‘My Prerogative’: Bobby Brown Calls Britney Spears Cover a ‘Butchering’

Bobby Brown is not holding back when it comes to how he feels about Britney Spears’ version of his iconic 1988 hit “My Prerogative.” Spoiler alert: he did not love it.

Back in 2004, Spears released her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, and chose her cover of Brown’s song as the lead single. But according to Brown, it missed the mark.

“Britney Spears butchered ‘My Prerogative,’” Brown said during an interview on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay show.

Sharpe asked Brown which artist he thought had done the best job sampling his music, and Brown didn’t hesitate to speak his mind.

“I don’t think they did it justice,” he replied. “I don’t think they really did justice to any of the samples that they have done to my songs.” He went on to specifically mention Spears’ version, calling it “a butchering.”

Even though the legendary producer Teddy Riley worked on it, Brown still wasn’t impressed. “Teddy Riley produced it, but that was a butchering that I—I couldn’t take it,” he added. “I cleared it only because it was Britney Spears and I was thinking… Teddy Riley is doing it too, so you know.”

Brown said the whole experience taught him an important lesson: always listen before you approve a sample. “I gotta hear it [in order for it to be cleared] because you don’t know what these kids will say these days. These kids say some s--- that… you don’t want your song associated with it.”

Spears’ version came out while she was on a break from the spotlight. It had a different sound—more synth, extra drums, and a modern R&B vibe. She also changed the lyrics to fit her perspective, opening with a dramatic line:
“People can take everything away from you / But they can never take away your truth / But the question is, can you handle mine?”

Turns out Bobby Brown couldn’t.