Shattered Glass (Britney Spears song)

Updated on Oct 21, 2023

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Recorded 2008 Length 2:52		Genre Pop Label Jive
Released November 28, 2008 (2008-11-28) Writer(s) Lukasz Gottwald Claude Kelly Benjamin Levin

"Shattered Glass" is a song recorded by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin, and produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco for Spears' sixth studio album, Circus (2008). "Shattered Glass" is an uptempo pop song, while Spears' vocals have been Auto-Tuned on the track. Lyrically, the song is very emotional, with Spears singing of entrapment and self-loathing in her relationship with fame.

Reception of the track from music critics was mixed, with some noting its dance and pop sound, while others called it "generic" and filler. Although the song was never released independently from Circus, it managed to peak on many of the Billboard component charts, including number seventy on the Billboard Hot 100, seventy-five on the Canadian Hot 100, and number fifty-seven on the Billboard Pop 100.

Background and composition

"Shattered Glass" is an uptempo pop song with guitar riffs, jagged and distorted vocals in the verses, and a melodic chorus. Spears' "robotic electro-sound", Auto-Tuned vocals on the track have drawn comparisons to her 2007 album Blackout, though it has been noted by ABC News' Allan Raible that her vocals sound more "alive" than on the rest of Circus. The song contains elements of teen pop, electronic, and dance music. Lyrically, the song has varying emotions in its lyrics, speaking of flirting, betrayal, and a sense of entrapment as well as self-loathing in her relationship with fame. The song was written and produced by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, who also acted as co-executive producer on Femme Fatale, and Bejamin "Benny Blanco" Levin, with co-writing credits to Claude Kelly. Background vocals were provided by Kelly and Windy Wagner.

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly's Chris William said that "Dr. Luke and Max Martin [were] bringing their B game" to the track. The New York Times' John Pareles said the song and "Womanizer," the lead single from Circus, "use their pulsing electro arrangements for teen-pop tales of flirting and betrayal." PopMatters, however, called the song part of the "mid-album slump", saying that "she reveals her proclivity for the same stomping, unsubtle beefiness of 'Womanizer', but there’s a notable lapse in quality." Jim Farber from Daily News said the song had "real bubblegum snap" while Ben Noramn from About.com called it a "beautiful upbeat pop tune." National Post's Ben Kaplan called the song a "kiss-off guitar-laden hard disco."

Commercial performance

Despite not being released as a single, the song managed to chart on many of the Billboard charts. Due to digital downloads from Circus, the song managed to peak at number seventy on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week of December 15, 2008 before dropping off the next week. "Shattered Glass" charted at number fifty-seven on the Pop Songs and number twenty-nine on the Hot Digital Songs. It received similar reception in Canada, debuting at number seventy-five on the Canadian Hot 100 and number thirty-six on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles in the same week.