Me Against the Music" video, which is letterboxed. The DVD was set to be released on March 23, 2004, but was later moved to April 6, 2004.

"Sippin' On", under its original title "Tell Me What You're Sippin' On" was initially to be included on select versions of the "In the Zone" DVD but was omitted. Spears later considered including a new version of the song featuring vocals from rapper AC on her fifth studio album "Blackout", with a review of the song from DJ Booth saying "On a possible inclusion to her yet-to-be-titled comeback album (dropping this November), Spears has hooked up with producer Tricky Stewart for the song Sippin' On. The mid-tempo track has the same familiar drum pattern as Nas' I Can; except here lyricism has been replaced by sexiness. After all, come the end of the song Britney does a 'soul clap'." Other reviews noted an influence from Janet Jackson on "Sippin' On". This version leaked from a "Blackout" demo CD, while the original intended for "In the Zone" surfaced in September 2011. The song, a mid-tempo R&B track, was produced by Tricky Stewart and co-written by Spears.

Reception

Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk highlighted the concert special, but said that the interviews and behind-the-scenes footage "are geared clearly towards promoting the album and, while they achieve that goal, they break up the momentum of the concert terribly." He summarized his review by saying that, "In the Zone does disappoint somewhat with the audio, but the video quality is good. Recommended for fans." Allmusic gave the compilation three stars out of five.

Britney Spears: In the Zone deduted at the number one on the Billboard Top Music Videos on April 24, 2004. On May 11, the DVD was certified two-times platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 200,000 copies. It was also certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 7,500 units. In the Zone was certified platinum by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF) for shipments of 30,000 copies in total, as well as gold in Brazil by the Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) for shipment of 25,000 copies. On June 1, 2005, it was certified gold by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) for shipments of 10,000 copies. In the Zone also received a platinum certification in France, for shipments of 15,000 copies of the video. In Japan, In the Zone peaked at number seven on the Oricon DVD chart, staying on the chart for 29 weeks.

Disc 1

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