Britney Spears revives Justin Timberlake collab era with surprise song

The Princess of Pop is celebrating 25 years of her 2001 album 'Britney' co-produced by her then-boyfriend

Web Desk

Published October 11, 2026

Spears and Timberlake dated from 1999 to 2002

Britney Spears is revisiting her early-2000s pop era with an unreleased song co-written with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

On Friday, October 9, the Princess of Pop released the song She’ll Never Be Me, which was originally written for her third studio album Britney, which was released in 2001 and co-produced by her then-boyfriend.

The release is part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the album, which will be re-released on November 6 as Britney (25th Anniversary Edition).

The pop star — who has not released a song since 2016 nor performed since 2018 — has not addressed the new release. However, she did share a throwback from her 2001 trip to Australia on Instagram, where she posed with a koala.

Spears visited the Land Down Under to promote the album, which marked her first (and last) collaboration with Timberlake.

In addition to She'll Never Be Me, the NSYNC frontman also contributed to the original 2001 album, co-writing What It’s Like to Be Me and providing background vocals.

The former couple first met on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1992 and dated from 1999 to 2002.

Their breakup was highly publicised, particularly after Timberlake released Cry Me a River in 2002, using a Spears look-alike in the music video.

In her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me, Spears wrote, “I felt there was no way at the time to tell my side of the story,” describing how she felt the public had sided with Timberlake.