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Britney Spears's 11-year-old song Selfish started climbing the US iTunes Charts soon after Justin Timberlake released his comeback single of the same name on January 25, 2024. At the moment, the decade-old song seems to have eclipsed the new release after it started trending on social media with a push from Britney's fans.
People on the internet are now speculating that Britney Spears' fans mass-streamed her song from 2013 in an attempt to beat out Timberlake's new track, possibly due to the duo's messy breakup back in 2022.
Social media is having a field day after Spears' 2011 song started rapidly climbing the charts, with one Redditor writing:
"As much as fandoms and stans care me, sometimes I do love a bit of trolling and I hope Justin never sees peace for how he treated Britney (& Janet)."
Timberlake and Spears met as children on the set of a Disney show, and rumors about them being in a relationship started going viral in 1999. A year later, they made their first public appearance, going to award shows together and posing on the red carpet. However, Timberlake broke off the relationship in 2002, angering Spears fans, with subsequent interviews and Britney Spears' memoir only making things worse.
Britney Spears fans celebrate after her 13-year-old song peaks at #1 on the US iTunes chart following the release of Justin Timberlake's Selfish
Pop fandoms have only proliferated over the last decade with stan accounts and fans finding new ways to express themselves on the internet. Known to come to the defense of their favorite artists, fan communities clashing on social media armed with memes and troll posts are also becoming increasingly common.
After Justin Timberlake announced that his new single, which is being touted by many as his comeback, will be released on January 25, fans of Britney Spears were spurred into action, as the singer's 2011 song, Selfish, started climbing the charts, even becoming the #1 song on US iTunes for a brief moment.
Fans have had a wide variety of reactions to the achievement, with the Britney Army relishing in their victory.
Some fans are also now hoping that this surge in streaming numbers might inspire Spears herself to make a comeback. That said, the last time she spoke on the topic publicly, she seemed adamant about never coming back to singing.
