Those hoping that Britney Spears would return to chart relevancy by recording a song with Iggy Azalea have some bad news. “Pretty Girls” is about to fall out of the Top 20 at iTunes after only five days. The song is still shaded with a dark pink bar, which means the single is losing sales at a very high rate. Perhaps hurting her ankle isn’t Britney Spears’ biggest problem these days.
Billboard recently tried to positively hype the song, noting that it will debut in the Top 40 on next week’s Hot 100 chart.
“The single, released on RCA Records, is heading for a top 40 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 next week. (Highlights of the chart will post on Billboard.com on Wednesday, May 13, with the full chart to post the following day.) The track premiered May 4, after leaking a day earlier, and is off to a solid first week…’Pretty Girls’ is on course to sell upward of 100,000 downloads in its first week (ending May 10), according to industry forecasters.”
Several people ripped Billboard apart in the comments section of their article, noting that not only is “Pretty Girls” falling fast, but it hasn’t sold nearly what Britney Spears’ other new songs have in the past during the first week of release. Commenter Tiny Muldoon Lamb had some harsh words.
“Billboard needs to stop accepting money from Britney Spears’ camp. The song may debut in the Top 40, but it will drop like a fly after that. In any case, a top 40 debut is pretty bad, considering Britney has debuted at No. 1 in the past with new singles. The song is dropping off Amazon and iTunes faster than any song I’ve seen in ages. Tell us the truth, Billboard!”
“Pretty Girls” has received mixed reviews. The New York Post ‘s Hardeep Phull, who is one of the most respected music critics today, gave “Pretty Girls” a half star out of five and calls the song “ tragically bad .”
“Remember 2014, when music was better? Iggy Azalea obviously does, and that’s why her long-awaited Britney Spears collaboration has turned out to be a woefully formulaic rehash of last summer’s smash ‘Fancy.’ Flimsy electro breaks, Britney’s plastic sassiness, and another inane Iggy rap make this an embarrassment for all concerned.”
The lack of success for “Pretty Girls” could hurt Britney Spears’ next album project, which Giorgio Moroder helped produce. Britney Spears’ last album Britney Jean was considered a huge flop. Britney Spears, however, is having a very successful run of concerts in Las Vegas and is not about to go broke anytime soon.