"I couldn't take it..." - Bobby Brown reveals how Britney Spears 'butchered' her 2004 cover of his hit My Prerogative

Music is a branch of the arts where covering songs has been normalised as a form of showing tribute or adulation to past greats over the years, although the original artist isn’t always thrilled with the end result. This seems to be the case when it comes to Bobby Brown’s assessment of Britney Spears’ 2004 cover of his well-known hit “My Prerogative.”

During an appearance on Club Shay Shay, a rapidly growing podcast hosted by former NFL great Shannon Sharpe, Brown did not shy away from revealing his true feelings about Spears’ rendition of his 1988 hit.

"Britney Spears butchered ‘My Prerogative,' Teddy Riley produced it. But that was a butchering. I couldn't take it."

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Bobby Brown’s comments - A deeper exploration

While Brown made his views on Britney’s interpretation of his hit plain to see, Sharpe argued that Brown had still cleared the sample. Brown then went on to add that he did so because he expected Spears, who was at the top of her game, to “wow" him.

When Sharpe asked Brown which artist did the best job sampling his music for a record, Brown responded candidly:

"I don't think they did justice. I don't think they really did justice to any of the samples that they have done to my songs."

According to a report by PEOPLE, a music industry source had this to say about Brown’s remarks:

“He’s looking for press, but that’s his prerogative."

It seems that Bobby is doing his best to stay relevant while adding his two cents about the current state of the arts in general. With remakes and rehashings becoming the norm in film, television, and music, it's interesting to see a veteran artist indirectly ask for more from artists who followed in their footsteps.

Spears has a history of adding her distinctive flair to past hits. According to People, she’s famously covered :

Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On”, as well as The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”. More recently, she collaborated with Elton John in 2022 on "Hold Me Closer”, which features the hook from arguably his biggest hit “Tiny Dancer”.

Apart from his stint with New Edition and solo recording career, Brown is best known for his marriage to the iconic Whitney Houston. Their tumultuous relationship ended in divorce, with several allegations of abuse levied against the singer for acts committed towards Houston. Five years after their divorce, a broken and relapsed Whitney Houston passed away.